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Andy J. Nordhus
Instructor Andrea Modica
English 2030
10 December 2015
Building a Happier Tomorrow: How architecture effects mood
How many buildings do you pass in a day? Have you ever walked by one and it changed
your entire mood for the rest of the day? Would you like to? It is said that a humans
environment can have a large impact on demeanour day to day (Lammers). Is it possible that we
collectively could make all of our days a little brighter, a little better, and maybe even help shape
our development through the use of architecture and the choices we use when building?
While not as important as curing cancer, harvesting food, or educating students,
architecture can play an important role in society and a community. Most of us take for granted
the impact architecture plays in our lives. With the vast density of human population on the
planet earth and the need for convenience in a modern society, people have managed to cram
large populations of people into only a few large cities around the world. This fact makes an
architects role that much more important. People are surrounded by buildings, all of the time. So
to say architecture doesnt influence my life. Nearly every moment of everyday is influenced
by it. You are constantly in or around buildings, and these spaces can affect how you feel.
Space can alter how we live, and what we do

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Architecture most certainly plays a large role on how you feel by shaping space to alter
how we live and what we do. Having the ability to shape the liveable use of space around the
buildings that people use to gather with friends, do individualistic tasks like read, and walk or jog
gives an architect the ability to guide how people will use those spaces and what they will see
when using those spaces as well (Pye). Imagine, if you will, that you take a walk every morning
around your neighbourhood with your dog. It was pre planned what you would be staring at or if
you would have shade or morning sunshine while you walked. This is a direct example of how a
space that was created was used in order to enlighten the mood of a person.
Instead of a beautiful mountain or a vibrant sunrise that you could see on this walk,
imagine that the walkway was faced the opposite direction and the side of a building was directly
next to you so your view was faced down a nice alley of the local pizza shop. That could make
quite the difference on the way a person starts their day. It has the ability to lead people into
different situations that they might not choose on their own. By shaping our space to allow for
more community interaction, it allows for people to be closer, and have the ability to socialize
and help each other, which makes everyone feel good. To have a productive society is another
way of keeping people happy and a community more civilized. The size and layout of a space
can affect your ability to undertake a task within that space (Ruskin). Through the use of
sunlight, open spaces, comforting and social encouraging layouts a person will become more
productive and have a better mood. Architecture shapes our environment which affects behaviour
and mood.

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We are able to manipulate space by choosing where things are built and the way that
people are guided through. Through the use of this manipulation, it could be said that we should
be able to alter the paths that people take to allow for differing stimuli. For example, if the space
of a house is designed with a common public area surrounded with private corridors, though
these private sectors could not be accessed without entering the common area. You would
conceivably be forced into entering into a social situation before being able to enter your private
area.
Now imagine this on a bit of a larger scale, an office building where there is a distinct
social courtyard in the middle of private offices. This would enable people to get up, socialize,
and interact with each other which will in cause dopamine and other beneficial neurotransmitters
to flow into the brain. This increase in the flow of chemicals is what provides mood change, and
can result in much more productivity throughout the day. Whereas feeling like a cog behind the
row of endless desks, where paths for interaction leave us distant from people, can leave us
feeling isolated and decrease those levels (Lammers). We can manipulate the situations that
people find themselves in and even promote exercise and improve or change mood. While taking
that morning walk with your dog around the neighbourhood it was decided what you would look
at while you walked and if you would have sunlight or shade. If we were able to promote,
through design, an ability for more common areas that people would be together, it might change
our society to be less individualistic and competitive. The ability for information to be spread
through a community and an ability to help a neighbour, a sense of place or purpose. Social

