Work in Mind columnist Ben Channon has collaborated with RIBA to launch a new evidence-based book that aims to help readers create happier, healthier places. The Happy Design Toolkit by Ben, an architect, TEDx speaker and noted wellbeing advocate at practice EKKIST, will be essential reading for anybody interested in how the built environment affects how we feel. The book explores how lighting, temperature, access to nature, exercise and social interaction can affect how we feel.
For anyone interested in the power of human centric and people-focused design, this publication will be a highly anticipated and extremely timely guide. It poses – and answers – all of the key questions: If you were to design a building that puts occupants’ happiness first, what would it look like? How would the materials, form and layout support healthy ways of living and working?
The Happy Design Toolkit includes easy-to-understand tips and design ideas for both residential and commercial projects. These include inviting in the natural world with roof gardens and living facades and counteracting social isolation with through ‘social furniture’ or communal areas that encourage chance interaction.
“With everything that’s happened in the last two years, now more than ever it is vital that we all understand the ways in which buildings and cities affect how we feel. We all have the right to homes and workplaces that keep us healthy, support our mental health and help us to thrive – both now and for many generations to come.”
Alongside more than 100 hand-drawn illustrations by the author, each of the featured architectural interventions includes analyses of the wellbeing benefits they offer, as well as potential limitations or challenges.
With The Happy Design Toolkit, learn how your buildings can encourage healthier lifestyles through a happier and more inclusive built environment for all.
Available from 1 March 2022, order your copy now from RIBA Books.
Click to read Ben Channon’s articles on Work in Mind.
Content Team
Work in Mind is a content platform designed to give a voice to thinkers, businesses, journalists and regulatory bodies in the field of healthy buildings.
