Do we under-estimate the value of beauty?

Late last year, I travelled to the west coast of the US on a study tour with a client group, looking to see if there was something we could learn from the States’ in terms of experiencing progressive workplaces that are designed to enable and support strong cultural platforms. We observed for ourselves something that is already broadly recognized in our local design community – that workplace design in Australia is about as progressive as it gets. What came out of the trip however was an awakening curiosity about a much deeper philosophical question.

Everyone has heard about Google’s workplaces – whether it’s their penchant for slippery-dips or ski-gondola meeting rooms, or the ubiquitous offering of food and refreshments that Silicon Valley based organisations offer their staff. We saw all of that, and we realized that behind the curtain (and indeed in front of it), most of these organisations, (both the giants and the startups), have such ugly working environments that they make Dilbert’s cubicle look good.

The space that brought on somewhat of an epiphany for us was NeueHouse on Sunset Boulevarde in Los Angeles (there is another equally lovely one in New York). NeueHouse is a membership-by-referral co-working space full of creatively minded people, in a wonderful 1938 International Modernist style building that in a previous life was a sound stage used by CBS to film ‘I Love Lucy’ amongst other things.

When we entered NeueHouse, we reacted in a visceral sense – the authenticity and beauty of the building and the space inside was almost tangible. This was in stark contrast to other workspaces we had seen, to which our reaction was to just cordially look around and nod politely at the horrific walled cubicles, grey nylon carpet and Aeron chairs. So what was it that made all of us on the trip (not just the designers) react in this way and universally describe the space as ‘beautiful’ over all other spaces we experienced? I found myself wondering why it had such a strong impact on us, why we used the word ‘beautiful’, and ultimately, what could we learn from those answers that could take workplace design to the next level?

I was already interested in the subject of beauty as HASSELL hold the pursuit of beauty as being one of four key drivers in our own creative design process. I was curious about this inclusion, as beauty is a thing that is often perceived as being not only too subjective to pursue in a hard edge commercial environment, and that it’s not part of a developer’s value proposition, that it’s in the eye of the beholder, that it’s defined as being simply a category of style or theme or certain type of materiality, but also one that is a risky subject, hard to achieve and easy to be criticized for. But the kind of beauty that NeueHouse radiated is something I think we absolutely need to be talking about more when it comes to the built environment, architecture and interior design.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of what this whole experience has opened up for me, I decided to delve into the history and philosophy of aesthetics and beauty and this is what I learned.

Stretching out in an uninterrupted line of endeavor, from our ancient ancestors hundreds of generations ago, to this present day, we have continuously created and surrounded ourselves with an abundance of aesthetic expression, be it in the realms of decoration, art, architecture, jewelry, fashion, sculpture, literature, dance and music to name a few categories. From cave paintings of Bison at Lascaux in France and the indigenous rock art hand paintings in the Kakadu, to the sculptures of the ancient Greeks, Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling, Shakespeare’s sonnets, Mozart’s Requiem, Gaudi’s Sagrada Famiglia, Mies’ Pavillion and Eames’ lounge chair, the evidence of this desire to surround ourselves with beauty in all its forms is literally, everywhere.

Sure, some people value some forms of aesthetic expression more highly than others. There is a train of thought that there might be some people who are actually completely immune to beauty, finding it to be of no value whatsoever. I’m not sure about that – I think we are just measuring their definition of beauty the wrong way. It’s possible they find beauty in the complex patterns of a team on the ice hockey rink or the sound of kookaburras laughing at dusk.

I found myself wondering whether (as I would like to believe), if every single person has the capacity to be positively impacted by beauty in some form, is there some evolutionary or psychological benefit that as a species we gain from it? And what even is beauty? Can it be defined?

In my view I do think there are some criteria or principles that underpin the design of spaces that we interpret to be beautiful, that used in combination make it possible to plan for and execute a place of beauty. As Le Corbusier said, ““Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light.”

The principles that I think underpin beauty in the built environment are: the use of light to provide expression of shape, form, vista, outlook, colour, movement and time. The tensions of scale, volume, geometry, proportion, alignment, symmetry and rhythm in finding pleasing forms. The mastery of choreography of movement, kinesthetics, composition, balance, speed, pattern, flow and fluidity to pass through space. Embracing holistic design to create contextual, consistent, aligned, interconnected and engaging multi-sensory experiences. Being authentic in the use and selection of materials and elements, being honest, displaying shared values and building on the notion of place. And finally, creating connection via story-telling, symbols, rituals, triggering memories, providing comfort, warmth and meaning.

But many designers would testify to following these or similar principles and I daresay many have fallen short on having people swoon when passing through their work. So I conducted a little experiment, and I asked all the people I could, what is your favorite beautiful (manmade) place, why, and how does it make you feel? I discovered almost immediately that the places we feel are the most beautiful, are places that we have actually been to ourselves and experienced (you can’t genuinely experience beauty on Instagram), where we have an emotional connection, where we felt an emotion strong enough to later remember how we felt in it and how it impacted us. 

