In front of a thick cloud formed by seawater evaporating and coming in contact with lava from the erupting Hawaiian volcano Kilauea, a pair of tourists smile and pose for a selfie. This is the picture on the cover of Our Happy Life, the catalog of a CCA exhibition. The curator and editor Francesco Garutti conceived it as a “visual narrative with critical readings by other authors,” and in it he dissects the architectural elements and implications of a whole new sector: the happiness industry. But how and when did it originate? And why is it relevant to our field?

The 2008 crisis exposed social demands for change in the way things are done. In this context Nicolas Sarkozy’s government tasked Joseph Stiglitz to prepare a revolutionary report, for which the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Economics did not focus on data like GDP or incomes, but people’s well-being and subjective perceptions.

The importance of measuring well-being has since grown exponentially. The proliferation and implantation of well-being indicators has given rise to what Garutti calls an “agenda of happiness.” A political agenda analyzed in a solid reflection on the links between space, feelings, and the ‘sentimental capitalism’ market. He also holds that this current is already influencing city planning, interior design, and our relationship with the landscape. Will the authors of these happiness indicators be the designers of our future cities? What, then, will the role of architects be? Might the profession be in for yet another missed opportunity?