Archive for the ‘Sustainable’ Category

EcoNest Builders Training July 2010- Chiseling & Timber Frame

Monday, July 12th, 2010

I’ve been training with my friends Paula & Robert of www.econest.com for the past few weeks.  I’ve found my niche!  I feel great joy when crafting, working with my hands, building a beautiful, healthy, holistic house with them.  I will be documenting the many learning experiences I’ve had over the next few weeks…stay posted…

Here are some pictures of me working on sawing and chiseling my very first timber frame member…

Timber frame sawing with a special Japanese hand saw

Here I am chiseling the surface perfectly flat – 90 degrees in both x and y axis.  It was so hard to do that I had to do it 2x and cut the whole thing back half an inch before I got it right.

Chiseling at 90 degrees perfectly flat to 1/32′ of an inch

Here you can see special markings indicating where and how the beam should be placed

Look at the cool suction marks that happened - looks like a tree branch...

I spent hours sanding my chisel on progressively finer japanese water sanding blocks – from 600 grit, to 800, to 1200, to 2000, to 8000 grit. Phew!  That was intense!

Here you can see how dull it is after only the first level of sanding (half an hour or so of work)

Here finally after about 3 hours or so, you can start to see the reflection of the trees above through the shine – WOW!

Even the insects are 'green' & sustainable!

Sometimes, the coolest bugs would drop by….

Laying out the timber beams to cut the mortise & tennon joints

There were about 20 of us, off and on, cutting, sawing, chiseling the joints in many pieces of timber – it was a joyous experience for several days….

Taking a break for lunch and giving thanks for the scrumptious meals that I helped Paula Baker Laporte make as well each day

Detail of Japanese Timber Frame brace - one of the pieces that I made...

Detail of a timber frame joint connection in process of coming together

Standing in front of a great accomplishment finally with the team – Feeling the satisfaction of one beam integrated with 2 posts and the second horizontal member ‘Japanese Brace’ all in place finally on the first side of the square – Yeah!!!

Oval Strawbale House gets an Award

Friday, April 9th, 2010

Oval Strawbale House

The Oval Strawbale House has been given an AWARD on April 8, 2010, in the FOUNDING CUSTOM HOME category by the Home Sweet Home Competition;

“The idea for Home Sweet Home sprouted in 2008 during the research and development of OntarioGreenSpec.ca. OntarioGreenSpec.ca is an online directory that was founded by Mindscape Innovations Group (Mindscape) in response to the overwhelming demand for information about green building products and services to serve Ontario’s growing green building market.  Mindscape, experts in green building consulting and certification, developed OntarioGreenSpec.ca as a free directory for use by the public and industry.”

“OntarioGreenSpec.ca exists to shine a bright light on the great products and services available to Ontario’s high performance builders, and to serve Ontario’s green building sector. As such, Home Sweet Home promotes the use of “home-grown” materials.  Not only does a competition entrant need to be located in Ontario, the judging criteria also gives cumulative points for Canadian, Ontarian, and local (within 800km) content, with triple points when the products in the home come from your region of Ontario.”

Elegant. Efficient. Ecological.

From early design considerations of habitat preservation and geopathic energy assessments through to the final stroke of paint, all features were considered for their effect on human health, environment and of course, comfort and beauty.

In our opinion, the Oval Strawbale House exemplifies that which soma earth ARCHITECT and the builder, Evolve Homes, strives to embody in every one of their projects, a home that is all of elegant, efficient and ecological.

Rear View

Elegant

With its elliptical shape borrowed from the natural contours of its surroundings, the house gently perches on a hillside and also based on the sacred geometry of the vesica piscis. The curved walls welcome the sun’s rays into more rooms, for more hours each day than traditional straight walls while simultaneously promoting views of a neighbouring pond. Adjacent shade trees are carefully maintained ensuring seasonal shading and provision of privacy.

Prior to construction, eco-architect, Ingrid Cryns, dowsed for the geopathic earth energy lines to find the best place to position the house to clear the bed, sitting areas for the couch & office as well as the kitchen sink. The architect and owner also identified a very large, three foot diameter, beneficial energy spot on the site and the house was placed so that this energy spot was located just inside at the corner between the living room/mediation room window and upstairs bedroom walls. A plastic line was embedded into the concrete floor slab to connect this spot to the centre of the house at the fireplace to secure the energetic centre of the house with the land. This was the most critical & significant energy enhancing aspect that was implemented. The design of the house with the two curves in plan creates an extremely strong beneficial energy. All together, this creates a very strong sense of well being, joy and calmness when inside the house that is very noticeable to anyone who visits.

Sitting Room with FSC maple floor

Inside, soft finishes including customized sculpted relief work emerging from walls and fireplace surrounds together with luxuriously deep window sills replete with tiled mosaics, complete the unique look and allow personal expression for the Owner, who assisted with design and implementation of such details.

Efficient

Careful attention was paid to sealing of all joints in the building envelope and upgraded conventional insulation. Low- or no-VOC sealants and recycled under-floor insulation, instead of virgin polystyrene, was used. Additionally, this home’s strawbale insulated exterior walls, at + R30, offers significantly better operating performance than ordinary conventional construction methods.

While insulating is important, so too is the notion of massing: using dense materials in which to store and then slowly release heat. A heavy concrete subfloor as well as 1 ½” of plaster on the interior of the bale walls, combine to provide excellent thermal storage capacity. This mass absorbs heat when it is generated via the sun or the radiant floor heat distribution system, and then gently releases this heat again as the air temperature declines. Strategic use of mass provides comfort and efficiency. Working equally well in the summer by robbing the air of its heat as well as humidity to maintain user comfort, this home has no need for mechanical air conditioning.

Masonry Heater - Designed by the Client & Architect

Integration of an historic “kachelofen”, or masonry fireplace, expands the use of mass in this home. Ordinary fireplaces or woodstoves regularly burn uncomfortably hot while also consuming wood inefficiently as up to 70% of the heat escapes through the chimney. Kachelofens incorporate many small channels into specially constructed masonry masses between the firebox and the chimney. These channels absorb the generated heat before it escapes to the chimney – improving efficiencies by a factor of 2x or 3x.

Better still, this mass radiates the captured heat for hours afterward at a slow, gentle pace, allowing the users to bask in a soft, warm glow with all the visual pleasure of an ordinary fireplace.

Meditation room fireplace

Ecological

Local sourcing and use of naturally occurring materials are vital components in reducing the impact of this home. And what could be more local then felling trees from the owner’s surrounding woodlot, milling them on site, having them kiln dried nearby then turning the finished boards into all of the interior doors, cabinet doors, window sills, stair treads and baseboard. To top it all off, literally, natural oil finishes are applied and offer long lasting protection in lieu of ordinary petrochemical based urethanes.

