https://medium.com/what-i-learned-building/a844ec3343da
…Starbucks designed round tables in their stores. They werestrategically created "in an effort to protect self-esteem for thosecoffee drinkers flying solo". They were not round because thearchitect felt it looked better that way, they were not round becausethey were cheaper, they were round because as the article concludes"there are no empty seats at a round table" …
I love this sort of insight into how physical design can affect us on an emotional level.