The enlivening of a form and the re-experiencing of a form
The landscape designer develops forms of different sizes and shapes. Triangular, rectangular, square, pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal forms, etc. Everyone is familiar with round forms.
Through landscape design, the human mind can be stimulated and enlivened.
Life today has become very fast-paced. Who still takes the time, for example, to study and observe individual forms in detail? How quickly do words like ‘oh, how beautiful!’, ‘how ugly?’, ‘how undifferentiated?’ and many others come to mind upon first seeing a form—and already the person moves on, casting a quick glance at the next form or turning away. Interest is often extinguished before it is even aroused. Rapidly arising emotions or previously formed experiences often make careful observation difficult and quickly divert attention to something else.
- But how does a form truly affect a person? How is it perceived?
- How does a deeper perceptive ability toward a form develop?
- What exists as a being of thought, as a life of thought, as an idea behind an external visible form that leads a person to a deeper understanding of that form? What being of thought is hidden behind a spruce, a pine, a beech? What idea lies behind it?
Why does the maple develop precisely this form, which becomes visible to the observer?
The spiritual researcher Heinz Grill has provided many ideas and impulses on this topic, for example in his architecture book: The Idea of Synthesis https://stw-verlag.de/produkte/die-idee-der-synthese-von-spiritualitaet-und-baukunst/, as well as Rudolf Steiner, according to whose ideas a garden park and a vegetable garden were realized at the Goetheanum:
How a form is perceived by different people can indeed vary subjectively.
The terms 'being of thought, experience of thought, and idea' touch on the spiritual dimension, which is not directly tangible at first, while the concrete and visible form is physically realized, visible, tangible, measurable, and weighable.
- What forms does the landscape designer create, and how do they affect people?
- In what order and harmony do they relate to each other?
- When and under what conditions do forms harmonize with each other?
- Principles of order can include, for example, proportion, length, mathematical relationships, conceptual and intellectual connections, colors, and so on.
- How do these elements work together, and when do they create an aesthetic effect?
Such questions are indeed interesting, as every form exerts an effect on the observer, whether consciously or unconsciously.
To approach the effect of a form on a person, the following exercise can be practiced:
Exercise:
Exploring a form with the eyes:
Upper plunge pool
Lower water basin with newts
Shape of the watercourse to the plunge pool in Naone
For example, the eyes carefully explore the shape of the watercourse leading to the plunge pool, then turn away and recreate the image in the mind, just as a painter draws a form he envisions on a sheet of paper.
In doing so, the observer establishes a relationship between themselves and the shape of the watercourse. The observer’s attention is directed outward, and their senses flow toward the form. Afterward, they look at the watercourse again and compare what they have mentally created with the actual form. This reveals what has not yet been clearly seen, and the exercise is repeated to complete the mental representation.
In doing so, the observer establishes a relationship between themselves and the shape of the watercourse. The observer’s attention is directed outward, and their senses flow toward the form. Afterward, they look at the watercourse again and compare what they have mentally created with the actual form. This reveals what has not yet been clearly seen, and the exercise is repeated to complete the mental representation.
Research and frequent practice of this exercise show that by focusing intensely on an object, it becomes ‘enlivened’ itself. As a result, people who later visit the site, without knowing that this exercise has been practiced, will unconsciously observe the watercourse, the plunge pool, and the surroundings more closely, because they perceive that the objects engage with them and appear more luminous.
The re-experiencing of forms internally
What is meant by the term ‘re-experiencing forms internally’?
By exploring a form with the eyes, it is recreated internally (in the so-called etheric body*¹ or energy body of the person), generating a subtle dynamic movement. One can imagine this as if an energetic field becomes visible and gradually takes on the shape of the watercourse.
Through repeated practice and mental recollection, the form can be increasingly re-experienced and felt internally. In this way, it imprints itself in the subtle part of the body and can also trigger subtle, health-promoting effects.
Through repeated practice and mental recollection, the form can be increasingly re-experienced and felt internally. In this way, it imprints itself in the subtle part of the body and can also trigger subtle, health-promoting effects.
To ensure that the exercise becomes increasingly effective and that the sensory process is not distracted—for example, because the observer gets lost in impressions or remains stuck in their subjective mood and does not engage with the form—a question or content is added after a clear visualization of the form, which is then thought about with focused attention.
Such a question could be, for example: How does the watercourse relate to the terrain and the house?
The house in Naone is located relatively far from the watercourse and the plunge pool below, yet both are still connected.
By including the additional question, the sensory impressions are guided more consciously, which over time fosters a deeper perception of the given relationship.
The relationship can be discerned from the terrain and the house, which is at the center of all design forms. A first circle was drawn around the corners of the house, determining both the center of the house and the radius. From this, a total of seven circles were created, named after the cosmic planets. In this way, the house is connected with all the forms on the terrain. The plunge pool with the watercourse is located in the middle between the 6th circle (Planet Jupiter) and the 7th circle (Planet Saturn).
Image of the house and plunge pool
Image of construction drawing
Rudolf Steiner described in his book Paths to a New Architecture that the astral body (a term summarizing human thinking, feeling, and willing) begins to calculate at the subconscious level and checks the mathematical relationships and the not directly visible, yet present, laws underlying a building. The better the individual design forms relate to one another, the ‘more comfortable’ the human mind feels.
*¹ Heinz Grill: The etheric body is the body that organizes the invigorating life force. Architecture book: The Idea of the Synthesis of Spirituality and Architecture"