Walk Through Walls and Other Fascinations

I've always believed that architecture has a higher purpose than just to protect us from the elements. It forms our basis of relating to ourselves and to others. It creates the foundation of our organization and thought processes. A building is a manipulation of space and elements.

Since I can remember, most of my dreams have involved the organization based on architecture and the relations that develop in those spaces. I have had dreams of beautiful palaces, of interlinked deckwalks on a swampy bog, and intricate details of imagined churches.

I recall in elementary school I was one of a handful of kids in my class to test out of our final year of reading, and we were thrown into taking Spanish. Our Spanish teacher was a young man of northern heritage who grew up in Chile. As a class filled with smart kids, we usually would lead our Spanish classes off-topic or playing Spanish Password and BINGO. One day he talked about living in Chile and hiking the nearby mountains and what he'd found on his explorations. He mentioned that it was then he would gain ideas and insights about the forces of nature. He made a side remark once that he believed that in the future humans would be able to walk or pass through doors and walls without effort. (Maybe he had read something like this futuristic dream.) The thought intrigued me.

It was also during this time that I became involved in calligraphy and began perfecting my calligraphic writing. (Still not perfect, yet.) Several years ago, the Smithsonian magazine featured the first illuminated script of the Saint John's Bible. Wow. Researching illuminated script and sacred geometry pulled up even more interesting information: Coding sacred numbers and design into the illustrations.

Maybe there's a connection here between sacred architecture, geometry, faith and our physical nature.

Coral Castle: Mysteries of Sacred Geometry and A Man's Passions

Coral Castle is a work of magnificent manipulation. Many ask how one tiny man could build these structures by himself... Me too. So, what did he know that I don't? Who knows. However, some try to figure it all out.

Edward Leedskalnin, the creator of Coral Castle, or referred to as Sweet Sixteen, built this place as a beckoning to his unrequited love, Agnes, a sixteen year old who left him a day before their wedding. What a way to grieve! He flees his homeland of Latvia and comes to southern Florida to build this epic rock garden for his sweet sixteen. I don't think any guy I dumped would have gone to that extent to woo me back.

And that is the point, this guy built this world wonder for a girl! Not to exploit his scientific knowledge to the world or to boost of his intelligence, but he did it for a girl. Now, I do know guys who go crazy over a girl, and sometimes never get over it. But this is extreme.

And it is impressive. I don't know if I'd want to live in a rock quarry, but the structures are overwhelmingly impressive. If I were Agnes, I don't think this would convince me of a man's love, however. (I'm thinking Ed Leedskalnin was maybe an autistic-savant, but I think that savant is an underestimate.) He certainly didn't seem to understand what really turned his woman on.

Sure, having a huge door that can be opened by a slight push is nice feature for a woman, but, no, it really doesn't do the trick in the aspect of love. Creating an air conditioner is a nice feature, especially in Florida, but not so much for Latvia. A rocking chair in rock. You know, they make those in wood, too, and they're probably more comfortable, too.

Women like pretty things like flowers and pretty pictures. Now, if Ed Leedskalnin had sent his beloved a drawing of his sacred geometry of magnetic currents, maybe that would help his cause. Notice the drawing of magnetic currents, courtesy of Jon DePew. Connect the dots. Doesn't it look like a heart? The designs of sacred geometry using this design is beautiful, too. Can you imagine the wallpaper that could be created with this design?

Now, this man was smart. Very smart. Almost too smart. That may have been his biggest fault in the courting department. Ed Leedskalnin's passion became Coral Castle. His passion was marked with outstanding intelligence. He may have known the inner workings of magnetic currents, but he apparently fell short on human magnetism.