--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let's put it this way: One can be happy…" description: "\"Let's put it this way: One can be happy or unhappy in a building. But some buildings make us more depressed than others.\" — Rem Koolhaas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/rem-koolhaas-5371_building_let-s-put-it-this-way-one-can-be-happy-o_163659.png" --- # Let's put it this way: One can be happy or unhappy in a… ![“Let's put it this way: One can be happy or unhappy in a building. But some buildings make us more depressed than others.” quote by Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/rem-koolhaas-5371_building_let-s-put-it-this-way-one-can-be-happy-o_163659.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/rem-koolhaas-5371_building_let-s-put-it-this-way-one-can-be-happy-o_163659.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/rem-koolhaas-5371_building_let-s-put-it-this-way-one-can-be-happy-o_163659.png) > “Let's put it this way: One can be happy or unhappy in a building. But some buildings make us more depressed than others.” [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Buildings can influence emotional states; some environments inherently cause more sadness. **In simple terms:** Physical spaces affect our mood. Key Takeaway Choose environments that uplift you. Themes architecture psychology environment well‑being Mood thoughtful analytical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - office design - urban planning - home interiors - public spaces Key Concepts spatial design emotional impact Questions to Reflect On - What design elements foster happiness? - How do personal memories shape spatial feelings? A Different Perspective Not all individuals react the same to a given building. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buildings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buildings/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) ## Related quotes > [We make our buildings, and then our buildings make and shape us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/we-make-our-buildings-and-then-our-buildings-make-and-shape-us/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Good buildings make and are made by their settings, and they are appropriately different in different locations. Climate, culture, topography and materials have helped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaquelin-t-robertson/good-buildings-make-and-are-made-by-their-settings-and-they-are/) [Jaquelin T. Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaquelin-t-robertson/) > [We make our buildings and afterwards they make us. They regulate the course of our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/we-make-our-buildings-and-afterwards-they-make-us-they-regulate-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [ Architects are mostly self-centered and their buildings express their ego. \[They are\] not social buildings to make it more comfortable for people - to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/architects-are-mostly-self-centered-and-their-buildings-express-their/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [Better to be alone and happy than being with someone and be unhappy all your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucky-dube/better-to-be-alone-and-happy-than-being-with-someone-and-be-unhappy/) [Lucky Dube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucky-dube/) > [I really didn't consider myself happy or unhappy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-really-didn-t-consider-myself-happy-or-unhappy/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [It isn't what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/it-isn-t-what-you-have-or-who-you-are-or-where-you-are-or-what-you/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [“Felix just sat there, not smirking exactly - or not so as you could call him on it - but clearly happy with how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-monette/felix-just-sat-there-not-smirking-exactly-or-not-so-as-you-could-call/) [Sarah Monette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-monette/) > [It is better to be happy alone, than unhappy with someone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-better-to-be-happy-alone-than-unhappy-with-someone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Happiness is a state of mind. You can be happy or you can be unhappy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/happiness-is-a-state-of-mind-you-can-be-happy-or-you-can-be-unhappy/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [“happy to see me and unhappy to see me at the same time”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/happy-to-see-me-and-unhappy-to-see-me-at-the-same-time/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Can you be happy when you are unhappy?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-fosse/can-you-be-happy-when-you-are-unhappy/) Jon Fosse > [It's a weird city because the uglier the weather, the more beautiful the city. And the uglier the buildings, the more coherent the city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/it-s-a-weird-city-because-the-uglier-the-weather-the-more-beautiful/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [I don't measure success by how many buildings have my name on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/i-don-t-measure-success-by-how-many-buildings-have-my-name-on-it/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I grew up in a big sky country. Then I lived in Manhattan, where you can only see the sky between buildings, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-grew-up-in-a-big-sky-country-then-i-lived-in-manhattan-where-you/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) ## More by Rem Koolhaas > [ That has been another interesting discovery: that basically a city \[Lagos\] could recover from a really deep, deep, deep pit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/that-has-been-another-interesting-discovery-that-basically-a-city/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Manhattan has generated a shameless architecture that has been loved in direct proportion to its defiant lack of self-hatred, has been respected exactly to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/manhattan-has-generated-a-shameless-architecture-that-has-been-loved/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [In a script, you have to link various episodes together, you have to generate suspense and you have to assemble things - through editing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/in-a-script-you-have-to-link-various-episodes-together-you-have-to/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [ The beauty of my profession \[architecture\] lies in its randomness and surprise. And don't think I can choose my projects. I have to build… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-beauty-of-my-profession-architecture-lies-in-its-randomness-and/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Our office acts like a kind of educational establishment and we are very careful who we educate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/our-office-acts-like-a-kind-of-educational-establishment-and-we-are/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [We discovered a person in Lagos who had a fish stall, and within a single square metre she carried two children all the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/we-discovered-a-person-in-lagos-who-had-a-fish-stall-and-within-a/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [ Nigeria \[in 1990\] was all rumour, an unbelievable amount of rumour - largely about crime and almost mythical manifestations of evil. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/nigeria-in-1990-was-all-rumour-an-unbelievable-amount-of-rumour/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Nigeria was a blank on the map - there weren't even any maps. The US State Department, everyone said don't go there. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/nigeria-was-a-blank-on-the-map-there-weren-t-even-any-maps-the-us/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [The City is an addictive machine from which there is no escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-city-is-an-addictive-machine-from-which-there-is-no-escape/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [The work in S, M, L, XL was almost suicidal. It required so much effort that our office almost went bankrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-work-in-s-m-l-xl-was-almost-suicidal-it-required-so-much-effort/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Manhattan has no choice but the skyward extrusion of the Grid itself; only the Skyscraper offers business the wide-open spaces of a man-made Wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/manhattan-has-no-choice-but-the-skyward-extrusion-of-the-grid-itself/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [The stronger the identity, the more it imprisons, the more it resists expansion, interpretation, renewal, contradiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-stronger-the-identity-the-more-it-imprisons-the-more-it-resists/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Why I talked about political correctness: the colonial is now such a major taboo that any achievement of the colonial period, or any generosity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/why-i-talked-about-political-correctness-the-colonial-is-now-such-a/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [The thing is that I have a really intense, almost compulsive need to record. But it doesn't end there, because what I record is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-thing-is-that-i-have-a-really-intense-almost-compulsive-need-to/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Manhattanism is the one urbanistic ideology that has fed, from its conception, on the splendors and miseries of the metropolitan condition—hyper-density—without once losing faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/manhattanism-is-the-one-urbanistic-ideology-that-has-fed-from-its/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) [Explore all 101 Rem Koolhaas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) ## More Building quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/absolutely-you-can-improve-and-become-better-at-toughness-it-s-a/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'd like to play Ian Paisley, actually. I'd need building up, though he's very frail now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-d-like-to-play-ian-paisley-actually-i-d-need-building-up-though-he/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I'm 30. I'm about to hit my prime now. I need to act and keep building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillian-whyte/i-m-30-i-m-about-to-hit-my-prime-now-i-need-to-act-and-keep-building/) [Dillian Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillian-whyte/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [Practically every time I speak up at a school conference, a political event, or my apartment building association's annual meeting, I'm met with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/practically-every-time-i-speak-up-at-a-school-conference-a-political/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) Browse all 5,974 Building quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let's put it this way: One can be happy or unhappy in a building. 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