The Doctrine of Signatures

Illustration by Giambattista della Porta. See picture references below the illustration.

Botanical patterns have been architects´ inspiration, at first for ornaments, now for buildings´ morphogenesis where a botanical law is introduced. But this particular morphology in nature has also been an inspiration for medicine theorists. After all, it seems to be a matter of finding an interesting application.

Resemblances between plants morphology and animals. From http://homepages.tscnet.com/omard1/portax.gif

Picture downloaded from http://homepages.tscnet.com/omard1/portax.gif

The first written record of herbs used as medicine was made over five thousand years ago by the Sumerians, in ancient Mesopotamia (Iraq). About 500 BC advanced medicine culture began to separate from magic and during the European Renaissance, another theory was developed: the Doctrine of Signatures, dismissed by scholars due to its relationship with astrology and for being a superstitious and ¨primitive pre-science¨. It is based on the theory that the physical morphology of plants is related to therapeutic value. It means the morphological resemblance would be the healing agent. In our architects´ language, function follows form. And this resemblance was ¨imprinted¨ by God as His signature to help men discover a cure for maladies. This doctrine was probably first recognized in ancient China, where there was a classification that correlated plant features to human organs.

yellow and sweet = spleen

red and bitter = heart
green and sour = liver
black and salty = lungs

Yang (primitive male) was associated with strongly acting plants; ailments of the upper half of the body were treated with upper parts of plants. Yin (primitive female) was associated with plants having moderate action and those with bitter, sour, salty, and sweet tastes; ailments of lower parts of the body were treated with below-ground plant parts. (Excerpt from

http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Doctrine/index.html)

In Western cultures signature plants emerged for medical uses in the XVI and XVII centuries; at this time people believed that human destiny was determined by astrology and each plant had the power to benefit or destroy us. A succession of books were published on ¨doctrine of signature¨ and/or ¨astrological botany¨. Though science does not support this methodology of physical resemblance and methodology of trial and error, at least they are considerably interesting for those who like to analyze morphological patterns. The most famous of those mystical writers was Philippus Aureolus. The scientific system of classification of herbs including morphological, anatomical, physiological, phytochemical, phytological and phytogenetical were carried out during the XVII century.

Illustration by Giambattista Della Porta in his 1586 treatise De Humana Physiognomia. www.spamula.net/blog/i12/dellaporta01-thumb.gif

Comparing the faces of a sheep and a sheeplike man, della Porta observes that the wide strongly defined mouth common to both indicates stupidity and impiety http://www.spamula.net/blog/i12/dellaporta02.html

"I have oft-times declared, how by the outward shapes and qualities of things, we may know their inward virtues, which God had put in them for the good of man. So in St Johns Wort, we may take notice of the leaves, the porosity of the leaves, the veins. (1). The porosity of holes in the leaves, signifies to us, that this herb helps inward or outward holes or cuts in the skin.... (2). The flowers of Saint Johns Wort, when they are putrified they are like blood ; which teacheth us, that this herb is good for wounds, to close them and fill them up " (cited by Lesley Gordon, p. 27, though Mrs Gordon used the word ¨purified¨, I prefer the translation ¨putrified¨).

This phrase belongs to Theophrastus Bombastus of Hohenheim, better known as Paracelsus (1493-1541). He was a doctor, and in 1527 he became professor at Basle. He gave new meanings to medicine by interpreting his own research instead of the ancients´, to whom he offended with his vulgar comments. The perforations he wrote about are in fact glandular dots, translated into wounds that reinforced the idea of blood in red plants juice.

Although the Doctrine of Signatures is always related to his name, the greatest exponent of this theory was Giambattista della Porta. He was a polymath who wrote and published on many subjects as natural magic, cryptography, horticulture, optics, mnemonics, meteorology, physics, astrology, mathematics, and fortification; he invented both the camera obscura and the telescope; he experimented in the art of distillation and cultivated rare plants in his garden at Naples. He also believed in a conexion between some plants and their corresponding stars or planets. In his published work Phytognomica (1588) he supported the Doctrine of Signatures, and what is more, in his 1586 treatise De Humana Physiognomia he related human features to animals´ as indices of their characters and spiritual qualities.

