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The Spaces That Make Us

Why Design Is Broken and How We Can Create a Happier, Healthier World

Danish Kurani

$44.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English
Harper Celebrate
28 April 2026
Create a better life by creating better design. Did you know that. . .

 

. . . the arrangement of your living room could improve your relationship with your partner

. . . the layout of your child’s classroom affects their grades and test scores

. . . the design of your hospital room influences how quickly you recover

 

We live in a symbiotic relationship with the spaces around us—first we make our spaces, and then our spaces make us. But we’re living in a suboptimal world, one that we designed. The good news: We can redesign it. For twenty years, architect and designer Danish Kurani has been transforming spaces to improve people’s health and happiness through the design of schools, homes, offices, and community centers across four continents.

 

The Spaces That Make Us offers you:

A clear, easy-to-follow philosophy you can apply to any space—your home, office, school, or neighborhood. Surprising research revealing how design impacts your physical health, emotional well-being, and the quality of your relationships. A journey through the past 2 million years, arriving at how current design practices make life worse. An inspiring vision for creating future designs and a compelling call to rethink design’s fundamentals Practical strategies for using smarter design to improve your life, at any budget level.

 

Kurani unveils a lifechanging design philosophy, Baaham (pronounced BAH-hum), a word from Urdu meaning “in tandem”—describing two interconnected things working in harmony. Baaham draws from psychology, sociology, anthropology, and evolutionary biology. Whether you’re designing for yourself or others, at any scale from a bedroom to a city block, Baaham is a roadmap for improving health, building deeper relationships, and finding greater fulfillment. It’s not just a philosophy—it’s a way of life.

 

Featuring seven core principles, Baaham helps everyone—from financially strapped college students to a manager looking to improve their team’s performance—create environments that are functional, beautiful, and life-changing. This book doesn’t tell you what to design. It teaches you how to design, so that you can build the life you want. Engaging illustrations are included throughout every chapter, to illuminate each principle and bring Baaham to life.

 

The Spaces That Make Us will change how you see the world—opening your eyes to what isn’t working, and helping you remake your spaces for a happier, healthier life.

 
By:  
Imprint:   Harper Celebrate
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 209mm,  Width: 160mm,  Spine: 25mm
Weight:   652g
ISBN:   9781400249121
ISBN 10:   1400249120
Pages:   272
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming

Danish Kurani sees what most of us miss: our buildings are failing to nourish people. After witnessing how poorly designed environments were holding back people across the globe—from high-rises in Manhattan to villages in India—he’s made it his mission to remake architecture for human flourishing. His groundbreaking designs for New York City, Google, and communities on four continents prove that thoughtful architecture can unlock human potential. Named one of the world's Most Innovative Architects by Fast Company, Kurani has pioneered a human-centered approach that's transforming lives worldwide. His designs span from schools in underserved communities to floating homes in flood-prone areas, always focusing on one question: how can architecture solve society's most important challenges? A Harvard-trained architect and urban designer, Kurani's ideas have been shared at leading institutions including Stanford, MIT, and Columbia, and featured in The Wall Street Journal, TIME, and the World Economic Forum. Governments globally recognize him as a leading voice in social impact architecture – not only because he builds beautiful buildings, but because he builds spaces that work for real people.

Reviews for The Spaces That Make Us: Why Design Is Broken and How We Can Create a Happier, Healthier World

'The Spaces That Make Us' is a beautiful and powerful reminder that our health, happiness, and even identities are the product of hidden forces all around us. Danish Kurani shows how to design spaces that transform us into the people we want to be. You'll never see the physical world the same way again. * Jonah Berger, New York Times Bestselling Author of ""Contagious and The Catalyst"" * 'The Spaces That Make Us' is an exceptional work that reimagines how smart, ethical, thoughtful design can radically change our lives. I want to live in that world. * Rachel Sonis, Editor, TIME * A heartfelt, deeply researched book. 'The Spaces That Make Us' shows that how we choose to design our surroundings shapes who we become. We can all become the architects of our own lives, should we choose to dream courageously. * Sheena Iyengar, Columbia Business School Professor and Bestselling Author of ""The Art of Choosing"" * An engaging read, and a powerful argument that the best design grows out of generous attention to human need and deep regard for place. * Sam Lubell, Contributor, New York Times * An uncommonly accessible book about architecture that pulls the focus away from buildings to show how design shapes people's experience of the world. It's a passionate call to use that power for good. * Nate Berg, Journalist, Fast Company * Danish Kurani is among the industry's most exciting, innovative figures. Kurani's ideas changed how I see the world and interact with my surroundings. I'm sure he will do the same for anyone who reads his book. Danish is equal parts visionary, problem-solver, and empath. He challenges the architecture industry to do better, and provides eye-opening solutions that inspire anyone who glimpses his designs. Where other architects follow trends, Danish disrupts--and then inspires design lovers of all stripes to follow his lead. His curiosity and passion are infectious, in just a few minutes, he can turn anyone into a design aficionado. His insights about everyday designs get people to sit up in their chairs--and to pay attention. Danish shows us that design is everywhere, and everything is designed. * Paul Makovsky, Editor-in-Chief, ARCHITECT magazine * Kurani has no illusions about the forces conspiring to make our world uglier, yet this is an undeniably hopeful book. With deep care and precision, he argues for a revolutionary reimagining of the places we call home. It's a delight to join him on the journey. * James Rodriguez, Senior Real Estate Reporter, Business Insider *


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