More than simply “low-VOC”, silicate dispersion paints – Canadian  manufactured using silica sand and natural mineral pigments – are used throughout to provide rich colour and naturally mildew-free painted wall finishes. One room was even more specially treated with a clay veneer instead of any paint at all, leaving a suede-like texture that immediately attracts attention. Additionally, some baseboard was sculpted and the fireplace face’s constructed using only earthen based plasters prepared on site from locally available clays. No cement, no polymeric binders…just rich, durable, natural materials.

Kitchen with paperstone counter

Kitchen

Additional Project Details

Energy Savings

• Typical heating energy reduction of 30-50% compared to conventional construction

• Integration into landscape and existing mature trees to provide seasonal shading

• Orientation of major windows primarily toward south & east (primary view of pond) for as much passive solar gain possible through the dense forested site

• No mechanical air conditioning required

• Significant free “daylighting” through strategically located windows to reduce light use

• Further savings in heating costs achievable by owner use of Kachelofen enhanced further if using deadfall trees from own property

• Reduction in embodied energy in building materials through combination of: local sourcing, use of reclaimed/recycled materials and materials requiring fewer processing inputs

• Fibreglass framed windows provide longer life and higher insulating ratings

• Low E coatings on window glazing reduce heat energy from the sun in summer only

• Thermal edge spacers between window panes reduce thermal bridging

• “Massing” strategically used for efficient thermal storage and heat delivery

• Efficient radiant floor heat distribution on main floor and hot water radiators on second storey

• High-efficiency condensing boiler for domestic hot water and all space heating

• High efficiency Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV), professionally balanced on start-up

Stairs

Environmentally Preferred Materials

• Local, reused and reclaimed materials and minimally processed materials reduce embody energy inherent in ordinary construction

• Reclaimed wide plank beech flooring

• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified flooring

• Clay veneer wall finishes

• Earthen-based plaster fireplace facing and embellishments

• Strawbale exterior walls complete with hand-applied plaster finish

• Solid wood flooring

• Natural oil wood finishes

• VOC-free mineral based naturally pigmented paints

• Soy based polyurethane vaulted ceiling insulation

• Simulated, long lasting (50yr warranty) cedar shake roofing invented in Canada (Enviroshake)

• Locally made mineral wool attic insulation

• Interior doors, baseboard, window sills, kitchen cabinet doors and stair treads all made by local craftspeople from trees felled adjacent to house

• Kitchen counter top made from pressed and recycled post-consumer paper waste into resilient, satin finished surface

Wood trim & door detail

Waste Reduction

• Lumber off-cuts stored and sorted for reuse later in project

• Construction waste streamed appropriately for local municipal recycling programs

• No general waste construction bin used on site

Transportation

• House is walkable to community centre, shopping, banks and other amenities

• Staff carpool to site to reduce commuting energy costs; some staff stay temporarily on site during construction, eliminating the need for daily commute

• A south facing Potting Room will enable off-season vegetable greens and fruit to be grown while annuals get a head start on the outdoor planting season thereby reducing reliance on shipped in foodstuffs

3Rd Party Labeling Programs Utilized

• Eco-logo™ certified drywall

• Energy Star™ rated windows

• FSC™ certified hard maple flooring

• HRI Institute™ approved heat recovery ventilator (HRV) unit

Technical Repeatability

• All materials selected currently available in the Ontario market

• Traditional trades can use existing skills applied to alternative materials

• Design strategies customized for this site and user though same rules can be applied differently as appropriate for varying circumstances

Affordability

• Super insulated, environmentally preferable straw bale wall system comparable price to ordinary frame wall with brick or stucco finish

• Site felled trees were prepared for use at similar cost to purchasing raw material with unknown provenance from ordinary lumber suppliers

• Mineral wool batt insulation costs just 5% more than fiberglass though with a higher insulating rating, easier & much healthier to install and advantageous hydro-phobic properties

• Sustainably harvested hard maple flooring with consistent clear grade ordinary maple from unknown sources at traditional retailers

• Quality, durable materials and careful construction detailing will ensure longevity of house to reduce ongoing repair and maintenance

Technical Innovation

• The builder, Evolve Builders,  has strategically systemized construction processes and details for straw bale walls to make this labour intensive building method cost-competitive with ordinary construction

• Simple, successful, repeatable “technologies” borrowed from historic building techniques then reformulated or adapted for modern expectations including: natural finishing oils for wood treatment, clay binders for wall finishes, mineral pigments for paint tinting

Ontario Strawbale Building Coalition (OSBBC)

Saturday, February 6th, 2010
OSBBC Board Members - from left to right, Tina Thierin, Ingrid Cryns, Deirdre, Adam Krop, Frank Tetiner, David Elfstrom

OSBBC Board Members - from left to right, Tina Therrien, Ingrid Cryns, Deirdre McGahern, Adam Krop, Frank Tettemer, David Elfstrom (and Jup Bhasin - absent)

www.osbbc.ca

*

I am currently a board member fo the OSBBC and have truly enjoyed working with the dedicated team of volunteers who are passionate about supporting and encouraging the growth of Natural Building, including Strawbale biofibre building.  Here is some detailed info. from the website – PLEASE SPEND SOME TIME VISITING THE SITE – YOU WILL LEARN A LOT!!!

The Ontario Straw Bale Building Coalition (OSBBC) was formed to serve several purposes:

  1. To provide information for people with an interest in building and/or owning a straw bale home. These services include general information, facilitating training courses, and providing testing data for building designers and building inspectors.
  2. To initiate and support efforts to further the base of knowledge about straw bale building, including studies and tests leading to the building code acceptance of straw bale building techniques.
  3. To foster a community of builders and owners involved in straw bale building to promote the exchange of ideas, resources, and social opportunities.

The Goals of the OSBBC

The OSBBC believes in the need for a movement towards a more environmentally responsible built environment. By using materials with the lowest possible embodied energy and toxicity and employing them in buildings designed to maximize the potential for renewable energies and minimizing the use of fossil fuels, we can make a substantial positive change in our impact on the environment. For the same costs as typical homes and buildings it is possible right now to create similar spaces from environmentally sound materials and to lower energy consumption dramatically. We hope to promote these strategies by assisting builders and owners to adopt them and to help to introduce them into the mainstream building world.

There is fantastic comprehensive listing on the website of sound technical documents that have been culled from various sources, mostly elsewhere on the web and on email lists.

