The conventional American residential or commercial building is almost entirely composed of manufactured materials of one kind or another from start to finish. From dimensional lumber, steel, concrete, plastics in countless forms, and other petroleum products, to the carpets, lacquered oak, and so called "green" of processed bamboo, the construction "industry" is a toxic and energy gobbling conglomerate adept only at meaningless repetition.
And it imbalances the Universal System on which we all depend for sustenance.
The resulting "efficient to build but unconscious" housing or office units are at the same time insulating and disturbing to the subtle and physical body of the human inhabitant. Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is becoming common place and is only one of many symptomatic expressions of our growing allergy to our built environment. Children are particularly hard hit because of their immature and vulnerable systems. Psychological as well as physical disorders are rising drastically and can be partially attributed to the over stimulation of our powerfully over electrified and electromagnetic residences, and their often extreme toxicity.
The conventional construction still wastes energy, water, and space resources at alarming rates whether inhabited or not.
Only the top end custom models allow a worker's soul to shine forth in the craftsmanship required to finish them. The production line mentality of mass production easily denigrates those who build them, turning workers into "wage slaves" of the material world.
Constructing with native materials creatively effects all of these concerns.
A native material is one that is both in its natural state and local to the building site. The closer a material is to these two qualifiers, the more native it is, and the less it is likely to cause imbalance in the Universal System. In fact, these native materials can cause our system to be more finely balanced. As an example, remember how you feel when wearing cotton, wool, silk, hemp, gold, silver, and copper, in contrast to wearing rayon, Lycra, poly pro fleece, nylon, and other petroleum products. Wood, stone, clay, glass, natural fibers - all feel comfortable.
What is that all about?
Basically, natural materials breathe the universal breath; they can decay,they are irregular shapes, they are smaller pieces, they are dense or granular, and they are ALIVE.
The breath is spirit... the essence of the physical body's life. We can stop eating, drinking, sleeping, etc., but when we stop breathing we die... when we revoke our spirit we die. The quality of our breathing determines the vitality of the spirit in our body and our ability to be consciously connected with our origin.
Our homes must breathe the cosmic breath.
Native materials are often free or cheap if they can be harvested by the user, and require labor input to be prepared for installation. Skill, craftsmanship, and will forces are developed in building with native materials. Exceptional materials like gold, silver, copper, and glass don't breathe or decay the same, but they nobly conduct elemental forces into our sphere providing light, inspiration, and life force through our creative expressions in their use.
Building with native materials is regenerative for all who participate; particularly when hand tools are used to work the materials and join them.
Minimizing machinery on the work site is a worthy goal for several reasons.
1) The bigger the machine, the bigger the mess.
Although a backhoe can make a big hole or a trench real fast, they are very large and heavy quickly turning ground to mud, dust, and obliterated trees, plants and wildlife.
( more soon)
Monday, October 15, 2007
Why build a spiral dwelling?
There are several things about this dwelling's design and construction methods that are different from others. One that is most striking is the spiral form of its footprint.
What is to be gained from this configuration? Is it simply a whimsical artistic flourish or does it have purpose?
It is remarkable to consider how much is to be gained from applying this shape to the building:
1) strength
2) economy
3) soul utility
Strength: A curved wall is less apt to crack or topple than a straight wall of equal size. A simple two dimensional curve creates resistance to both horizontal as well as vertical forces that a straight plane does not possess. Find a playing card, and try to stand it on edge without bending it into a curve... IMPOSSIBLE! A flat wall is inherently unstable. A curved wall that creates a closed form ( circle, ellipse, spiral... ) becomes an inter-supporting contiguous unit. Wind and water forces will move around a closed curved form with minimal friction unable to exert much force upon it. Earth quake will also have less effect; especially if the building is NOT fastened to an immovable foundation.
The building must be allowed to float upon its footings like the great centuries old domed mosques of earth quake prone regions of the middle east.
Economy: A circular form uses less material to enclose a given amount of space. This building has a circumference of 70 feet and encloses 390 square feet. A square with a perimeter of 70 feet ( four sides of 17.5 feet ) has a 306.25 square foot print. That's a difference of 21% ! The round structure has over 20% more room for the same amount of wall material. That also translates to less roof, and foundation, and floor, and windows, and wiring, and plumbing... well, you get the picture. This particular dwelling is also built out of limestone block which means that once the 6"x8"x22" blocks are all " laid up", the walls are done. No dry wall, no siding, no painting, no stucco... well, you get the picture.
