Crooked Perspective?
The Crooked House (Krzywy Domek ) in Sopot, Poland came up in my news feed recently and all I could do was recite the kid's nursery rhyme for the next few days. But then the crooked house got me thinking. I was fascinated by it’s quirky exterior. At first I thought it was Photoshop-ed but No, it was genuine. So I dug a little deeper to see what the building might be able to ‘tell’ me.
Of course I am viewing this through my Feng Shui lens and a few points of interest caught my eye immediately. I believe it’s important to incorporate multiple Feng Shui schools and aspects such as Form, Eight Mansions and Flying Stars, and by layering the schools one can reap the best results. Therefore, in the main my analysis of this building is from a Feng Shui Form school perspective - the visual analysis of a building’s setting location and also from an elemental perspective.
My initial though was gosh how does anyone live there, but its colloquial and translated term - crooked house - is a tad misleading, as it’s a commercial building with multipurpose spaces. It’s listed as one of Europe’s most bizarre buildings and also boasts first place as one of the world’s strangest buildings! It appears to operate 24/7 with daytime vendors and clubs n’ pubs operating by night so it’s activated intensely. In fact on their website, it states - The Krzywy Domek –never sleeps! So as a Feng Shui consultant I’m suitably baited to discover more, as if it operates 24/7 then its Feng Shui is very Yang and perpetually activated.
The Shape
In 2001 architects, Mrs and Mr Szotyński, were inspired by Jan Marcin Szancer – a Polish illustrator and Per Dahlberg as a source of inspiration in the design process. It opened in 2004 (exact date unavailable).
To describe the building without an image, one might say the façade, is a caricature of a crooked house with no right angles or straight lines - it ripples, billows and exaggerates curves. It certainly taps into the land of mysterious fairytales. It speaks to the Feng Shui element of water, defined by fluid, wavy shapes. The dark reflective glass at the entrance also hints at the water element.
The 2-d floor-plan is equally of interest. Non-regular in shape and the closest elementally link is relates to the rectangular wood element. In a Generating cycle Water generates or feeds Wood. Parts of the interior also such as the lounge areas and staircase have overemphasized fluid and curvy features.
Pinpointing a Date
Returning to the date of construction - 2004. It maybe a year like any other to a construction baron or a domestic home owner moving into their new abode. However, Chinese metaphysics observe the universe’s cycles in 180, 60 and 20-year cycles, as well as yearly, monthly and bihourly cycles. And on 4th February 2004 another 20-year cycle commenced, referred to as an Age of 8 cycle. To a Feng Shui consultant it’s a significant year as the Earth Trigram Gen is activated. In the main, living/working in a structure during its 20-year cycle is very auspicious. However since no accurate date information is available, it may have been completed in Jan 2004, which would make it an Age of 7 structure. Generally a building close to the cusp of Ages, can give a slightly confused energetic feeling to a building. We are approaching another 20-year cycle change in 2024, and the current Age of 8 auspicious energy is beginning to fade and slow down.
Alignment - Between two mountains?
To calculate an accurate energetic map of a structure using Flying Stars field of study, an accurate date of construction/completion is required as well as the magnetic compass direction. Thanks to Google maps (for these purposes at least) we can decipher a compass reading remotely. I am personally all for an on- site reading (or a confirmation reading) however, this method is very useful in urban settings when reinforced concrete and magnetic fields can make obtaining accurate readings difficult. When I first looked at this building my gut intuition, leaned toward an issue with the compass direction - I suspected it was ‘Out of Bounds’. Now to Western astrologers this is a familiar term, but some Feng Shui consultants who don’t practice Xuan King Fei Xing have never heard to this. It can also be called an ‘Out of Trigram’, or on the ‘Boundary of two mountains’. In brief it makes for a challenging living/working environment. There are eight points in the 360 degrees of a Lopan that this could occur, so it’s not so common to come across such alignments. As I’m currently reviewing a Residential investment property with an ‘Out of Bounds’ my radar was on. Apart from the challenge of “square” off this non-conforming buildings floor plan- the first step in defining the compass direction remotely - it appear to show an ‘Out of Bounds’ calculation via my remote reading! Not surprising, for a building that thrives on its uniqueness and quirky architectural accolades.
Deciphering a chart with two Ages and then two potential ‘Out of Trigram’ degrees can be a VERY conflicting process –paralysis by analysis can set in. So another more simplified method to gleam more information about the building – is to calculate the buildings personal trigram (Ba Gua) – which only factors in eight directions. The structure falls into a ‘Kan’ house. Surprise, surprise it's associated with the Water element, reinforced by the fluid facade!
Remote Reading
Remote reading harvest great results, especially when backed up by a construction dates, to scale floorplan and a double-check of the compass reading on-site. If your keen for a consult but don’t live in the Sydney area, then this mini case study conducted from 10,000 ish Km away, is food of thought. In a consult situation we can highlight what kind of person this building might suit, how to work with the predominate elements, address the Yang nature of the space, suggest businesses that might perform best in this space and of course a number of Feng Shui solutions can be added to modify certain areas in the floorplan. You can find out more about our REMOTE| INTERNATIONAL consultations on our website. We are available by phone or skype to walk you through how to get an accurate compass reading.
ⓒ FENG SHUI ISM