Click this LINK FOR STRAWBALE TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS

Membership in the Ontario Straw Bale Building Coalition has many benefits:

  • free admission to the Annual Tour of Straw Bale Homes and Buildings
  • reduced rates for selected OSBBC workshops
  • reduced rate for The Building Official’s Info-Package
  • inclusion in a volunteer on-call list
  • financial support for testing and code-acceptance of bale building
  • helps the organization promote straw bale building to building officials, the general public, and children through displays, speaking engagements, the web, and a toll-free number for inquiries

www.osbbc.ca

Oval Strawbale house

Friday, February 5th, 2010
Entry detail

Entry detail

Oval Strawbale House - GF Plan

Oval Strawbale House - GF Plan

Here is the ground floor plan of a 2 storey, 2000 SF, OVAL STRAWBALE HOUSE that  started construction April 2009! We have been so inspired by the gentleness and awareness of our client who is studying Reiki & Permaculture. The curved shape grew out of our many design conversations together and also creates an extremely high vibrational energy with this simple plan shape. Using my special Biogeometry BG3 pendulum, I am able to test vaiours levels of design to continuously enhance & balance the quality of energy in each room. This building will be entirely non-toxic with 95% all natural, building materials. A combination timber post interior with balloon wood frame strawbale wall is our main construction system.
Oval Strawbale House - Elevation

Oval Strawbale House - Elevation

Oval Strawbale House - Detail at 2nd Floor window

Oval Strawbale House - Detail at 2nd Floor window

Strawbale walls have a unique vapour permeability that allows minute water vapours to pass through the unique porous crystalline structure of the plaster skin and can have anywhere from .10 to .50 ACH (air exchanges per hour) (with no mechanical assistance/technology). Strawbale walls don’t actually ‘breathe’ which is a common myth, rather they “respire” which favourably impacts on the indoor humidity and which in turn provides comfort by adding/removing moisture in the winter/summer as needed.

This creates an extremely healthy living space and air environment that surpasses, in my opinion, any standard, stick frame home. Also, a typical brick/wood stud 2×4 wall usually has less than an R20 insulation whereas strawbale walls have a continuous monolithic insulation of a R30 to R40 value. And, the thick plaster on the inside of straw bale walls acts as a thermal mass and has been shown to play a significant role in stabilizing indoor temperatures. A strawbale house is simply a smarter house!

Oval Strawbale House - Foundation Prep

Oval Strawbale House - Foundation Prep

Plotting the geopathic earth energy lines

Plotting the geopathic earth energy lines

Geopathic earth energy lines - Hartman (yellow) and Curry (Red) lines

Geopathic earth energy lines dowsed and located – Hartman (yellow) and Curry (Red) lines

Foundation formwork starting

Foundation formwork starting

Poured Concrete Foundation with Insulation

Poured Concrete Foundation with Insulation

Wood sill plate base for strawbales

Wood sill plate base for strawbales

16' long Larsen Trusses delivered to site

16' long Larsen Trusses delivered to site

Framing started (larsen trusses on right)

Framing started (larsen trusses upright on the left)

Round log posts & timber beam for interior only

Round log posts & timber beam for interior only

Framing at 2nd floor

Framing at 2nd floor

2nd Floor Window Framing

Larsent posts base at corner

Larsent posts base at corner

Wood Framing

Ballon Wood Framing

All finishes will be natural with ‘0′ VOC’s (volatile organic compounds). We are looking at reclaimed timber flooring, papercrete countertops, milk paint stains as well as milling wood from directly from the site.

As the site has a great supply of wood and our client would like to use some of the maple, cherry, ash and ceder wood in his house. We visited the site together before any clear cutting was done for the building site and talked with the trees to let them know they will be needed in the house. This was a tremendous experience for both of us that I wrote a lot about in my blog here….

The house will also have radiant heating in the floors, a tankless water heater, and a masonry heater fireplace as the main heat source with propane back-up as needed.

  • Oval Strawbale House - Exterior plaster started Oval Strawbale House – Exterior plaster started
  • Exterior plaster

    Exterior plaster

    Long view of house from driveway

    Front of Oval House

    Front of Oval Strawbale House

    Sustainable builder, Ben Polley of Harvest Homes is a leader in the field of natural strawbale construction. His depth and breadth of experience is absolutely wonderful to work with. We highly recommend him for any projects. He works in the Guelph/Kitchener-Waterloo, Grey-Bruce, and Orillia-Muskoka area. From these three locations, they service projects north to Lions Head and Huntsville, east to Highway 400 and most areas south-west within a one to two hour distance from Guelph. In my opinion, there are very few Natual Builders as highly qualified as Ben is.  Please contact me if you want names of green, strawbale contractors in other areas of Ontario as well or visit my website for more detailed info here….

    This is what Ben has to say about working together on this project;

    “I really appreciate your manner of expressing the values important to you and expressing also the defense of things you imparted into the plan on [your client's] , behalf all the while leaving it open to [him] to consider, weigh and decide or defer as necessary. I am very much looking forward to this and future projects working alongside you!”

    HEALING THROUGH VIBRATIONAL DOWSING & RESONANCE: New Methods for Human Beings, Buildings, & the Earth

    Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
    Dr. Robert Gilbert

    Dr. Robert Gilbert

    I recently took a course with the above title, with Dr. Robert Gilbert.  Here is Robert’s Bio. from his website;

    Dr. Robert J. Gilbert has a multi-faceted background in both spiritual and scientific studies. He is a former U.S. Marine Corps Instructor in Nuclear-Biological-Chemical Warfare Survival; since leaving the service in 1985 he has conducted independent research into the Geometric basis of modern science and new technologies. Dr. Gilbert is also a Rosicrucian with more than 20 years of experience in Sacred Geometry and its hidden uses by the world’s great spiritual traditions. His non-sectarian approach is inclusive of individuals from all spiritual traditions. Dr. Gilbert holds a Ph.D. in International Studies and is a published academic author in that field, contributing to the first academic textbook in the new field of Transformational Politics.

    In 1997 Dr. Gilbert began for the first time to teach publicly the results of his two decades of intensive research. Today he teaches both publicly and privately in Asheville, NC. Dr. Gilbert also offers a small number of his VESICA series of special seminars throughout the United States every year. He is currently completing his first book 7 Keys to Creation: Sacred Geometry and the Patterns of Life.