It’s not about light on its own, nor geometry or shape or colour or furniture. It’s not about preferences for style (Art Deco vs Mid Century Modern). It’s not about cost or scale or materials or details (while many of those things handled the wrong way can lead to distinctly un-beautiful spaces….). I believe that beautiful spaces are beautiful because they enable experiences, which are shaped by emotions, connections, memories, feelings. These experiences make us feel alive. These emotions and feelings can inspire us to be our better selves. These connections we feel with a space can make us want to keep trying, striving, and reaching for more. These memories we create can comfort us and nourish our souls. 

Do the magnificent gothic cathedrals of Europe draw their awe-inducing beauty from the soaring geometry of a flying buttress? The interplay of light through the stained glass windows? The particular type of stone used? No, even though those examples are magnificent on their own. Cathedrals were conceived via the lens of experience, an experience that was designed in a holistic, complete way to facilitate the honoring of God, demonstrate spiritual power and glory, and to reach (literally and physically) towards the pathway to heaven. In other words, they were designed to inspire us emotionally and spiritually to be the best person that we can be – they were not ever designed to be beautiful.

This common drive for beauty (as defined by our desire for creative expression) has evolved in parallel with us and is universal across both time and geography. This seems to suggest that its source is from something innate within us, that it is embedded in our psychology and our genes. It is as innate to create (or desire to have) beauty all around us as it is for us to want to communicate with each other and use language. It is in our nature, embedded in our cultures and as Aristotle believed, a necessity of life.

I believe that this is the core purpose of beauty – to inspire us - and why, as people who have evolved over millennia in parallel with beauty, we not only cannot be immune to it, but that we must gain a benefit from surrounding ourselves with it.

It could be that our preference for beautiful landscapes (the most commonly preferred form of image) might give us survival advantages such as protection and shelter, outlook, plenitude and opportunity. It could be that a preference for creative expression (beauty) that represents ideas and evokes emotion has enhanced our ability to communicate with others. And it could be that the shared experience of beauty allow communities to remember their ancestors, tell their stories and strengthen social bonds. These are but some of the benefits that I believe beauty brings us.

Architects don’t often talk about beauty, I think because it’s hard to achieve and leaves us incredibly exposed to criticism and ridicule if we even say we have aspired to achieve it, and it’s much safer to critique something as ugly or worse, average, than it is to say something is beautiful. It’s also incredibly hard to convince and prove to a client (some more than others) that beauty is a concept worth aspiring to, which makes it a somewhat difficult selling point. But we need to start talking about that, and that begins with looking at beauty in a different light.  

What if we could prove that a beautiful school positively influenced learning outcomes for children and reduced stress on teachers? What if we could prove that beautiful spaces in hospitals helped patients heal faster (we already know that embracing biophilia in hospitals improves healing outcomes). What if we could design a train station so beautiful that it demonstrably improved people’s mood during their commute? And closer to my own heart, what if we could prove that a beautiful workplace could improve people’s wellbeing, productivity, lower stress levels, increase creativity and by extension, the financial performance of an organization? Would we embrace beauty as a driver of success then?

In certain fields, it has been embraced already. In 2007 Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone. It has changed the world, and not just because of the smart phone technology. Whether or not you love Apple products, or their design philosophy, it is clear that Jobs passionately believed in beauty’s ability to improve lives and succeeded in creating the world’s most successful business based firmly on that belief. This philosophy has extended past the hard plastic shells that technology historically resided in, and now is synonymous with the iconic design that can be experienced at each Apple store around the world and the new Apple Campus in Silicon Valley (broken noses notwithstanding…)

Apple CEO Tim Cook apparently said that when Jobs handed him the reins, he told him, "Don't try to do what I would have done. Just do what's right." I like to imagine Jobs’ inner monologue saying "it’s not hard…just do what's beautiful," and that perhaps he saw himself walking in the philosophical footsteps of Plato, Ruskin and William Morris in their beliefs that truth, goodness, and beauty are just different aspects of the same thing, the stuff of reality that gives structure and meaning to the universe and to our lives.

“The real achievement of Apple goes to the very heart of aesthetics and the loftiest ideals of design. In the 19th century, radical critics of industry such as John Ruskin and William Morris denounced the grim, turgid, pretentious objects that cluttered Victorian homes. Good design, they argued, was a moral duty, and a world in which ugliness ruled must be profoundly wrong in its social order. Apple conveys this message in a relaxed, west coast way. In our age, the power of the internet might seem to lead away from the physical, real, human world, into a dystopia of lost souls staring into screens. The real brilliance of Apple is to make digital culture human, and to keep it in the swim of life.”

Johnathan Jones, The Guardian, 07 October 2011

I propose that as a design based industry, we consistently undervalue beauty. Beauty really matters, and when you visit a place like NeueHouse you will know what I mean. Beautiful places can inspire us to do better, try harder, to keep going. They can give us energy and enrich the soul. They help us tell stories and connect us to others, and as social creatures, this is the most essential and human of all our traits. The true value of beauty is not what it photographs like; it’s how it nourishes you as a person. 

Having concentrated for the better part of a decade on sheer productivity, sustainability and more recently, wellbeing; spaces like NeueHouse show us that embracing beauty as non-negotiable design principal for workplaces (and indeed, all places) is the next frontier in creating happier, healthier and successful people. And we all know happy and relaxed people are more productive, so beauty will aid the bottom line.

Stop under-estimating it, make it a priority, and watch people flourish.