Feng-Shui Gardens

URL: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understanding-the-principles-of-feng-shui.html

- The term Feng Shui reference to the placement of objects and things in one’s home  and how they affect the living environment and energy flow

- It is actually pronounced Fung Shway!

- This energy flow effects the way one performs and well being. We are always effected by this whether we notice it or not

- It is an intricate process to have the right Feng Shui arrangement and it is not something achieved easily

- It is achieved through the positioning and arranging the surroundings for a harmonious environment which will result in better well being

- It provides balance, comfort and harmony in one’s environment which is otherwise impossible to achieve

- Feng means wind. Shui means water. The two moving elements on earth thus the flow of energy and one’s chi

I would have liked to include this topic in my essay as well, but since it is a vast subject and goes into good detail with regards to the principles for such environments I opted to leave it out.

Dummies, 2015. Understanding the Principles of Feng Shui. [online] Available at: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understanding-the-principles-of-feng-shui.html [Accessed on 15^th May 2015] 

Case Study 2

Garden in the sky (Falkenberg, 2012, p.p. 134-140)

- ‘Garden in the sky’ in the Fusionopolis complex, Singapore by Kisho Kurokawa

- The building is to host creative scientists, research and technology companies as well as humanities experts

- The concept developed from the initial idea and layout due to some complications and limitations encountered along the way

- Plants could be beneficial not only to purify the air but also to be used as insulation due to their volume as a whole

- Due to air movement some plants had to be relocated or changed, this featured in the building having five different gardens

Falkenberg, H., 2012. Interior Gardens: Designing and constructing green spaces in private and public buildings. Basel, Switzerland. Birkhäuser.

Case Study 1

Loft apartment with indoor garden (Falkenberg, 2012, p.p. 30-33)

- First destruction was in 1928 during World War II and other demolitions; the last being in April 2005 on which this case study analysis is done

- Two separate planters of different sizes in the middle of the loft each containing different types of trees

- The shape and layout of the loft was taken into consideration for the selection of trees to be used

- Vine like trees are placed to grow in other parts of the apartment for a holistic design

Falkenberg, H., 2012. Interior Gardens: Designing and constructing green spaces in private and public buildings. Basel, Switzerland. Birkhäuser.

Healing Gardens in Hospitals

URL: http://spokane.wsu.edu/academics/Design/IDRP2/Vol_1/Cooper_Marcus.pdf

- Hospitals can be very stressful places for patients, visitors and stuff and going to a nearby landscape or garden can help to deal with these stressful experiences and could improve health.

- Different types of gardens are required for different areas of healing. Each sector needs different features. If you have one garden for all types of medical conditions you might be losing the point of it all.

- Abstract art should not be used since it could be considered threatening to traumatic patients.

Clare Cooper Marcus, January 2007. Healing Gardens in Hospitals. [pdf] NAI Publishers. Available at:  http://spokane.wsu.edu/academics/Design/IDRP2/Vol_1/Cooper_Marcus.pdf [Accessed on 12th March 2015]