    The course was FANTASTIC!  Robert is truly a pioneer in researching energy balancing, healing & protection methods for human beings as well as for buildings.  He has recently been involved in helping to develop several new products for this using vibrational dowsing principles.  Based on the preliminary foundational science of Biogeometry, Robert’s work develops this with another level working with the 12 bands of the colour spectrum.  Here is a small sampling of what I learned in the course from the syllabus;

    • The “Life Energy Spectrum”: A Master Key to Holistic Healing
    • The Cutting edge of Detox Protocols for restoring health even in “terminal” cases (including both Medical and Holistic protocols)
    • Critical Differences between Electro-Magnetic and Life energies (including how some Electro-magnetic healing devices harm the human energy field)
    • Keys to Energy Balancing entire cities (with examples from completed projects in 6 U.S. cities plus European projects)
    • Dowsing methods to apply Light and Color within energy meridians & centers
    • New Modular system to Test and Apply needed Energy Qualities (including many currently unknown even to advanced Dowsers and nergy Healers)
    • Essential Principles and Methods for Healing the Earth
    • Earth Energy Discoveries from Europe (including the critical Resonances needed in addition to the Atmospheric ‘Schumann Resonance’)
    • Using precise Minerals as “anchors” for vibrational information on the physical plane
    • The Critical Difference between Vibrational and Mental Dowsing (and how to combine them into a more powerful system)
    • Transmitting Holographic Vibrational Patterns with Light

    All I can say after spending a couple of days with Robert -

    WOW!!!

    Egyptian Architect, Dr. Ibrahim Karim dowsing with a vibrational pendulum

    Egyptian Architect, Dr. Ibrahim Karim dowsing with a vibrational pendulum

    So……what is VIBRATIONAL DOWSING you ask?

    There are 3 types of dowsing.  Mental, Sensitization and Physical or VIBRATIONAL.

    Mental dowsing is the more commonly understood form of dowsing where people hold a pendulum in their hands and asking a simple yes or no question, the pendulum with move in one direction or another.    It is a form of reverse self-hypnosis that breaks through the conscious mind to get answers out of the subconscious mind or even sometimes the universal or collective stream of thought.  Mental dowsing is the hardest to teach as it is difficult to quiet the mind and let go of any attachment to the outcome, which can influence the end result.  You can learn it quickly, but it takes years to really do it well and with any consistent accuracy.

    Sensitization dowsing is a method that sort of falls in-between mental and vibrational dowsing.  Some people have a gift in that their entire body is high attuned or ’sensitive’ and they can feel a variety of subtle energies with their physical body or their hands.  This is not the best way to approach energy quality management as often people have no idea how to distinguish if what they are ‘picking up’ is a toxic form of energy or not.

    Vibrational dowsing is a method that developed from the work of the French Radiesthesiasts. Radiesthesia is a term coined by Balzac and Chaumer, two scientists who developed a high sophisticated pendulum and science to be able to measure subtle energetic qualities.  Of the three forms of dowsing, Radiesthesia is the easiest to learn.  It is like a simple biofeedback tool, using your own body as an energetic vibrational link to test varieous energies.  The more you learn how to work with it, the better you become attuned to these subtler energies and you become more able to distinguish the beneficial energies from any toxic energies – in the human body or on the land or in buildings.

    Tuning Forks - When you tap one, the other one begins to ring as it is in RESONANCE with the other

    Tuning Forks - When you tap one, the other one begins to ring as it is in RESONANCE with the other

    And finally, what is RESONANCE - you ask again?

    Resonance is the aspect of when one sound or vibrational frequency is in harmony with another.  Here are a few ‘technical’ definitions;

    • a vibration of large amplitude produced by a relatively small vibration near the same frequency of vibration as the natural frequency of the resonating system
    • Acoustic resonance is the tendency of an acoustic system to absorb more energy when the frequency of its oscillations matches the system’s natural frequency of vibration (its resonance frequency) than it does at other frequencies.
    • rapport: a relationship of mutual understanding or trust and agreement between people

    Here is a description of RESONANCE from Dr. Ibrahim Karim’s website; www.biogeometry.org;

    Where vibrations are, resonance can happen. The encyclopaedia gives: “relatively large selective response of an object or a system that vibrates in step or phase, with an externally applied oscillatory force.” Resonance was first investigated in acoustical systems such as musical instruments and the human voice. Mechanical resonance, such as that produced in bridges by wind or by marching soldiers. Somewhat analogous resonance exists on the nuclear scale. This occurs when atoms or their nuclei respond to the application of various magnetic fields by emitting or absorbing electromagnetic radiation of radio and microwave frequencies. Resonance in electrical systems makes it possible for certaincommunication devices to accept signals of certain frequencies while rejecting others.

    On a separate page, you find a summary of what Ibrahim Karim told during a seminar about resonance. The story about “The Caveman” given by him is a nice illustration of resonance.

    An interesting book (in Dutch) about resonance in nature is that of Hans Andeweg. It covers resonance in a broad sense and related subjects.

    Resonance can occur between different types of vibrations such as between colour and sound. Colour is an electromagnetic vibration that can transfer energy in a vacuum, without a medium. Sound waves (compressional waves) are much slower than light waves.

    Building a HOGAN

    Thursday, May 21st, 2009

    I refer to a Hogan in my new book [soma earth HOME ENERGETIC BALANCING]. The below link is a fabulous slide show, showing how to construct one yourself! The pictures of the round wood frame structure are beautiful!

    Building a Hogan - SLIDE SHOW LINK

    Building a Hogan - SLIDE SHOW LINK

    For the Navajo, the spirit of the home is called a Hogan, and is treated like a living object by its inhabitants. It needs to be taken care of and loved to sustain the harmony of the Navajo home life. Historically they were originally a separate hut in the community and were used for ceremonies and to keep themselves in balance. Often built in a teepee shape or in a rounded mud shape, they were constructed out of wood poles and straw, clay and/or stones, either a 5 or 8 sided, usually facing the east.
    “Hogan’s are personified in ordinary conservation – they are alive; they need to be fed, cared for, spoken to, and shielded from loneliness”

    Frisbee, Charlotte J., The Navajo House Blessing Ceremonial 1980, p.166

    Hogan round wood structure

    Hogan round wood structure

    The house blessing ritual aims to “feed the house, show proper treatment and respect to it, prevent timber breakage, and remove the Hogan’s loneliness” (Frisbie, C., The Navajo House Blessing Ceremonial, 1980, p. 176). A sacred song called the Blessingway is chanted during the ceremony. The Hogan’s loneliness, before the ceremony is performed, is a dangerous thing as it can attract evil spirits; “every new house is taboo until, by appropriate rites, it is made noa (secular or profane)” (Van Gennep, A., The Rites of Passage, 1960, p. 24).

