Origins of Architectural Pleasure

Do survival instincts have anything to do with our architectural choices—our liking for a certain room, a special stairway, a plaza in a particular city? In this engaging study Grant Hildebrand discusses ways in which architectural forms emulate some archetypal settings that humans have found appealing—and useful to survival—from ancient times to the present.

Speculating that nature has "designed" us to prefer certain conditions and experiences, Hildebrand is interested in how the characteri...