The Ministry of Happiness

RMIT University Master of Architecture Graduate Project 2017

Supervisor: Michael Spooner

The Parliament of Victoria is located on the fringe of the Melbourne CBD: the epicentre for an epidemic of discontent.  Surveys have concluded that working, living, commuting to, or studying in the CBD have are the states biggest contributors to making people unhappy.

The country of Bhutan, by contrast, has a government ministry that quantifies the nation’s Gross National Happiness. What then is the Victorian Government’s responsibility in giving weight to this overlooked measure of  well-being?

This proposal aims to enhance our state government with a complex for a Ministry of Happiness.

The southern wing of Parliament House is completed with a gallery for artefacts gifted to the state. On the perimeter, bars dispense inebriating substances and monetise the venture. A Happiness Convention Centre equips the government with a space to hold state functions or even rise to the challenge of mass speed dating. The Births, Deaths and Marriages Chambers entangle our most momentous life events into one profound occasion.

The core of this project is the belief that architecture, through subtle or overt interventions has the ability to contend with and improve our happiness.