    The house blessing ceremony of the Navajo is performed so that the Hogan may be lived in by its designated inhabitants. When the built Hogan is finished, the medicine man blesses the home in beauty, invites happiness from the 4 directions as well as from the earth & sky, and asks for protection from illnesses and evil. The home is marked inside on the 4 walls with a sacred symbol to remind its inhabitants that it is graced with the blessings of the Great Spirit.

    A finished HOGAN

    A finished HOGAN

    Green Living Show Booth 2009

    Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
    Green Living Show Booth 2009

    Green Living Show Booth 2009

    We just came back from a fantastic experience at the Green Living Show at the Direct Energy Centre, CNE, Toronto, April 24 – 26, 2009, where I launched our new book, soma earth HOME ENERGETIC BALANCING. As part of this launch, we opened our booth with a special blessing ceremony at 10 am. We created a temporary alter on the reclaimed wood bench in the centre of the booth. We laid sacred cloths with intricate gold patterns from the finest weavers in Bali, laid out in a specific pattern to attract ALL POSSIBILITIES. We began by smudging ourselves with sage and then smudging, clearing the booth of any left over detrimental energies. I then used my sacred shamanic rattle to clear another finer level of energy in the space in a counter-clockwise direction. We stated our specific and personal intentions of what we wanted to attract during the 3 days of the show. Then I rang a sacred bell (also from Bali) to ring with clarity and clear all that is not beneficial from the space along the perimeter. Afterward, we added joyful and playful energies to invite the positive beneficial energies through a special metal chime ball around the perimeter of the booth, now in a clockwise direction.
    It was so much fun creating the booth with the Fourth Pig Workers Co-op. Glen and Mick did a great job building the booth with us for 2 full days before the show started. If the Green Living Show were to give out an award for the best, lowest embodied, most sustainable booth – I’m sure we would have won. I made a conscious choice to ‘hand build’ our booth, to emphasize the art and craft of natural building and to showcase how the SOUL of building can come through the design of spaces like this. As we were hand crafting our booth, we were astounded at how many booths were being built in non-sustainable methods. I guess it continues to be a slow growth process to get everything you do on-line with green building, no matter how ‘green’ your product might be.

    ‘Better than Platinum LEED’s’

    Eco-Architect, Ingrid Cryns at Green Living Show Booth 2009

    Eco-Architect, Ingrid Cryns at Green Living Show Booth 2009

    Our booth at the Green Living Show was made entirely from materials directly from Nature, recycled or re-used. It had the lowest possible embodied energy and is all 100% locally sourced. The logs were hauled by myself and staff from a client’s forest who was felling trees to be made for the Oval Strawbale House.

    Hauling logs out of the woods

    Hauling logs out of the woods

    Natural round wood column detail, lashed with jute rope and supported with hand hewn wood pegs

    Natural round wood column detail, lashed with jute rope and supported with hand hewn wood pegs

    Round post BASE detail, with natural jute rope

    Round post BASE detail, with natural jute rope

    The pergola structure was assembled without any nails, lashed with jute rope and supported by pegs. The one large vertical round log post was stripped of bark and painted with ‘O’ VOC paint by soma earth ARCHITECT staff. The infinity loop, figure 8 design, was painted 5 times, going under and over, like a Celtic pattern. The number 5 can mean harmony, balance and divine grace. There are 5 fingers, 5 toes and 5 senses of our bodies to emphasize the ’sensuality’ of handcrafting and adding artistic hand touches to the booth design. And, the number 5 holds the other numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4 within it’s form, containing them and expressing them in it’s ability to remind us to know ourselves as an integration & interaction of all of our essential parts. A reminder that our spaces can be a living container synthesizing an expression of all that we are.

    Hand stripping the bark off the logs

    Hand stripping the bark off the logs

    Painting the natural wood post with 'O' VOC paints

    Painting the natural wood post with '0' VOC paints

    We had three sample ‘wattle and daub’ walls that were constructed from ½” – 1” diameter saplings or branches from the same clients’ property. The 2 x 4 wood frames where made from wood found in a neighbour’s dumpster. They were doweled together with the occasional re-used nail (bent back into shape with a hammer) to ensure stability. Throughout the show, we had demonstrations by Glen of the Fourth Pig, of ‘daubing’ the wall. Daubing is a term to describe applying natural earth plasters to the stick frame structure of interior partition walls.

    Wattle Walls

    Wattle Walls

    Detail of wattle wall

    Detail of wattle wall

    Strawbale table support

    Strawbale table support

    The table top is solid teak and ‘borrowed’ for the show from my dinning room. The original strawbales underneath & supporting the table, were from the Fourth Pig Workers Co-op. All cloth material is 100% cotton, was re-used from previous shows, and painted with ‘O’ VOC paints by myself and staff. The walls were hung with unbleached 100% cotton material, the ceiling had a natural orange die, re-used from a previous trade show, and the floor cloth was painted with a mixture of 3 left over ‘0′ VOC paints in a unique SACRED GEOMETRY pattern of a combination of VESICA PISCES overlapping circles and occasional random spirals throughout and at the beginning of the patterns. The geometry circles were purposely painted as going under and over, like a Celtic pattern to encourage the ‘chi’ or energetic flow into and throughout the space.

    Sacred Geometry Floor pattern

    Sacred Geometry Floor pattern

    ...and more Sacred Geometry floor pattern

    ...more Sacred Geometry floor pattern.....

    ....more Sacred Geometry Floor pattern

    ....and more Sacred Geometry patterns

    LED light wrapped in seagrass rope

    LED light wrapped in seagrass rope

    All lighting was LED lighting from IKEA with seagrass rope wrapped tightly around it to add to the Natural effect. The majority of the construction of the booth was by the Fourth Pig Workers Co-op.

    The booth was surrounded by six 2′ x 3′ posters displaying our natural building work – all graphic design & layout by Ingrid Cryns. Staff member, Joanne, built a small Strawbale wall model with real straw and earth clay plaster at a 1:20 scale to display at the show.

    Strawbale wall model, before plaster applied

    Strawbale wall model, before plaster applied

    Strawbale wall on booth table with books for sale

    Strawbale wall model on top of booth table with various books for sale - Including LAUNCH of soma earth Home Energetic Balancing Book (left) by Ingrid Cryns.

    Green Living Show 2009 Booth Construction TEAM:
    soma earth ARCHITECT

    • Ingrid Cryns
    • Daniella Lucas
    • Joanne Swisterski
    • Rebecca Logan

    Fourth Pig Workers Co-op

    • Glen Byrom
    • Melinda Zytaruk
    • Matthew Adams
    • Mick Paterson
    • James Davis
    • Shannon Muegge (+ 2 Friends assisted in constructing the wattle wall)

    Building Biology 101

    Sunday, April 12th, 2009
    Eco-Nest House

    Eco-Nest House

    Got back late last night from a 2 day workshop at Riverside (profound place – where the only Eco-Nest in Ontario is built). I am deeply inspired and charged. Architect Paula Baker-Laport designed the building and Joshua Thorton built it. I’ve had Paula’s book on my bookshelf for years, treat it a bit like a ‘bible’ for my work and have typed up her building specifications notes throughout the book to use in my work – especially for chemically sensitive/environmental illness clients (she is like this too).

