Architecture as a Symphony of Form is an exploration odyssey about REAL ESTATE and the REAL STATE of people. The interface and interaction between the state of the outer environment (physical, digital, social) and the health and well-being of the inner environment (body, mind, heart, spirit) of people.
Linking our outer environment with our inner one creates coherence in the work/life balance. The physical, digital, and social parts of the outer environment as well as the body, mind, heart, and spirit of the inner environment are like the role of each note in a symphony.
Buildings have a major impact on the people who use them. Therefore, also on the results of the processes in which these people are involved as on their personal health, well-being and consciousness.
All physical matter in our universe is vibrating and emanates a field of energy that can be measured and influenced. This is true for both the human body as well as for buildings.
One of the lost secrets of ancient wisdom teachings is that geometry is vibration. Geometry is a visual representation, a structural manifestation of vibration. “Music is the light we cannot see, Light is the Music we cannot hear.” (Robert Edward Grant). Geometry is the music we hear with our eyes.
The German writer Johan Wolfgang von Goethe called Architecture ‘frozen music’, I prefer to call it ‘Symphony of Form’, a symbiosis between architecture and its occupants to create (more) added value.
“Architecture is a Symphony of Form,
a symbiosis between architecture and its occupants to create (more) added value.”
(René Stevens)
Instruments in sync
When an orchestra performs a musical symphony, it is important that all instruments are tuned, in balance, and playing with the right intensity and duration. For a high-level performance, everything must be in sync.
For the functioning of our learn/work environment, it is equally important that all building components, like shapes, parts, materials and colours, including the relationship with nature (e.g. earth’s energy radiation, geopathic stress, climate, seasons, vegetation, bodies of water) are also in sync. They all contribute to the desired harmonious balancing environment that supports people and their functioning within a building.
The perception of being satisfied with the performance of the building depends upon our interaction with the environment and the people in it, as well as our physical and mental constitution.
Affect mood
Just as music affects our mood, buildings do too. We have all experienced music that can touch you and make you feel like dancing, or getting into a romantic or meditative state, or even a melancholic state. Even though we may not yet have the tools to fully measure how architecture affects the health, well-being and consciousness of the people inside a building, we know intuitively that it makes sense.
A growing body of research demonstrates that it is not the objective environmental conditions, but the subjective interpretation of them, that affects the well-being and performance of humans. In fact, the brain gets in the way of what the heart actually feels.
E.g. when you get exposed to music there are three options. The first is you get in coherence with the music, and dance with it. The second is to turn it off and the third is to leave the room. That is why the way people experience their environment also influences their potential, effectiveness and efficiency.
‘Soft’ human engagement metrics, as used in the marketing and communications industry, are therefore in most cases more relevant than the necessary ‘hard’ absolute metrics of costs and square meters. Especially when the soft relative metrics of performance are monitored over a longer time period.
Symphony of form
As music is frequencies of sound, architecture is about visual geometrical and spatial frequencies, and much more. When we move through a building, it can shape our thoughts and feelings just as music does.
My passion is to bring the various parts together in such a way that the building components will sound like a great ‘Symphony of Form’. The whole is equal to the sum of its parts plus new properties because of the interactions between the parts. As frequencies evoke reactions, architecture can bring people together, and unite them as one force. It protects, supports interaction and engagement and expresses unity and identity.
Occupants in tune
People inside a building bring their own etheric field: an integration of mind, body, heart and spirit, a determiner of overall health. When you interact with a person, you are not only transferring information but also emotion. You are transferring things that are outside the intellect.
A human-centric environment is a better place for organisations, people and society. A place that is adaptive to changing user needs. A place that gets the best out of its users and a program that creates a bond between users and the environment. The design of the environment doesn’t solely determine behaviour, but it does shape, enable or encourage or hinder it.
Effects of shape
In theatre design, it is well known that shape and the materialisation of walls, floor and ceiling have a profound impact on the audibility and quality of the sound in the room. We also know from experience that buildings can affect the quality of radio, mobile telephone and Wi-Fi signals.
Could it be that the built environment also affects the dynamic multi-dimensional etheric field of humans, consisting of a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dimension?
The work of Dr Ibrahim Karim, a new multidimensional ‘Physics of Quality’ called BioGeometry, proofs that this is the case. His worldview is that ‘ENERGY AND SHAPE CREATE FUNCTION’.
The poor scientific measuring instruments are no proof that outside a material worldview nothing else exists. To quote neurophysiologist Dr. Peter Fenwick:
“If you think that the world is only material, then you are missing a huge part of human experience.”
(Neurophysiologist Dr. Peter Fenwick)
With a more holistic approach towards eco-system effects of an integrated physical, digital and social learn/work environment, you can literally transform an organisation, its business and its people. It is in essence about Environmental energy balancing……..<more>
For more read the full English peer-reviewed article ’Architecture is a Symphony of Form’ published in Paradigm Explorer (No 133 2020/2) – Journal of The Scientific and Medical Network. Author: René P.M. Stevens MSc Arch/MBA (September 2020).