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support with individuals of similar situations and role models, is proven to be beneficial to a
persons mental health.
Style represents value
Ever since the time of caves, we would decorate the inside for a place of self. Then we
left the caves and couldnt wait to protect ourselves with shelters that also represented a little bit
about who we really were, maybe without even noticing it. Just like art, architecture is an
expression of human values throughout the times and is a reflection of who we are (Gelernter). A
showcase of values on display for the present and future generations to enjoy. And once again an
unescapable part of everyday life. Values are a funny thing when it comes to humans and their
innate happiness. Standing up for what you believe in and helping those that are less fortunate
gives people a great sense of joy. Being able to display values through architecture is an
important role in society and passing that on to the future generations. After the Second World
War, in America, there was a major shift in thinking about housing. It was functionality first,
doesnt matter what it looks like just make sure it works and gets up quick. This change was the
birth of the cookie cutter neighbourhood that we can recognize so well, row after row of boxes
exactly the same as the next, each one being constructed in a matter of days. Quick for the
accommodation of the growing population and affordable for every party involved. It was great,
it was the new value that was being displayed as a country: Instant gratification.
A persons ideologies, and being able to freely express those values make one feel good.
It almost makes them feel like there is a purpose or that they matter and have a part in this big
world, separating them from the masses. One thing that we know through history is that style

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represents value. So if that is true, ones style should represent their values. And so as a society or
community or even as a country for that matter, the style should represent the values that they
want to display. Now the wonderful part about a building is that, for the most part, it is built to
last. Many generations will be able to see the style, and value that was represented at the time.
There are many questions that one could ask about this particular issue: what does ours
say? What does the past say? What should it say? There is no clear answer for the latter and I
dont think that there ever will or should be. It is simply just an expression of the time, a record
of history. It just is, not something that should be. As for the time its probably based on opinion
but it would certainly indicate modernism over time. You can tell that buildings of old were
much more respected and there was more care in detail. The buildings that they built were much
more revered as an amazing place, places made to gather, for people to enjoy and marvel at the
talents of those who made them. The most predominate structures of old were churches and
places of worship, indicating that they valued their religion and gods (Gelernter). Also libraries
and schools were grand structures showing that those were the things of most importance at the
time.
Why is it that we have marvellous still standing structures that were built thousands of
years ago? Yet we build unoriginal, sometimes not well constructed buildings that dont seem to
last nearly the amount of time, or they get knocked down after a certain time has passed for more
modern structures. It would have mostly to do with the modernism of a society. When people
where not stressed with the pressures of having to make an overabundance of money or product
they had the time to really put effort into things that they enjoyed. If a company tried to construct

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buildings that looked as detailed, and wonderful as the time of old they would not survive, after
running into a couple issues. First, after taking too long to finish the product and not being able
to move on to another one, they would run out of money. Second, the client would likely want
the project done in a faster amount of time then you could have it done. Which explains how
even though we have far greater technologies today, there is far less superior products. Not to
mention the money that is made off of a building having to be tore down and rebuilt, of course
they dont want it to last forever.
Now going back to style representing values. What does this now tell us more about the
values of new vs old? And in return the style of old vs. new? Old- cared about the liveable space,
new- cares about cost and individualism. I also thinks this represent the anti-sustainable throw
away culture that we portray as a society. The idea that we crave instant gratification whether it
be as individuals or society. We build now not thinking about the future needs, and then prove
that we can just build new ones later, we do the same with other products like cars as well.
Comfort for the mind, body, and soul
Architecture can also use the ability of planning to allow for different levels of comfort
for a human. It can possess comfort on the levels of the mind, body, and the soul. A dark space
can leave you feeling cold, dampening your mood. In contrast we have all experienced a
beautiful space, admiring and appreciating it, which has left us feeling joy as we occupied that
space. So how it is that buildings can leave us with those types of feelings. In part, having to do
with the fact that we are visual creatures, programmed to judge and assess a situation based on

