- Ensure both quality and quantity of light are provided, suitable for each space’s purpose
- Consider touch and sound when designing, not just sight
- Design with the mindset that buildings should enable rather than inhibit their users
- Involve plants, water, and wildlife wherever possible
- Use the aesthetics of design to create visual interest and joy
- Use color selectively to support mood
- Encourage building users to be active
- Provide calm spaces for escape and relaxation
- Provide generous storage
- Make spaces open and airy, but designed for human scale
- Make buildings comfortable spaces in which to spend time
- Create a sense of home
By most estimations, 80% of our time is spent in buildings, and this can affect our mood both positively and negatively. Those social, cultural, and environmental influences, or psychosocial factors, in the places where we live, work, and study, therefore impact our happiness significantly. “Happiness is an incredibly important but often overlooked aspect of our lives,” says Channon. It can result in improved productivity in the workplace and better learning in students; and most importantly, it can drastically improve people’s quality of life and physical and mental health.”7