Soul utility: Here I'm talking about the play and influence of the seen and unseen forces of spatial geometry and cosmic dynamics on the human soul and how these forces affect our etheric bodies and evolutionary potential. This particular spiral dwelling has many aspects of its design and construction that influence the inhabitants in this way, but here I will comment only upon the spiral form of the walls. Curvilinear forms are the rule in the nonhuman world of matter, and impose a sense of the infinite into our mind's thinking. We cannot perceive the end point of anything in nature because it is bending, and growing or metamorphing, and atomically infinite ; so a kind of question lives in our soul when we observe the natural world.This questioning in turn nourishes our own growth and metamorphing through a deep connectedness to the cosmic oneness of the whole universal system.
So when our dwellings reflect the macro cosmic truth of evolutionary forces and forms, we can relax in a way that allows the soul to " feel at home", and be more accessible for cultivation. The spiral form is expressed many places in the creation from galaxies to snail shells. Our bodies feel this spiraling dynamism, and to enter such a dwelling creates both comfort and stimulus within the mind and soul.
Because of the spiral wall form, one feels a welcoming flow of energy upon entering the building which becomes a vitalizing sense of counterclockwise movement through the space... as if the building is taking a breath as we walk through the door.
The reciprocal configuration of the rafters(see photo at the end of blog) which form the ceiling and roof create a spiral as well, but in the opposite (clockwise) direction. Located in the center of the roof is an occulus through which light and sky energy streams into the dwelling and mixes with the earth energetic and essence coming up through the adobe floor and stone walls.
The interior of this dwelling integrates the cosmic life forces for creative human habitation and soul development.
What is to be gained from this configuration? Is it simply a whimsical artistic flourish or does it have purpose?
It is remarkable to consider how much is to be gained from applying this shape to the building:
1) strength
2) economy
3) soul utility
Strength: A curved wall is less apt to crack or topple than a straight wall of equal size. A simple two dimensional curve creates resistance to both horizontal as well as vertical forces that a straight plane does not possess. Find a playing card, and try to stand it on edge without bending it into a curve... IMPOSSIBLE! A flat wall is inherently unstable. A curved wall that creates a closed form ( circle, ellipse, spiral... ) becomes an inter-supporting contiguous unit. Wind and water forces will move around a closed curved form with minimal friction unable to exert much force upon it. Earth quake will also have less effect; especially if the building is NOT fastened to an immovable foundation.
The building must be allowed to float upon its footings like the great centuries old domed mosques of earth quake prone regions of the middle east.
Economy: A circular form uses less material to enclose a given amount of space. This building has a circumference of 70 feet and encloses 390 square feet. A square with a perimeter of 70 feet ( four sides of 17.5 feet ) has a 306.25 square foot print. That's a difference of 21% ! The round structure has over 20% more room for the same amount of wall material. That also translates to less roof, and foundation, and floor, and windows, and wiring, and plumbing... well, you get the picture. This particular dwelling is also built out of limestone block which means that once the 6"x8"x22" blocks are all " laid up", the walls are done. No dry wall, no siding, no painting, no stucco... well, you get the picture.
Soul utility: Here I'm talking about the play and influence of the seen and unseen forces of spatial geometry and cosmic dynamics on the human soul and how these forces affect our etheric bodies and evolutionary potential. This particular spiral dwelling has many aspects of its design and construction that influence the inhabitants in this way, but here I will comment only upon the spiral form of the walls. Curvilinear forms are the rule in the nonhuman world of matter, and impose a sense of the infinite into our mind's thinking. We cannot perceive the end point of anything in nature because it is bending, and growing or metamorphing, and atomically infinite ; so a kind of question lives in our soul when we observe the natural world.This questioning in turn nourishes our own growth and metamorphing through a deep connectedness to the cosmic oneness of the whole universal system.
So when our dwellings reflect the macro cosmic truth of evolutionary forces and forms, we can relax in a way that allows the soul to " feel at home", and be more accessible for cultivation. The spiral form is expressed many places in the creation from galaxies to snail shells. Our bodies feel this spiraling dynamism, and to enter such a dwelling creates both comfort and stimulus within the mind and soul.
Because of the spiral wall form, one feels a welcoming flow of energy upon entering the building which becomes a vitalizing sense of counterclockwise movement through the space... as if the building is taking a breath as we walk through the door.
The reciprocal configuration of the rafters(see photo at the end of blog) which form the ceiling and roof create a spiral as well, but in the opposite (clockwise) direction. Located in the center of the roof is an occulus through which light and sky energy streams into the dwelling and mixes with the earth energetic and essence coming up through the adobe floor and stone walls.
The interior of this dwelling integrates the cosmic life forces for creative human habitation and soul development.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)