Browsing by Author "Ho, Belinda Oi-Yee"

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    Feng shui, Chinese geomancy
    (1990) Ho, Belinda Oi-Yee; Parsons, Spencer; Waldman, Peter; Balfour, Alan
    Chinese geomancy (feng shui) has been an important underlying concept behind ancient and modem Chinese architecture. As a parallel to Le Corbusier's Golden Section, principles of Chinese geomancy assist in the determination of various design decisions; such as the location of a site, the geometry of a building or room, and even the arrangement of furniture. Through the means of feng shui, Chinese architecture is able to establish a harmony between heaven, earth and man. I would like to extend this set of principles to design a Chinese embassy in the western setting of Washington D.C. The embassy not only symbolizes the political relationship between the eastern and the western cultures, but it also offers the potential for a harmonic juxtaposition of the eastern concept with a set of western criteria such as zoning and building ordinances. The design would serve as a demonstration of the interaction between eastern and western values; or, more specifically, the interplay between the ideal and spiritual and the realistic and functional. Through complimentary and conflicting dualities, a harmony will be sought through design.