The architecture of happiness - Alain de Botton

The Architecture of Happiness is Alain de Botton's exploration of the hidden links between buildings and our well being.

In The Architecture of Happiness, bestselling author Alain de Botton explores one of our most intense but often hidden love affairs: with our houses and their furnishings. He asks:

What makes a house truly beautiful?
Why are many new houses so ugly?
Why do we argue so bitterly about sofas and pictures - and can differences of taste ever be satisfactorily resolved?

To answer these questions and many more, de Botton looks at buildings across the world, from medieval wooden huts to modern skyscrapers; he examines sofas and cathedrals, tea sets and office complexes, and teases out a host of often surprising philosophical insights. The Architecture of Happiness will take you on a beguiling tour through the history and psychology of architecture and interior design, and will change the way you look at your home.

'Engaging and intelligent . . . full of splendid ideas, happily and beautifully expressed'
Independent

Alain de Botton is the author of Essays in Love, The Romantic Movement, Kiss and Tell, How Proust Can Change Your Life, The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel, Status Anxiety, The Architecture of Happiness, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, A Week at the Airport, Religion for Atheists, The News: A User's Manual, and latest novel The Course of Love, among many others. Alain is a bestselling author in 30 countries. He lives in London, where he runs The School of Life and Living Architecture.

Clever, provocative and fresh as a daisy
Literary Review

Full of splendid ideas, often happily and beautifully expressed . . . an engaging and intelligent book
Independent

Genuinely thought-provoking
Time Out