CASTELLANO
Through all the ages all civilizations have stamped their religions on this concept. Greek, Egyptian, Italian Renaissance and European Gothic have all developed their own religion's formats.
We are now at the beginning of a new era which is challenging these concepts. Two theories are the challengers.
We have begun to understand the order of space, time. We also have the knowledge of the geometry of nature. The fibonacci logic of expansion, the golden section spiral in shells, sunflower seeds and the way branches of trees and plants position themselves around a central trunk to absorb maximum sunlight.
But now we are faced with a paradox: How to relate all of this to our new knowledge of 'Quantum physics'. Here at the sub- atomic level of all matter, is chaos, random outcomes and when something happens at this level, it is also thought that it is known immediately on the other side of the Universe.....Mind-blowing!!!
The dilemma facing scientists today is how to come up with a unifying theory between order and chaos.
That dilemma also faces those of us exploring a modern concept of 'Sacred Geometry'. How do we combine geometric organization with chaos?
During my early years (38 years ago) whilst practicing as an architect carrying out 100's of surveys. I became aware of the role proportions played in our lives. In all cases the old buildings complied with one or other of the classic proportions. The conclusion I reached was that this is indigenous in us.
You rarely see this in modern buildings, we are travelling too fast. We are forced to keep consuming to feed ever greedy overblown beaurocracies marching us ever quicker towards oblivion and further away from our natural physical and philospohical roots.
The advent of Quantum Physics is showing us how immense and complex is the Universe in which we live. Concepts way beyond anything our brains can comprehend or cope with.
I do not know the answers to these dilemmas but over the last 30 years I have explored some possibilities. What follows are some examples of these and indicate the path I am following. I could of course be completely wrong. All that I can do is explore and tap into the base feelings within and let them lead me wherever.
The ancients had time to slowly explore and develop knowledge. To
observe the sun and its light every minute. of the day, week, month & year, on
its passage across the sky. We now do none of this.
At present we rush rapidly towards nowhere.
The architectural constructions at Ses Aigos are sculptures of light and time, internally and externally. Encompassing all that is known of sacred geometry but with the added, present knowledge of quantum theory. These constructions took 10 years of thought before work began. That is a more realistic time scale before we infringe upon this beautiful planet.
The final aim of this project is to put all the hardwood trees back upon the surrounding hills which will mature long after we have all gone.
Sacred Geometry Projects
CAN PEP 1976 - 1978
The series of drawings shown here indicate the geometry of this first experimental house. The original ground floor plan, consisting of the main living area, was formed from a double square as the garage a golden section plus the land area the house stood on was also a golden section.
All the pans and elevations developed for the new building were constructed from these original proportions and the axonometric drawing indicates the design concepts for the entry of sunlight into the building at varying times during a day's span.
I aimed also to design a building which was in sympathy with man's natural, perhaps sub-conscious, feelings. I hoped in this way to build in an atmosphere which would encourage emotional and artistic development. I believe we have in us some inherent property, perhaps biologically derived, which determines our aesthetic judgments. Carl G. Jung considered that there are three mental layers of consciousness, one of which is the collective conscious - the inheritance of the possibilities of ideas - which represents the real foundation of the individual soul. Thus much of man's past has been spent in a quest to find the sources of aesthetic pleasure: in art, poetry, music, mathematics and architecture.
Geometry exists everywhere in nature, and its order underlies the structure of all things from molecules to galaxies, from architecture to music. Such disciplines are fundamentally linked with the idea of a basic law of proportion inherent in nature and the universe.
The most distinctive form we have found related to the architecture of the plant and the human figure has been the golden section; well known and outstanding examples of golden section logarithmic spirals are seen in shells and some flowers. This is a ratio which has been used in sophisticated artwork and architecture at least as far back as ancient Egypt.
Certain rectangles which are the starting point for related geometrical figures commonly form the basis for harmonizing patterns. When these are developed in two and three dimensions, they form buildings which are a harmonious ensemble such that nothing can be added to or subtracted from the whole. Music admirably demonstrates this balance of harmony, and thus some architecture can be seen as frozen music.
The following scheme was won from an international competition for a high class shopping complex in Indonesia's main city, Jakarta.It is based in pure geometry.
Another instance of sacred geometry is displayed in this energy recycling house for more northern latitudes. It is a continuation of the lessons learnt at CAN PEP. The roof form is determined by the need to maximise winter sun but reduce the long hours of summer. As you can see, the plan is a diamond set in a circle.
At present we rush rapidly towards nowhere.
The architectural constructions at Ses Aigos are sculptures of light and time, externally (as seen in photos above) and internally (as in following photo).
Encompassing all that is known of sacred geometry but with the added, present knowledge of quantum theory. These constructions took 10 years of thought before work began. That is a more realistic time scale before we infringe upon this beautiful planet.
The original shed's geometry was of a square plus the addition of that part of a circle formed with the radius taken from the bottom right hand corner and the square to the top left hand corner and projected onto the base line.
This geometric base was used to construct the new studio, workshop and water tank. Relationships of this building with the linked terraces forms some of the plan shapes and existing topography.
The quarter circle of the dome was taken from the square on plan and projected up but twisted to conform to a roof slope as water collection and introduction to the two circular windows in which leaded lights were fitted. The chimney is based on a golden section spiral but reversed, i.e. it diminishes in size rather than expands, also it is further changed by corbelling outwards. Each of the 2 circular windows are composed of golden section spirals, green for the cool morning sun and red for the heat of the afternoon. Light from these plus the corner widow unconpivating??? prisms form an ever changing light, time patterns of the curved internal forms.
This is based on a cube but with this form segmented first by the topography it sits within and second by the need to relate the panels to the south. Hence the diagonal divisions. The rear 2 arches are cantilevers to project beyond the cube and provides a chaos factor.
The final construction for water collection via condensation and hydro electric supplies is as yet only in model form, pictures of which are shown here.
The final scheme shown is one submitted to the City of New York which asked for ideas for a memorial for the twin towers site.
This entry is included here because it was considered one of the best private entries and is now in a permanent archive in N.Y. City records.
The plan is formed from squares and circles and is very formal with the exception of the building on the north side. This is curved to form an energy collector from the sun to provide power to the whole site via photo synthesis. It also provides a geometric distortion from the site's formality but in section it is in fact a part of a golden section spiral.
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