03/07/2018

 Yin /Yang In Architecture Adventure

I couldn’t believe that I was able to hold on to a job in an architectural firm for more than 5-years when I was in my 20’s. With gracious colleagues and my deep curiosity, I am thankful to have excellent exposures both in the artistic and practical areas of architecture, God has also blessed me with a few dear friends who are architects with prominent standings in the society. And my cousin, Archie is an architect who is based in San Francisco.

However, without formal training in architecture, it would be too presumptuous to make any attempt to elaborate on anything that is remotely about the adventure in architecture. One evening, like many other evenings, after dinner as I was aimlessly flipping the remote control, and finally stopped at BBC, on FlameKylin Dan Cruickshank’s ‘ the Architecture Adventure,’ he is a British art historian and BBC TV presenter, with a particular interest in the history of architecture.

What my intuitive insight was not on all the dramatic Architectural features, but was on how I could be able to perceive the idea of Yin/Yang that popped up in the feature story. The documentary was about the structure of ‘an Igloo. It is of how people use the blocks of ice to build a structure and how people are able to keep warm inside, while outside the weather condition is freezing cold.

An Igloo is literally a dome-shaped house that people live in Greenland, the North Pole and frozen ice were used as the construction material. It is counterintuitive to use the hard block of Ice ( Ice is Yang Y+) to keep people warm ( Warm is Yin, Y-) and comfortable inside (is Yin, Y-) even when the outside (is Yang, Y+) temperatures dip to minus 50 degrees F.

I have to skip the technical building process and architectural feature of an Igloo but look into the critical function of the heat conductivity, in the filter of the idea of Yin/Yang. The principle lies merely on either the body heat, stove or campfire that radiates the warmth that rises up (Y+) and then melts the ice to fill up all the ice holes that are inside (Y-) of the Igloo.

Then the ice refreezes and tightly seals up the Igloo, so it becomes an airtight doom. And we all know that the property of ice does not conduct heat well; thus any heat generated within the Igloo would remain, and with the airtight snow blocks serving as an insulator.

So people are Warm (Y-) within (Y-) the entire structure that built with Iced bricks (Y+).  I could see the perfect pictogram an Igloo, in the mirror of the concept of Yin/Yang; with Cold(Y+) is opposite to Warmth (Y-). But the ‘intertwined duality’of the heat conductivity could generate warmth (Y-) for people inside (Y-) of the structure while outside (Y+) the weather is icy cold (Y+).

‘雪屋–Xuě wū’is the Chinese translation of an Igloo, it simply means a ‘snow house,’ a type of housing built of snow. More features on an Igloo would be just a Google away. And I could only talk about this ‘Architecture Adventure’ without talking about Architecture by God’s Grace (hesed wisdom) and in the lens of the idea of  Yin/Yang. Just as we use Taijitu to tell what’s Yin/Yang to people even if they were illiterate if what a simple chart can do the work, written words are redundant.

Very often my dear God would answer prayers even before I actually my request before HIM. Personally, my simple heart’s desire is to see more things or more extraordinary use Yin/Yang eyes. I knew nothing at all about an Igloo until I watched the program of ‘BBC Tonight.’ I was surprised to find out that one of my architect friend who had never heard of  ‘an Igloo.’ 

 Isaiah 65:24– ESV  

Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking, I will hear.