THE BUILDING HAPPINESS - Dove sta di casa la felicità?

The Foundation for Architecture in Turin embarks on a captivating journey in the year 2024 to discover the connection between architecture and happiness, inviting everyone to participate.

The Foundation for Architecture in Turin launches a new and exciting cultural initiative for 2024, aimed at exploring the relationship between Architecture and Happiness. This exploration involves stimulating interdisciplinary and intergenerational dialogue to offer new perspectives in the design of urban and domestic spaces, encouraging the public to share ideas and experiences.

The relationship between Architecture and Happiness has been explored in the past, primarily through the perspectives of philosophers and writers (such as Alain De Botton, “Architecture and Happiness, 2006”) and anthropologists (such as Marc Augé, “Does Happiness Have a Place? 2011”). The Foundation also acknowledges the recent emergence of a quantitative approach by architects in the development of “happy buildings.” All of this has inspired the emphasis on the cultural aspect of the new investigation, highlighting the direct consequences of architecture on people’s quality of life and the social responsibility of architects.

“I want to emphasize – says Gabriella Gedda, President of the Foundation for Architecture in Turin – all the pride and commitment that the Foundation has put into the Building Happiness project, which sees architecture as a social value in the service of the community, promoting the well-being of citizens. We firmly believe that happiness is a fundamental indicator for measuring the psycho-physical health of individuals and for strengthening territorial attractiveness. With the Building Happiness project, we want to raise awareness among the community of architects and all professionals in the field to contribute tangibly to the creation of an urban environment that, in addition to meeting practical and functional needs, nurtures the emotional and spiritual well-being of its inhabitants.”

To begin this exploratory journey, the Foundation chooses to pose a challenging question, widespread and necessary, not only to architects but to the entire community: “Dove sta di casa la felicità?” Building Happiness aims to attempt one or more answers to this question.

The heart of the entire programming will be the Masterclass that will investigate the relationship between built spaces and happiness through contributions from expert and multidisciplinary teachers. The Masterclass program brings together architecture and neuroscience, principles of innovation and social impact, international case studies, lessons from Italian masters, experiences related to different territorial scales (city, neighborhood, condominium, interior design), and insights from reading big data and expectations about the future.

“One of the main results of the Masterclass – emphasizes Eleonora Gerbotto, Director of the Foundation for Architecture in Turin – will be the creation of the ‘Building Happiness Book‘, a manual for happy design. A document summarizing the results, but above all, a practical and accessible tool that will be published and made available to designers, architects, scholars, and stakeholders. We hope – continues Gerbotto – that it can become a useful tool to contribute significantly to the creation of happy urban places, homes, offices, and community spaces.”

The Building Happiness journey will consist of about twenty events, including a six-hour choral and multidisciplinary marathon during which guests, many of them young, will take the stage with their vision of happiness. The events include “Face to Face” meetings with architects, tours of happy places, cultural talks with distinguished guests, including one in collaboration with the Department of Architecture and Design at the Polytechnic University of Turin, a Book Lab in collaboration with the Circolo dei Lettori in Turin, and the creation of a photographic exhibition in collaboration with CAMERA – Italian Center for Photography. The Foundation also commits to involving people by inviting them to respond to a public questionnaire about their perception of the space around them.

“I would like to emphasize – concludes Eleonora Gerbotto – our commitment to making young people protagonists. Through the Marathon, one of the highlights of the programming, young people (architects and others) have been actively involved to have the opportunity to express themselves on such a relevant theme as happiness. I believe it is important to listen to them, but even more so to involve them because young people are, in every way, the creative engine for the future of our city.”

Cultural Partners of the Project

ArchiTuned, CAMERA – Italian Center for Photography, CIRCOLO DEI LETTORI FOUNDATION, ITER Turin Institution for Responsible Education, Lombroso16 Cultural Pole, Polytechnic University of Turin – Department of Architecture and Design, Turin Urban Lab