Beauty is the promise of happiness

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II Milan, Italy

Instead of attempting to find an answer to what happiness is and what the certain ways to achieve it are, we may look at the role that architecture plays in the process of achieving a certain level of contentment.

Living in a world where our everyday lives are largely a product of structural and historical processes,we come to an understanding that everyone is looking for something; physically and/or emotionally. There are individuals who will travel to the ends of the Earth in order to encounter beauty. Each of these hypothetical

locations share a common trait: they are considered sacred. Additionally, these locations are rich in aesthetic experience. My own interest in the meeting of the physical and emotional state in the progression of architecture, lies in the specific origin and meaning of objects, forms, and shapes that encompass architecture as a sacred place(s). These forms and shapes are often derived from natural objects and not necessarily from divine presence; they are places filled with history, a composition consisting of balance and harmony between surroundings.

A person does not necessarily need religious expression to experience a sacred place. In majority,these places consistently speak of the littleness of human beings within a larger natural and cosmological landscape. Human life is not entirely about materialistic success in which we measure different monetary standards, like wealth or reputation. The emotional state and feeling you encounter upon entering these sacred locations, are not based on the need to define yourself in any specific term(s). The freedoms from oneself are enough to transform your thoughts, and can often alter your entire physical experience as well. Unfortunately,

for example, malls and/or department stores were built with the same concept; all the happiness you can find under one roof.

I recently began a position working in retail, and have found myself paying more attention to the physical and emotional connections that consumers making during shopping experiences. I can see them physically standing outside our store, admiring the ornately placed merchandise on mannequins in the window display. An essential and vital part of the retail industry is the idea of creating a waiting list, which in turn keeps consumers informed on restocking of items that will eventually bring them back to our “sacred” location;a shopping haven. Paco Underhill mentioned in his book, “What makes the science of shopping interesting is that things change and we still get surprised. We can now measure our evolution by the way we shop and what we shop for.” Everything in the store seems perfectly placed; with attention to detail, composition,scale and good lighting some of the factors that draws the eye of the consumer in. The science behind persuasion and the act of shopping are extremely interesting. Customers have grown accustomed to browsing stores where everything for sale is on display; they will usually ask any sales associate to show them where the items on a mannequin are, and with luck, they end up buying the whole outfit.

Even though, we now have the alternative of shopping online, most people still prefer the entire experience of shopping. They may come prepared to the store, with print outs of all the articles they know they want, but there’s still the need to have the sensual experience. Something about touching and feeling the fabrics, which adds an additional sensory aspect to said experience. It is thus very important to place strong detail on merchandising; to draw the eye of the consumer in. It is not solely about placing items neatly on hangers or tables; accessibility to the consumer is also key. If they can’t reach and feel the goods, they are often able to remove themselves from the ability to purchase an item. I’ve witnessed the lack of merchandise being sold, simply due to its physical proximity to consumers hands; reachability is key. I can attest to this theory, as we are constantly changing the location of every item, which eventually do sell.

In regards to my personal experience in creating hypothetical environments, as well as experiencing physical and architectural objects in reality, there is a certain aspect of beauty relating to proportion and longevity when considering existing surroundings.

Comparison between a Cathedral and Galeries Lafayette in Paris