The Hand Of God

zoom-out / zoom-in aerial images c/w northpoint, courtesy of earth.google.com

Suntec City (http://www.sunteccity.com.sg) is one of the most well known feng shui icon in Singapore. It takes the form of the human left hand opening to the sky. The shorter / broader (18-storey) office tower symbolizes the thumb, the other four taller / slimmer (45-storey) office towers the fingers, the prominently roofed convention and exhibition centre (SSICEC) the wrist, and the fountain plaza a gold ring in the centre of the open palm.

Interestingly, from a macro-perspective, the meta-architectonics of this structure transcends its embodied symbolisms and the physical confines of its land boundaries. As construed in a bird's eye view, the structure is orientated in a NE-SW direction, aligned along the same axis as the financial district of Singapore. Within this extended context, Suntec City is positioned in the NE sector, which according to the Later Heaven 8-Trigrams, can manifest both as hand and mountain; And Suntec City is aptly designed as such.

The open-hand structure also assumes an act of gesture, presumably welcoming the influx of wealth from the financial district, which is characterized by highrise phallic structures. The gold (bronze) ring is itself a manifestation of the Qian trigram, which is a symbol of wealth. The ring may be seen also as a band that gathers and binds the (financial) phalli in the distance, and itself being located on a left (connotating authority) palm, it is supposed to command wealth.

Wealth arriving at the doorsteps of Suntec City is physicalized in terms of traffic flow and water (fountain). The fountain is crucial in transforming the otherwise fluctuating nature of the in-out, surface vehicular traffic pattern into a more certain catch, thus minimizing the escape of wealth through the fingers. The catch is further anchored by the positioning of restaurants around the fountain, where the acts of consumption and assimilation (by human patrons) take place. Internal circulation then takes on an integral, disseminative role in this scheme, much alike human blood circulation. Therefore, mis-management of internal circulation, be it vehicular or human, will undermine the desired meta-architectonic effects. In the same token, an effective integration with the surrounding neighbours will serve to optimize its strength as a city within a city, and ensure a seamless flow of auspicious qi (energies).

Another interesting feature of Suntec City is its capitalization of natural fengshui formation based on the other diagonal (NW-SE) axis. While the hand gestures along a NE-SW axis, the predominant orientation of the buildings (esp. the treasure-chest-like SSICEC) appears to align with the NW-SE axis. This results in a Five Ghosts Carry Treasure formation, with Istana Grounds constituting the mountain (NW) and ECP constituting the water (E), at the respective favourable stars position in Period 8 (2004-2023).

With the surrounding environments set in its favour, Suntec City seems poised to ride on the 20 years of good fortune brought along with Period 8. But alas! Fengshui has taken on a much more dynamic quality than when it was first discovered. Developments in the vicinity of a subject site quite often may upset or compliment its meta-architectonics. Evidently, soon after the official launch of the Esplanade, a support pillar of the fountain was damaged by a fallen crane. And as we all know, the thorny envelopes stand right in the path of gesture of, The Hand Of God!

Virtually Meta-Architectonic

screenshot of KinetiqBuzz's homepage

Dean's firm specializes in public relations targeting at the youth market. The firm recently launched its website http://www.kinetiqbuzz.com (the 4 cardinal points are read as such: bottom [North], left [East], top [South] & right [West]). Here are some meta-architectonic tips for my friend:

1. Add some dynamic effect (eg. flash) to OUR SERVICES (top left [SE] corner), to ride on its quality as the Wind, making promotion of the firm's services a breeze;
2. Introduce some yellow / beige / brown colours for CONTACT US (central right [W] sector) while still keeping the matchbox design, so as to mediate the conflicting relationship of fire burning metal, with earth. This is to ease the firm's negotiation / connection with the media, and prevent conflicts;
3. Introduce more white / gold / silver & yellow / beige / brown colours for EYE ON BUZZ (bottom right [NW] corner) to enhance wealth. Make the STAMP OF GUARANTEE a complete circle so as to stamp out customer dissatisfactions!
4. Create something in the shape of a bowl (concave) at the central base [N] sector to contain the outflow of water, which also symbolizes wealth.
5. Now, the ants (crawling from the bottom left corner) are a real treat for the eyes! I think this is where the gist of the whole meta-architectonics manifests. The eye represents fire, the grey squarish frame with thumbprint in the NE sector - earth, the round iris - metal, the blue - water, and the ants crawling towards the central left [E] sector - wood. This, by the way, is the productive cycle of the five elements! The uncanny thing is that there are 7 ants in total, which is the numeric manifestation of youth, and these ants are moving towards the eastern sector, precisely where activities are anticipated - KINETIC, BUZZ!

So, who says our modern digital age has no place for traditional knowledge?

Meta-Architectonics

Architectural strategies in our modern societies are essentially western oriented, and predominated by emphases on aesthetics, functionality, contextual responses, socio-political integration, programmatic articulation, etc.. While these are all relevant issues, the intricate symbiotic relationship between habitat and its inhabitants remains intangible. In this respect, the making of modern architecture is still very much an intuitive art.

Chinese metaphysics offers methodologies which may bridge the gap between habitat and its inhabitants. It prescribes a certain uncanny relationship between the two, presumably under the dynamic influence of universal laws, of time or perhaps luck. I call it the meta-architectonics of the dwelling apparatus.

This blog therefore attempts to capture my observation of day-to-day occurrences from a meta-architectonic perspective. My aim is to explore the potential of employing ancient principles of chinese metaphysics as a strategy in architectural making (and thinking) within the modern context, thereby approaching our lost SHANGri-la's.