Cities Need to Realize the Value of Emotional Design

When did you last walk down the street with a new building in sight? Is anything at all.

Modern buildings are boring and characterless. These structures don't make us feel anything. They can have a negative effect on our mental health. In 1984 Roger Ulrich conducted a study that proved a room with a view to nature accelerated the recovery of patients. Bad design can have a range of negative consequences, with studies showing that it can cause mental stress and lead to crime.

70% of the world's population will live in a city by the year 2050. Despite the modern world's technological advances, we have continued to create soulless spaces. While social isolation is growing and people are feeling overwhelmed and burnt out, the human touch has vanished from urban design.

I think change is on the way. You used to be able to think "less is more." When it comes to designing buildings and urban spaces, emotion is more important than ever.

The value of emotion will be woken up by the cities in the years to come. The idea that the aesthetic quality and the diversity of buildings have the power to lift our spirits, engage, and connect us will be embraced by architects and designers.

CEOs, retailers, developers, and architects are going to start thinking about how urban planning can entice, engage, and inspire. It will cease to be boring in a few years. Businesses that are forward- thinking will change how they commission buildings. In the past few years, examples have begun to appear, such as the old industrial site in Leeds, where Acme Studio infused personality and breathed new life into the site, and the health center in the city of Leo in Ouagadoukian.

This change will be accelerated by the Climate Emergency. The construction sector is responsible for 38 percent of the planet's CO 2 emissions. The US demolishes an area larger than Washington, DC every year. Commercial buildings in Britain are ordered to be demolished before they turn 40. We will see an increase in outrage at the wastefulness of this approach.

Concerns about the health of the planet will play a part. The heat waves of this year have led to calls for cleaner streets. The movement to plant more trees in cities will get stronger. We will have a tree for every person in every city around the world because green infrastructure is critical national infrastructure.

We are going to join the dots between protecting the planet and building places people love. Design of streets and buildings full of detail, invention, and three-dimensionality will be dependent on passion for the places surrounding us. The new and radical human spaces will serve each resident and visitor for many years to come, instead of joining the graveyard of drab structures that none of us cared for.