Curves in Architecture and Why They Make Us Happy

Waves gently reaching the coastline, vines stretching toward sunlight, softly undulating mountains, the fruits we enjoy, the warmth of a campfire, and the comforting embrace of a mother all share something in common: curves. For countless generations, people have naturally associated rounded forms with comfort, safety, and pleasure.

Businesses have recognized this instinctive attraction and used it to shape their products and identities. Apple, for example, established itself by offering an approachable and intuitive alternative to the more rigid appearance associated with Microsoft Windows. From the softened corners of MacBooks to the rounded shapes of iPhone app interfaces, Apple has consistently used curves to create products that feel natural and easy to interact with.

Straight, sharp forms are much less common in the natural world. Very few objects found in nature are perfectly linear. When our ancestors did encounter pointed or sharp shapes, they may often have represented danger, such as the teeth of a predator, the tip of a weapon, or hazardous terrain.

There is also a physical reason why rounded forms may feel more comfortable to us. Human bodies themselves are soft, curved, and relatively vulnerable. Sharp corners can represent potential danger, something children quickly learn when parents warn them away from table edges and give them soft stuffed toys or rounded balls instead.

Several scientific investigations have supported the idea that people tend to favor curved surroundings over environments dominated by sharp corners and rigid straight lines.

Research on Curves

In a 2013 study, researchers led by Oshin Vartanian at the University of Toronto showed participants photographs of interior environments with different types of contours.

The images presented rooms featuring either curved architectural elements or more rectilinear designs. Ceilings, walls, and furnishings were either rounded or straight-edged, while factors such as ceiling height and whether the rooms were open or enclosed were controlled.

Participants were placed inside an MRI scanner and asked to describe each image as either “beautiful” or “not beautiful.” During another part of the experiment, they viewed the same types of photographs and chose either “enter” or “exit.”

Combining the participants’ responses with MRI measurements allowed the researchers to examine both their conscious preferences and the neurological activity associated with those preferences.

The study found no significant evidence that curved rooms affected whether people chose to enter or leave. However, participants were more likely to describe curvilinear spaces as beautiful than spaces dominated by straight, rectilinear forms.

The researchers also found that when participants evaluated beauty, curved contours stimulated an area of the brain associated with reward and the emotional significance of objects. In other words, rounded environments appeared to generate an emotional reaction.

The participants therefore did more than simply prefer curved settings. Those environments also appeared to connect with their emotional responses in ways that rigid, straight spaces did not.

Vartanian and his colleagues began with the observation that people living in cities spend roughly 90 percent of their time indoors and that the physical characteristics of those surroundings can influence behavior and everyday life.

Their goal was to explore the relationship between architecture and psychology, with the influence of curved environments serving as their first variable. Their reasoning came from two directions. Architects have historically considered a building’s contours to be an important design element, while earlier research had already suggested that certain contours can influence emotions and that people often show a natural preference for curved shapes over straight ones.

Of course, there are exceptions. A room filled with snakes, for example, might technically contain plenty of curves, but most people would probably choose the “exit” option. Still, as a general tendency, people appear to find curved environments more appealing and are often inclined toward the rounded option when presented with a choice between curved and rigid forms.

Curves in Architecture

There is a well-known story involving Philip Johnson, one of the most influential figures in modern architecture, visiting the newly completed Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain in 1998. When he entered the museum’s atrium with architect Frank Gehry, Johnson reportedly became emotional and remarked that architecture was not about words but about tears.

He later described the museum as the greatest building of its era.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao appears almost to reject the conventional use of straight lines.

With its shimmering metallic surfaces and flowing, wave-like forms, the museum looks unlike most buildings in the world. Vanity Fair famously compared it to a gigantic arrangement of twisting silver fish, and its organic appearance reflects Gehry’s search for inspiration in nature.

Gehry explained that he wanted to find a way to create a more human quality in decoration without relying on conventional decorative traditions. Rather than returning to historical architectural styles, he looked much further back in time, imagining the forms of life that existed hundreds of millions of years before humans, particularly fish.

This search for something organic and human-centered ultimately led Gehry toward natural shapes and flowing curves. As the University of Toronto research suggests, such forms can be more likely to trigger an emotional response, perhaps helping explain why an experienced architect could become so moved by the building.

Apple Park and the Appeal of Circular Design

The Guggenheim Bilbao is far from the only contemporary building that makes extensive use of curves. Apple has incorporated rounded forms into its products and visual identity for years, and the company extended that design philosophy to Apple Park, its enormous circular headquarters that opened in 2017.

The building also reflects an interest in the natural environment. When Steve Jobs presented the headquarters proposal to the Cupertino City Council, he envisioned the site being dominated by landscaping, with roughly 80 percent of the area devoted to greenery. Apple later emphasized that the extensive planting was intended to reflect Cupertino’s landscape before and during its agricultural history.

Jobs also specifically highlighted the building’s rounded form. He described its large central courtyard and circular structure, emphasizing that the building curves continuously around its perimeter. He acknowledged that this approach was not the least expensive way to construct an office, noting that every glass panel in the main building would have a curved form. He believed the project had the potential to become one of the world’s finest office buildings and expected architecture students to visit it for inspiration.

Curves in Public Architecture

The stadiums constructed for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar provide another striking example of how curved forms are used in buildings designed for large gatherings.

These venues were created to accommodate thousands of spectators and encourage people to come together for major sporting celebrations. Despite containing rectangular playing fields, many of the stadiums feature rounded, flowing exteriors that make the structures appear more welcoming and dynamic.

The American architect John Lautner, an important figure in 20th-century architecture, once argued that architecture should enhance human life. If curved forms can contribute to feelings of comfort and happiness, then incorporating them into the buildings around us becomes a logical design choice, particularly because modern people spend such a large portion of their lives inside constructed environments.

For designers who want to introduce more rounded forms into architecture, flexible architectural panels can make curved construction considerably easier. Exploring different types of architectural curves can also provide inspiration for creating spaces that feel more natural, visually engaging, and connected to the forms found in the world around us.