| I LOVED seeing that a new shopping mall in Hong Kong is designed around the Five Elements!!! Such an interesting concept and one that most Westerns are only starting to hear more about and understand. The concept is based on the natural environment in which the world is designed and allowing us to design the built environment around it. Not quite the same as “biomimcry” but a very, very ancient version of the same thing.
As a Feng Shui practioner, I have been continually exploring the importance of the Elements in the world around us and how their BALANCE is key to everything in our lives – our health, our spaces, or interaction with each other. The main Five Elements in Feng Shui are the main natural elements that make up our world- Metal, Water, Wood, Fire, Earth. I saw a great example of this Concept being designed into a Shopping Mall in Hong Kong and I had to take a peek to see if it would be the same as my interpretation. And of course, it is very different than my view, but isn’t all design somewhat subjective? However the design is based around the (5) elements in (5) different themed areas. And they are as follows: the Metal Zone being all about luxury shops and metal sculptures, the Water Zone includes world class restaurants, the Wood Zone is all about wood decor and furniture, the Fire Zone is a movie complex and has an ice skating rink! and the Earth Zone is all about fashion, beauty, lifestyle and a garden. Not necessarily how I would intrepreate the Five Elements but I adore that it is the essence of balancing our inner worlds with our natural environments. The next time I am in Hong Kong, I am heading there to do some site inspections and of course to go shopping and ice skating! |
S. LEE WRIGHT
HOLISTIC INNER DESIGNS