    Paula Baker-Laporte

    Paula Baker-Laporte, Architect, Author & Building Biologist

    What is a Building Biologist? From the Building Biology Institute website;
    A Bau-biologist is a researcher, architect, engineer, and doctor, all in one. He or she offers a preventive and healing medicine and a creative and unifying influence. A Bau-biologist is a worker in the global effort to solve the problems that come from modem ways of building and settlement planning—ways that disregard nature and human culture.
    To work for a better and more beautiful world is an extraordinary, necessary, and satisfying job. The goal is:

    • to regain order and harmony in our surroundings,
    • to restore the balance between nature, our buildings, and ourselves
    • to help build bridges for the realization of a world that is ecologically oriented.

    I highly recommend everyone should take a workshop with her and meet her one day. Paula grew up in Toronto and her mother still lives here, causing her to want to visit Toronto often. She went to U of T for her architecture degree and knew a no. of people from that ‘era’ of my life, from my early ‘20’s, really well! Her body of work is profound for me and I am so grateful that I decided to take this course at the last minute to meet her and get even better at what I love doing. I am now officially in a training stream to become a BBP – Building Biology Practitioner
    I will be selling her books at the upcoming Green Living Show, April 24 – 26/09 – let me know if you want one.

    Eco-Nest House

    Eco-Nest House

    This is the course I just took; http://www.naturalbuild.ca/baub.html
    This is the Eco-Nest home where the workshop was just held; http://www.naturalbuild.ca/tydr.html (Ernie & Edith the owners are Mennonites and an incredible couple!)
    http://www.bakerlaporte.com/
    EVERYONE should read her articles. http://www.bakerlaporte.com/articles/index.htm
    and get Paula’s book on the ‘Healthy Househttp://www.bakerlaporte.com/book.htm
    or her other book on Eco-Nests http://www.econest.com/bookstore/econest.htm
    Here is a great article on Building Biology that she wrote; http://www.bakerlaporte.com/articles/baubiologie.htm
    Here is the Building Biology website; http://buildingbiology.net/ and some other really great articles too; http://buildingbiology.net/news.php
    Here is a sample newsletter from the BB website of current workshops that shows the kind of courses that I will bring her here to do at the bottom; http://buildingbiology.net/text/mar_2009_ecodwell.pdf plus what she is doing here in Canada today and tomorrow only; http://www.naturalbuild.ca/tydr.html

    Here is a list of the Building Biology Principles;

    Eco-Nest Interior

    Eco-Nest Interior

    Building Biology Principles

    From www.bau-biologieusa.com

    1. Natural building materials shall be used.
    2. Walls, floors and ceilings shall be diffusible and able to absorb water and therefore accelerate the condensation process.
    3. Indoor air humidity shall be regulated naturally.
    4. Air pollutants need to be filtered and neutralized.
    5. An appropriate balance of thermal insulation and heat retention.
    6. The air and surface temperatures of a given room needs to be optimized.
    7. A heating system should feature radiant heat using as much (passive) solar heat as possible.
    8. The total moisture content of a new building shall be low and dry out quickly.
    9. A building should have a pleasant or neutral smell. No toxins shall outgas.
    10. Light, lighting and color shall be in accord with natural conditions.
    11. Protective measures against noise pollution as well as infrasonic and ultrasonic vibrations need to be human oriented.
    12. Only building materials with little or preferably no radioactivity shall be used.
    13. The natural balance of atmospheric electricity and ion concentration shall be maintained.
    14. The Earth’s natural magnetic field shall not be altered or distorted.
    15. Man-made electromagnetic radiation shall be eliminated (or reduced as much as possible).
    16. Cosmic and terrestrial radiation is essential and shall be interfered with as little as possible.
    17. Interior and furniture design shall be based on physiological findings.
    18. Harmonic measures, proportions and shapes need to be taken into consideration.
    19. The production, installation and disposal of building materials shall not contribute to environmental pollution and high energy costs.
    Masonry Wood Heater - using thermal mass to continuously radiate heat slowly.

    Masonry Wood Heater - using thermal mass to continuously radiate heat slowly.

    To LEED or not to LEAD?

    Monday, March 30th, 2009

    What is LEED?

    LEED is a rating system that promotes the design and construction of high-performance buildings. The letters stand for;

    Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

    It is a Green Building Rating System™ that “encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria.”

    It is mainly used for commercial projects and is slowly coming on line for residential buildings. There is currently a R2000 national standard voluntary program & a USA, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system that evaluates the environmental performance of a building against a set of criteria that act as a benchmark for comparison of projects. This system should be available in Canada in 2008 or 2009.

    A LEED Green Home

    A green home uses less energy, water and natural resources; creates less waste; and is healthier and more comfortable for the occupants. Benefits of a LEED home include lower energy and water bills; reduced greenhouse gas emissions; and less exposure to mold, mildew and other indoor toxins. The net cost of owning a LEED home is comparable to that of owning a conventional home.

    For more detail, here is a link LEED for Homes Rating System

    Front Entrance
    Madoc Performing Arts Centre, Project Architect: soma earth ARCHITECT

    To LEED or not to LEAD?

    The Madoc Performing Arts Centre is sure to be one of the most sustainable buildings in Canada, completed in September, 2008. Sustainability has been the key factor in every aspect of the design and construction of this remarkable building. Only the lowest-impact and longest-lasting materials have been chosen. From the compacted stone of the rubble trench foundation, up through the load-bearing round straw bale columns, to the galvanized metal roofing, the building represents the best available choices for building with all natural materials in our northern climate>

    Mechanical systems have also received a lot of attention. From the geo-thermal heating and cooling system that allows the building to maintain a comfortable temperature year round without relying on fossil fuels, to the PV panels that provide its electrical power, to the solar ventilation system that provides the building with pre-warmed fresh air, to the rainwater collection system that provides flushing water for the toilets, the building uses available technologies to drastically reduce its resource consumption and waste production.
    For the Madoc Performing Arts Centre getting it LEED certified was discussed and in the end it was decided to not participate in the program for the following reasons;

    This 2000 SF building was designed as a teaching project for the Flemming College, Sustainable Design Program. There was a preliminary investigation to see if LEED certification would be possible. The costs to assess for LEED were estimated at $20 – $25,000. There would need to be a LEED certified consultant as well as other consultants to test the heating, ventilation, etc, at about $5 – 7,000 each, to see how the building’s components would meet the assessment criteria. As the City of Madoc, did not need a LEED certification for any marketing promotion, it was decided to not spend the extra money to go through this process.