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surroundings to assess a perceived threat (Lammers). This happens on both conscious and
subconscious levels. We do this based on when we crawled out of the cave to protect our
surrounding, our survival depended on that intuition. Since evolvement we now no longer need
that as much, but more often judgement. Still the effect that a space or surrounding can have on
our mood can be important. Imagine that you are going shopping for a used car, and you walk
into two different offices. The first one; an open space, very clean, bright colors and happy
people. The second one; small office, wood panel walls, office is cluttered and people seem to be
a bit draggy. There is a clear difference here in the way that you will feel walking out of both of
these spaces.
Another level of comfort that can be controlled through architecture is the ability to
control the temperature that we feel. Similar to the way a cat regulates body temperature by
stretching out when they are warm or laying in the sun, and they ball up when cold. Buildings
have the ability to plan how you will feel in a certain space at a certain time. By making a
building longer and shorter to the ground it can decrease the amount of surface temperature, and
same with a wider and taller buildings in colder environments. Also shielding us from the outside
elements like wind, snow, or extreme heat can provide a feeling of comfort in certain times of the
year. By allowing sunlight to enter a building and bringing elements of the outside in, it is proven
that it has an effect on mood and productivity (Samadi).
Experiencing joy and happiness throughout the day is important for the human morale,
and the essence of beauty is a bit of an unexplainable yet vital part of the human experience.
Beauty can truly change a persons whole life, it has the ability to touch ones soul and be able to

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change them. If architecture can do this it can have a substantial impact on human development.
Another phenomena of the human soul is how a simple change in environment can affect the
whole mind set of an individual, this can be a powerful form of comfort. Also a persons
cognitive association with space, can change the way they feel in a certain area. If you had a
traumatic incident, or a happy moment, any area similar to that could trigger brain patterns back
to that space you remember leaving you with returning feeling from that space (Samadi).
Now back to those of you who may think why do these things really matter, can this
really have that big of an impact, architecture has never influenced my life before. This is true,
we often pass by without noticing buildings and the amazing things about them. This is because
of the way the human brain remembers and stores information, because we pass by them every
day the brain is used to seeing them. Just like brushing your teeth it no longer needs to think
about the act of doing it since its been done so many times that it doesnt spend any energy
noticing or thinking about it. Once again its just a thing that is to your brain now. And unless
otherwise told it will notice it as background without storing any details about it. Going back to
that walk around the neighbourhood with your dog, if you passed by a house at the end of the
street everyday its certain that you could describe something about it but it would surprise you
how little in detail you could actually describe it because your brain has just stored the
information at this point. If we were able to open up more of what is around us we might
appreciate it more. By being able to tap into effecting a persons day to day mood through small
ques that trigger an emotion there can be lots of good done to a community. It is very important

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to the impact of our lives and community and does matter. It may take a bit of a shift in mind set
but until its tried, it will not be know what could come of it.
There is a variety of things that I think this type of shift in mind set for building could
accomplish. We can change the way that buildings and outside spaces are design in order to
allow for more social interaction. We can use buildings to grow and learn by using the space to
dispay art, brain games, and information. Using the space to make earth friendly choices and also
save money by placing solar panels and community gardens around all buildings. We can build
rotating floors or walking homes that allow for convenient changes in scenery. Is it even possible
to build more earth friendly material for when we tear down buildings, so that the material would
be biodegradable. Or we would be able to reuse the material for other product or buildings. Are
these things worth the possible financial burden and massive mind shift that could go along with
it. I would say that a collectively happy and overall productive society that makes most use of the
provided space would make this shift worth it.
Conclusion
In conclusion it seems very obvious that there is a correlation with buildings and peoples
surroundings and the effect it has on their mood. There are a few main ways that these effects are
proven and should be taken more advantage of. One, through space being used to alter how we
live and what we do, this allows for human interaction and moods to be altered. Second, the
values you portray should make you feel good, your style represents value and all building have

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a style that should reflect a good feeling to people. Third, by using comfort in mind, body, and
soul, to make surroundings feel good.
People are influenced by their physical environment. Lights, sounds, colors, nature,
plants, and animals all play a big role in human mood. Mood can change dramatically if there is
a change in someones environment. It is imperative to health and wellness that individuals are
in environmental surroundings they perceive as not only comfortable but comforting to assist
them in this maintenance of health and wellness. Architecture can impact or affect human
behavior in positive and negative ways, and impact or affect the health and well-being of
humans, as well as human performance; which has an effect on human behavior. In particular, it
is varying architectural designs that impact or affect human behavior.
Humans spend the majority of their lives in built environments and less of their lives in
natural environments; therefore, it is inevitable that architecture regardless of whether it is
residential or commercial architectural designs will indeed impact or affect human behavior in
positive and negative ways. The direct and indirect consequences of architectural designs can
either be functionally appropriate and aesthetically pleasing to humans; therefore, fostering
positive behavior or functionally inappropriate by imposing restrictions on behavior.All of these
things can enable a shift in our everyday life and can maybe even impact an entire life. Dont
underestimate the power of design, because it affects you and those around you. Appreciate and
invest in it.

