Stress may not be a bad thing.

Another great podcast of Esther Sternberg on Stress and the Balance Within. 

We all look at stress as a negative feeling; however Esther Sternberg look at stress as a necessity. For example, "when an animal finds itself a new environment. If it doesn’t have a stress response, if it wouldn’t suddenly stand up and look around, if it just went to sleep, it will get eaten. So, you need your stress response to survive, but the problem happens when that stress response goes on for too long. When its active, when it shouldn’t be active, when you are pumping out hormone chemical at max, that’s when you get sick. That’s when you get these hormone and chemical effects on the immune system."

Stress is not a bad thing, only when you can't control stress is a bad thing.

Fractals.

I came across the word "fractal" when I was reading Healing Spaces by Esther Sternberg. She states that fractals are "intrinsically satisfying to the human mind."

"Whether gothic cathedrals or Hokusai waves, our mind responds to the complex, repetitive, increasing- decreasing patterns, freed from rigid boundaries of scale, the mind can move inward or outward, up or down, at will."  - Ester Sternberg

What is a fractal?

"A fractal is a never-ending pattern. Fractals are infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar across different scales. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop. Driven by recursion, fractals are images of dynamic systems – the pictures of Chaos. Geometrically, they exist in between our familiar dimensions. Fractal patterns are extremely familiar, since nature is full of fractals. For instance: trees, rivers, coastlines, mountains, clouds, seashells, hurricanes, etc. Abstract fractals – such as the Mandelbrot Set – can be generated by a computer calculating a simple equation over and over." - Fractal Foundation.Org


Note: The fractals above are created using the method of twisting and turning.The illustrations were done using fractalfoundation.org.

 

Programming my thoughts...

This diagram is another quick illustration of my thought process.

The dotted black lines represent the entry and the exit of the site.

We all come from a stressful place to heal. In order to heal, one must forget and forgive. One must let go of their stress, anger and fear. Before going through the process of healing, the place needs a space that allows people to discard their angers, and toss away their stressful memories of the past. What if there is a space that let people write down anything that they want – their pain, their anger, and their stress – and burn those into ashes. (I don’t want to pollute the environment. I was told that there are some types of papers that are not toxic and harmful to the environment)

There is a display area to exhibit the history of what happened in the past. Usually, exhibitions recall memories, but what I don’t want is to remind the people of the dreadful past. My intention is to make them remember the history and give them a gesture to move on. Another intention of the display area is to let everyone see the journey of what Burmese people went through (This is for the future generation and the people from other countries). 

Tranquility is something you find after you are healed. Therefore, a peaceful space awaits at the end of the journey. The healing space allows one to meditate, reflect on oneself, interact with the space.

The Issue...

I drew this diagram really quick to explain my thought process and the history of Burma to my mentor. Here is the brief explanation of the illustration above.
Quick Note : Blue represents peace.
Black frequency represents anger, stress, and fear.

Burma, just like any other South East Asian country, is known for ethnic diversity. Burma started when different ethnic groups moved to the southeast to establish their own empires. Everything shattered when the British people came in and conquered Burma. Because of the ongoing wars at that time, the people of Burma were both physically and psychologically hurt.

Stress, anger and fear caused by the outsiders have been tied to the innocent people of our country ever since. The British did not only take away the land, they separated and drew a line between the low landers and high landers. It was done to make sure that they could rule the country as long as possible. Ever since that time, there have always been misunderstandings and confusions between the ethnic groups.

In 1948, when we gained independence, our hopes were once again revived, but it didn’t last long. The Burmese military junta did not treat the ethnic groups fairly and equally. It was all about selfishness and egoism back then. Many innocent people died because of the civil wars between the military junta and the ethnic groups.

Currently, Burma is at the blink of transformation, but regardless of the drastic changes occurring in Burma, many ethnic groups are still fighting to get their land back. One of the reasons they are still attempting to fight is because they still haven’t forgiven the mistakes that the Burmese government made yet. There is still anger, and beyond their angers are the painful memories of the past.

This is where Architecture comes in! What can we, as architects, do to bring the ethnic groups together? The architecture I create, must not only heal the psychological pains of all people of Burma, but also bond them to create a better future of all people.

Why Are Colors So Important?

“When we speak of color, we mean energy waves. Every color, each with its own frequency, is a form of energy.” – Perry R. Scientific documentation on color therapy

The role of color is essential in Architecture; even some people attempt to ignore it. The color plays a critical role not only in the natural environment, but also in the built environment designed by human beings. Our brains respond to colors and the surrounding. Our brains process and evaluate whether it is subjective or objective based on the colors we see. “Psychological influence, communication, information, and effects on the psyche are aspects of of our perceptual judgment process.”

Many people tend to think that colors are just for decoration, but it is not true. Colors should be part of the design process when we design a space. The choice of color should not be considered at the last stage of the design.

Colors and human bodies are in harmony. According to the chromotherapy, our bodies are generally composed of colors.  “The body comes into existence from colors, the body is stimulated by colors and colors are responsible for the correct working of various systems that function in the body.”

Just like colors have their own frequencies, all organs, cells and atoms inside our bodies are energy waves with their own frequency and vibrational energy.  “Each of our organs and energy centers vibrates and harmonizes with the frequencies of these colors.” The use of colors in architecture can influence and manipulate people’s feelings. It can either generate positive or negative energy inside our bodies. “When various parts of the body deviate from these expected normal vibrations, one can assume that the body is either diseased or at least not functioning properly.” Therefore, it is vital to consider and choose the use of colors wisely when designing a space. “Colors have a profound effect on us at all levels—physical, mental and emotional. If our energy levels are blocked or depleted, then our body cannot function properly, and this in turn can lead to a variety of problems at different levels” (Light).

Photo credit: http://www.windows2universe.org/physical_science/magnetism/images/visible_spectrum_waves_big_jpg_image.html
Reference:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1297510/

Color - The Integral Element in Architecture

"Color is an integral element of our world, not just in the natural environment but also in the man-made architectural environment. Color always played a role in the human evolutionary process. The environment and its colors are perceived, and the brain processes and judges what it perceives on an objective and subjective basis. Psychological influence, communication, information, and effects on the psyche are aspects of our perceptual judgment processes. Hence, the goals of color design in an architectural space are not relegated to decoration alone." - By Frank H. Mahnke

Photo credit: http://anniejenningspr.com/jenningswire/metaphysics/practical-spirituality/aura-colors/

THERMAL VALS

Thermal Vals is designed for the local people and surrounded by the hotels. Peter Zumthor uses simple geometry, but there is complexity hidden behind the simplicty of his designs. You enter from a long balcony and there are series of experiences such as cold pool, fire pool, flower pool and the outdoor pool. There is relaxation process throughout these experiences. The space awakes and enlightens the senses. The dim light creates a calm state of mind and that in turn helps to relax the body. As we move inside the space, we are “bodily aware of the way a wall or a corridor confronts us or how we are surrounded by space.” Zumthor uses stone to evoke a sense of cavernous, and allow people to rest.

UNESCO MEDITATION SPACE

The intent of this project is to create a peaceful space that people from all around the world, of all races and religions, could come to. Simplicity plays the main role in this project. Ando uses simple geometric shapes. Circle is a symbol of peace, it also represents centrality, emptiness, oneness and enlightenment. The cylindrical space is 6 meter wide and 6 meter high. In Ando’s architecture, height and depth doesn’t define one or two storeys. They are “ways we penetrate into the earth and feel its embrace around our body and the way we aspire towards the heavens."