Graduations and weddings are common during May and June in North America, making this a good time to talk about spaces for celebrations. The barrel-vaulted main function room at Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle, the Glasshouse, is a space where happy gatherings seem particularly likely to occur.
The space is filled with natural light—panels of transparent glass make up most of its walls. Natural light boosts our mood, along with generally enhancing our cognitive performance. The use of clear glass causes the Glasshouse to seem spacious, which can be handy if more cousins than RSVP’ed decide to attend.
The strong curved lines in the Glasshouse increase the likelihood that people will feel it’s comfortable and beautiful—and a space for celebrations should be comfortable and beautiful.
The unusualness of the space and its high ceiling may encourage creative thinking, something that can be handy while explaining to grandma why you missed her latest birthday bash. That sculpture, and the space in general, are likely to leave you awed, which has a flock of desirable emotional and social repercussions, as described here.
The Glasshouse’s design makes happy memories more likely.