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Works Cited
Gelernter, Mark. Beauty and meaning. University of Colorado. Denver campus, Denver,
Colorado. 1 September 2015. Lecture.
Pye, David. The nature of aesthetics and design. Bethel. Cambium Press. 1999. Print.
Ruskin, John. 7 lamps of architecture. London. Smith, Elder, and co. 1849.Print.
Samadi, Javad. Utilizing the central courtyard of traditional architecture in modern
architecture.
Dr. William J. Lammers. Psychology and counseling. Fundamentals of behavioral research
textbook. University of Central Arkansas. 2015. Webpage.
http://uca.edu/psychology/fundamentals-of-behavioral-research-

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Andy J. Nordhus
Instructor Andrea Modica
English 2030
10 December 2015
Four senses project revision:
For my four senses project I really focused on a way capture the attention of a vast
audience. I did this through the use of a mock marketing campaign to encourage society to
understand the effects and changes that architecture can have on their daily health and wellbeing,
similar to a PSA. I made coffee sleeves to be distributed to large coffee retailers. This will ensure
that the message will get to a larger audience beyond academia. By choosing a coffee sleeve I
will reach a large audience because 54% of Americans over the age of 18 are drinking coffee
every day, many of them getting that coffee at a major retailer. Coffee portrays a warm, inviting,
and comforting feeling to a person which has the ability to also make that person more
susceptible to new ideas (Glassner 17). It also happens to portray the same things that the
massage is trying to talk to people about in regards to architecture. Coffee also includes all of the
scenes required for the project; smell of the coffee, taste of the coffee, sight of the design printed
onto the sleeve, and the touch of the hot coffee and the sleeve. The original project includes these
screen shots of the 4 different designs that I printed onto the coffee sleeves. I turned the project
into the teacher in class as 4 cups filled with coffee beans and the sleeves around the cups. As a
revision I have altered the designs to include a website next to the faux logo I created. This

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website will allow people to further interact and learn about the message that they got a glimpse
of on the sleeve. The sleeves are intended to capture the attention of the person and the website
would allow them to further research their curiosity. http://buildyourexperience.weebly.com/#/

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Works Cited
Glassner, Barry. The culture of fear. New York: Basic books, 1999. Print.

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Andy J. Nordhus
Instructor Andrea Modica
English 2030
10 December 2015
Self-reflective essay:
I very much enjoyed taking the composition 2 course at the University of Colorado
Denver. Being a Architecture major I took English 2030 for a core requirement but have found it
to be very useful and am glad that I took it in my first semester. I have already wrote several
papers in which I have used tips and techniques learned in this class. Also communicating and
writing will be vital to my success in a career in architecture, so it was an important class to take.
More than just commas, periods, and basic grammar; this class produced knowledge on
proper research techniques and being able to communicate those thoughts into essay form. I
enjoyed the structure of the class while also feeling challenged by the content. By choosing a
topic to research the entire semester I felt it was a great way to practice writing while preparing
for the big project. I also enjoyed the projects that forced me to think outside of the box and gave
me the freedom to express my thoughts in non essay form while still helping and preparing me to
write my final essay.
While still being able to improve on better structure, small grammatical errors, and
reinforcing my thoughts with evidence, I feel that I have improved far beyond the skills that I
had upon entering the class. I will take away as a final note that I will greatly benefit from taking

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plenty of time to proofread and make sure that my papers are the way that I was taught and know
that I can write them.