Characterful buildings can give us a sense of pride and belonging

Professor Rebecca Madgin of the University of Glasgow is fascinated by how buildings make us feel. In particular, the has been studying how the way buildings look creates a special sense of belonging and attachment.

“My work shows that people form emotional attachments to the wider ‘personalities’ of places,” she says. “This includes the look of place, particularly through its architectural style and materiality; the feel of place, which is the way we respond emotionally; and the use of place, which is wrapped up in our memories and stories.”

Madgin’s work chimes with one of Humanise’s main demands: that the people who commission and design buildings consider how they make people feel. The emotion they evoke in passers-by should be just as important a part of the design as anything more functional. Emotion is a function of design.