Be Happy
A new concept for sustainable and happy living.
Be Happy is a revolutionary housing concept designed to facilitate happiness and wellbeing, and help residents reduce personal ecological impact.
- Clients: Synchroon, DELVA Landscape Architects
- Date: February 2016
Growing bodies of research highlight the need for us to build living environments that foster happiness and wellbeing. But how can we create housing that facilitates happiness? Metabolic worked with Synchroon and Delva Landscape Architects on the development of an inspiring and pragmatic concept for circular living that would fuel socially happy and sustainable neighbourhoods.
To underscore the potential impact of Be Happy as a concept, we carried out rigorous background research on current sustainability issues, policy trends, social trends and design trends focused on sustainable living and mental well-being. We then created a set of process guidelines for managing the design and development of a unique, communal and circular method of living. Each Be Happy development needed to achieve a minimum level of performance on technical sustainability and circularity objectives, like renewable energy generation on-site, water use efficiency, and design for disassembly, while prioritizing the wellbeing of its residents.
The refined Be Happy concept was brought to life with text and graphical illustrations for the development of a book aimed at municipalities, builders, designers, investors and the general public.