    Madoc Performing Arts Centre, August 2008

    Madoc Performing Arts Centre, August 2008

    Furthermore, the building has a number of unique sustainable components that in our opinion, goes further than a typical LEED project, which would not be able to be included.For example, LEED gives points for proximity to public transport, but has no criteria for the number of components that where chosen to be virtually fossil fuel free in it’s manufacturing or transportation (e.g. lowest embodied energy).Or points are credited for being energy efficient, but then no points are allowed for using local clay or no concrete for the floor.

    Also, it costs the same amount of money for a huge Walmart store to go through LEED certification as it does for a small building. As well, there is no consideration for the size of project, or for small projects for that matter, to cost less to go through this process on a pro-rated scale.

    Madoc, exterior flooring

    More recently there is a more stringent qualification system coming through BC called the Living Building Challenge.http://www.cascadiagbc.org/lbl/about

    They’ve created a program called the ‘The Living Building Leader TM program [which] consists of a series of intensive, advanced ‘virtual learning’ sessions in green building topics, taught by experts in the diverse fields that underpin the multidisciplinary field that is green building.”

    In summary, it may or may not always be necessary for a commercial (or residential)l project to be LEED certified.It depends on a number of variables as to the reason why the certification is required.If there is a public need for marketing that the certification would establish, than a LEED project certification would be a necessary step.

    The Fourth Wave – Higher Vibrational Frequency creates buildings with greater harmony.

    Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

    There are 4 waves or aspects that I feel encompasses the exciting & pioneering field of green sustainable building. The first wave is where most people are aware of sustainable design as an aspect of saving energy. The second wave is where more people are understanding that there is also an aspect of how design can include healthy, non-toxic use of materials and air systems. The third wave includes an awareness of invisible EMF and electrical toxicity and how to design for this. The fourth wave and in some ways a much less known aspect, is how to design buildings to work with invisible environmental energies and how to enhance the vibrational frequencies in a pro-active & protective manner.

    Click here to read about The First Wave – Green, Sustainable Building as Saving Energy.

    Click here to read about The Second Wave – Creating a Healthy Buildingt

    Click here to read about The Third Wave – Designing with EMF (Electro-Magnetic Frequency) & ELF (Electrical) awareness.

    The Fourth Wave – Higher Vibrational Frequency creates buildings with greater harmony.

    Everything that is matter is also energetically connected, is always in a state of change and whether you are aware of it or not, your environment also carries a variety of frequencies which can also be understood as levels of consciousness. Understanding how to work with different energetic & invisible vibrational frequencies allows one to restore balance and harmony for all parties concerned, whether it is for restoring balance to the environment, both externally on the land or internally in a building, or energetically for a person or a large group of people. It is the process of creating a beneficial energy environment in a home, office, or on the land, designed to support you, your family, and/or your employees, etc. Detrimental subtle energies can be assessed such as the energies associated with some underground water streams, geopathic stress lines, electromagnetic fields (EMFs), and other possible energies such as cosmic rays, psychological, or a variety of unusual, spiritual types, of energies. Once these energies are discovered, with various tools and techniques they can be transmuted into beneficial energies and the environment is reorganized into a healthier, more harmonious balance.

    The fourth wave is how to design in an energetic and/or scientific & ‘Feng Shui’, type of ‘healthy’ approach. Working with an awareness of how math, vibrational frequencies, geopathic lines & water patterns, sound, colour, harmonic proportions, sacred geometry and shapes can affect space and how you feel in that space. You can actually feel calmer, and think with greater clarity & concentration in these spaces. There are less arguments, disagreements and thus a greater harmony can be created that affects the people who co-habitate in relationship in this space. This also, as a byproduct, can increase immune systems, productivity, sales, etc. A number of different modalities that utilize an approach that addresses these issues are slowly filtering through our western society from the East.

    Egyptian Temple

    Egyptian Temple

    There are century old traditions that have evolved, been lost as well as are currently being reclaimed with greater degrees of sophistication by various different branches or sects from India, China, Tibet and Egypt. These ancient arts are slowly coming back and being incorporated more & more initially in the remediation of current spaces as well as being included in building design from scratch.

    In the Hindu, Eastern tradition from India, Ancient Vaastu Architecture as a very sophisticated & more exact science, is currently being re-claimed through the brilliant work of Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati, the world’s most eminent Vaastu architect. Another term for Vaastu is Ayurvedic Architecture. The Buildings are designed with an awareness of how they can influence our emotional & physical health and spiritual & material prosperity. Mayonic Science is based on the universal laws of authentic Vaastu Shastra. This science is now finally being taught in North America (www.aumscience.com) to enable designers to create built space through the use of precise scientific principles and mathematical formulas which are inherent in all creative activities that take place in nature. Although it is best for new building and not very easy to apply to remediate existing structures.

    Vaastu understands and has developed a science to work with the ‘morphogenetic field’, or the ‘energy which was before matter and out of which all matter consists’. Using highly developed mathematical principles they know how to manipulate matter through pre-physical energy, or the zero point energy. It can be a profound and sacred experience to walk through a Vaastu designed building. You can completely feel the difference as soon as you cross the threshold. It has been reported that fires, earthquakes or intense hurricanes or Tsunamis completely go around these buildings, leaving them standing as if nothing happened.

    “If a part of free space is isolated and confined into a four walled structure called a building, it becomes a living organism and the space enclosed will start vibrating in a particular order. If such a building is designed to vibrate in the same numerical order as that of the indweller, the resultant phenomenon is that he will experience harmony or perfect union with the Universal Self (Quantum Field)”

    -Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati

    Traditional Chinese or Tibetan Feng Shui, roughly translated as “Wind – Water”, has been around for over 5,000 years. Wind is associated with intention and water is action. Intention is also thought of as goals and water is acting on those goals. So the basis of Feng Shui is intentionally arranging our environment to help our goals manifest. There are about 600 various sects or schools, however the six major schools of Feng Shui are; the Form School, Yin Yang Theory, Five Element Theory, The Flying Star School, The East-West School, and the Black Hat Tantric Buddhism Sect. The different schools have varying degrees of sophistication and training methods from 2 day weekends to years long trainings to specialized, intuitive or shamanic or ‘magical’ types of teachings.

