During a Feng Shui tour of Berlin architecture last week, it was interesting to see how the fundamental relationships between the five elements could be experienced. For example a tall thin building (wood), which looked metallic in colour and material (metal), with some red colouring (fire), created a clash of elements and was uncomfortable on the eye, whereas a solid earth-coloured building (earth) with a dome-shaped roof (metal) felt harmonious and attractive. In buildings where the elements were harmonious, it must have often have been designed intuitively, rather than with Feng Shui principles in mind. Outside a row of three banks that have a combination of earth and metal energies, the one that stands out is the one with the wavey (water) shaped structure across the front, which is not in harmony with the other features, and I wondered whether this was intentional or not. However, the most interesting piece of architecture for me, was the inside of the DG Bank, designed by Frank Owen Gehry, which is like an enormous sculpture of wood and metal – these elements are not harmonious, but we all gasped with amazement and were very impressed – why? As Howard Choy described it, “it is like seeing a first class fight” (between the elements)!
