1st Edition

Joyful Spaces Designing Together to Create Meaningful Architecture

By Nimi Attanayake, Tim O'Callaghan Copyright 2026
208 Pages
by RIBA Publishing

To be joyful is to experience, express or cause great pleasure and happiness. But how can we convey this in built form? What makes a joyful space, and how do you design one? To be joyful, spaces have to resonate with the people who use them. Joyful Spaces dives into the collaborative design process, exploring how to connect meaningfully with clients and communities - through briefing games... Read more

Preface

Introduction

A brief history of designing together

Case studies: i. Living Together ii. Playing together iii. Learning Together iv. Coming together Toolkit

Conclusion

Biography

Nimi Attanayake is director and co founder of nimtim architects. Nimi has worked for some of London’s most highly regarded practices including Penoyre & Prasad and Hawkins/ Brown. Nimi is a member of the Design South East Panel. This multidisciplinary panel of leading construction professionals provides a clear, constructive and consistent voice on design quality in the built environment for Local Authorities across SE England.

Tim O'Callaghan is director and co-founder of nimtim architects. Tim has worked at OMA in Rotterdam and David Chipperfield architects in London. Tim is passionate about collaborative design and developed nimtim’s process-driven design approach that embeds co-creation with clients and building users in every project the practice undertakes.