    “Feng Shui is based on the awareness that an electromagnetic energy flows around and through your body, linking your energy to others, objects and forces in the universe”.

    - Sharon Stasney, The Feng Shui Training School in Salt Lake City, Utah

    In a number of these schools, there are four major principles to begin using Feng Shui: Chi; Yin and Yang; The Five Elements; and the Bagua Map. Defined as the ancient art of Chinese placement, Feng shui provides blueprints and advice for creating the proper the flow of energy in your space. The positioning of many objects are based on the patterns established by yin and yang and the flow of chi, which together create positive and negative effects. An equal representation of male and female energies (Yin and Yang) is sought to create a balanced environment. Everything in the environment falls into either the Yin or Yang category, Yin being female and Yang equaling male. An example of Yin energy is things that are small, dark or heavy; Yang energy is big, bright and light.

    Bagua-Feng-Shui-Colours

    Bagua-Feng-Shui-Colours

    Feng shui uses colors, symbols, flowers and furniture placement to create a smooth pathway for chi in a home, office or retail space. Negative energy is removed or counteracted in order to encourage auspicious energy and welcome progress. Colors and shapes related to the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal and water) are used to enhance movement, balance and protection. Home accents such statues, photographs and paintings are carefully chosen and placed to promote positive energy.

    The feng shui map is known as the ba gua (ba: eight; gua: area). It indicates which areas of your life are governed by particular areas of your living or work space. The ba gua is usually depicted as an octagon with eight sections surrounding a central area. Together with Center, the nine areas include: Career or Life journey; Wisdom; Health and Family; Wealth and Prosperity; Fame; Relationships; Children and Creativity; and Helpful People and Travel. Every space has its own ba gua; there is a ba gua for land, house, and even one for each room within your home or apartment.

    Some Feng Shui schools also work with ritual and ceremony, empowering their students through the spiritual transmission from their lineage Masters. This ‘transmission’, similar to how Reiki energy healing is taught, gifts the students with the ability to intuitively know how to work with healing bodies as well as spaces. Rigdzen Chodon Rinpoche (Madi Nolan), a Tibetan Lama and Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine (DCM) is one such teacher (www.whitelotushealing.ca). She has started a school called the White Lotus Healing based in Seattle, Washington. She travels around the world teaching this craft and is authorized to pass on these teachings, empowerments and initiations from the White Cloud Monastery in China. Individuals are called initiates in the “Stream of Wisdom” of the Blue Buddha’s which includes the transmission of memory of all of the masters who studied these traditions for the past 800 years. The lives of Initiates go through a “Quickening”, where positive outcomes are a daily experience and miracles come to pass.

    Dr. Ibrahim Karim

    Dr. Ibrahim Karim

    In Egypt, Architect & Scientist Dr. Ibrahim F. Karim has been developing the science of Biogeometry over the past 30 years (www.Biogeometry.com). Biogeometry, is a kind of Egyptian Feng Shui, but much more sophisticated. Biogeometry works with the energy principles of how resonance and harmonic relationships affects energy through geometric shapes, colour, sound, motion and vibrational frequency to be able to balance biological (human, animals, plants, land) energy systems. Based on the Physics of Quality, Biogeometry integrates the energy manifestations understood in the universal laws of esoteric spiritual knowledge with science. Dr. Karim has developed tools based on sacred geometry principles that can transmute detrimental energies and/or amplify highly beneficial and natural energy qualities. BioGeometrical shapes have three primary vibrational qualities:

    1. A Negative green colour & sound frequency.

    2. A higher harmonic of ultra-violet colour & sound frequency, and

    3. A higher harmonic of gold colour & sound frequency.

    IKUP Pendulum designed by Ibrahim Karim

    Incorporating the French science of Radiesthesia (which was discovered originally in Egypt), Dr. Karim has developed several sophisticated dowsing tools to be able to detect or calibrate with greater precision the various frequencies of different vibrational energies. It is an incredibly fascinating science that is being reclaimed from the knowledge that the ancient Egyptians already knew thousands of years ago. Radiesthesia uses the vibrational fields of the human body as a link to be able to access information on levels that we cannot visibly see or hear.

    Zero Point

    Zero Point

    Similar to Vaastu, Biogeometry works with an understanding of Quantum Physics and how the ‘zero point energy’ and matter is formed first in the ‘pre-energy’ spiritual field. With Biogeometry an existing space can be remedied to balance & transmute all detrimental energies and enhance beneficial energies. But to be able to design using the principles from the beginning creates an even stronger and higher vibrational frequency. The science of harmonizing the energy of the environment with Biogeometry principles appears to create a greater balance in the energy field of the body which also allows the body a greater ability to be able to heal itself or simply live in a greater harmony.

    “Similarly as with air so it is with vitality, emotional, mental and subtle spiritual energies, all these energy types exist in the space around us and give the space qualities that are constantly affecting and being affected by our energy system. The Architect as the sculptor of space should have the knowledge and the tools to work on all those levels. It is therefore essential that we expand our design language to include the necessary criteria to interact with all these energies.”

    - Dr. Ibrahim F. Karim

    Biogeometrical shapes designed to enhance & balance the energy of the room.

    Biogeometrical shapes designed to enhance & balance the energy of the room.

    Different cultures have developed the science of working with these invisible energies that can profoundly affect and change your experience of your space as well as how you operate in the world. They are all simply different facets of the truth that makes up a greater truth with even more possibilities of increasing variety and combinations.

    Buildings can become more sensual, relaxed – to the eye, to the body, to the environment and there can also be a whole consciousness that can be ‘sung’ into the building as workers work with joy & love as they build! Consciousness through sound/toning/chanting/song can affect & change the vibrational frequencies of all matter, material, building components, completely. Any material type can also follow the mathematical principles of Vaastu. So why not experiment a little, integrating other modalities with, for instance, the new, highly sophisticated, Biogeometry dowsing tools, that can now allow us to test for different frequencies so we can know what creates a higher or lower vibration and see what new architecture can be created?

    Buildings can actually enhance the consciousness of the individuals living in them and we can heal people not only with hands on methods to the body, but also through building actual buildings that can enhance healing profoundly and truly affect your ability to receive or work with new information and thus be able to be more expansive, creative, balanced and harmonious.

    A building that incorporates all 4 of the Waves of a Sustainable, Healthy and Harmonious Building Design are generally of a higher quality, more comfortable, safer, quieter and can require less maintenance. They are also more durable, and can incur lower monthly operating costs!

    Designing in a 4 Wave Healthy approach will ensure that you have the best building possible to optimize & enhance your health & well being on ALL levels!