William Coles, in 1657, concluded that certain plants were endowed with signatures in order to assist man in his search for remedies; those which were left in blank encouraged them to discover their healing properties. He carried the doctrine of signatures to an extreme, considering that ¨Wall-nuts have the perfect signature of the Head¨ (`Adam in Eden,' 1657).

Robert Turner, an astrological botanist added in 1644 ¨For what climate soever is subject to any particular disease, in the same place there grows a cure¨. (Cited by Lesley Gordon, p. 27)

Some conclusions were:
Long-lived plants would lengthen a man's life, while short-lived plants would abbreviate it.
Red roses were good for nose bleeding.
Jaundice was cured with the yellow juice of celandine and the yellow bark of the barberry (Berberis Vulgaris).
If moss were gathered from a a skull, it was efficacious in treating the disorders of brain and head.
The kernel of walnuts was good for brain problems.
Flowers shaped as butterflies would cure insects bites.
Viper´s bugloss (Echium chamaedrys) with a stem like a snake, was an antidote for snakebite and scorpion stings.
Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria) with its white scales was good for teeth.
Some fruits and flowers resembled some animals´organs, then an investigation of the temperament of the animal in question would determine what kind of disease the plant was intended to cure.
Maidenhair fern was good to cure baldness.
Heart Trefoyle which triangular leaf is like the Heart of a Man, defends the ¨heart against the noisome vapour of the Spleen." (William Cole).
Gravelwort dissolved stones in the urinary tract….And so on.

Camelthorn. From http://www.texasinvasives.org

Common Toothwort. Picture by Milos Andera

Lungwort (Pulmonaria) http://www.paghat.com/doctrine.html

In 2009 Kamlesh Wad et al make the following distinctions in the Doctrine: Paracelsus´, Hippocrates´, Chinese doctrine, Islamic doctrine, Astronomical, Homeopathy, Hindu´s and today´s doctrine. The following description is an adaptation of Wad et al´s scholar paper.

Paracelsus was also a believer in the influence of the heavenly bodies upon the vegetable world (botanical astrology), in which each plant was under the influence of a specific star. The star gave the plant the strength to grow.

Hippocrates categorized all the herbs as the qualities of the hot, cold, dry and damp and related to the four elements water, earth, fire and air. Herbs used for the disease like chest problems were those commonly observed during the damp and cold winter. He created an entire school of “rational” or scientific” medicine that utilized simple natural remedies such as vinegar, honey, herbs, and hydrotherapy in healing.

In Chinese doctrine body is composed of a number of interrelated functional entities such as heart, spleen, kidney liver and lung. According to the color and taste of herb, there is a reflection of its medicinal properties.

Islamic herbalists believed that plants growing above the ground were appropriate for ailments of the upper body and plants that grew below the ground were appropriate for ailments of the lower body.

Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) revitalized another phase of herbalism which connects herbs to different sign of zodiac and treat specific ailment by determining what sign and planet ruled over a part of the body; the prescription of an herb would follow the same astrological sign.

Samuel Hahnemann believed that symptoms are no more than outward reflection of the bodies’ inner fight to overcome illness, not a manifestation of illness itself. He also stated that medicine given to cure should reinforce this systems rather than counteract them. The cause of disease may also be its remedy. For example the Onion (Allium cepa) extract is used homeopathically to treat the common cold which produces watery discharge form eyes and nose which are the symptoms similar to common cold.

The earliest mention of plant in India is found in Rigveda having been written between 4500-1600 BC. According to the Hindu belief every herb can be used as medicine provided the user finds out how to use it. The hindu doctrine is based on the principal of ayurvedic philosophy. The objective of ayurveda is to maintain health of a healthy person and to cure the disease of patient by proper balancing the tridosh, which is based on three humor: Kapha, Vatta and Pitta at the body level and Satva, Rajas, and Tamas at mental level. Ayurveda places great emphasis upon determining an individual’s pattern of health imbalance, rather than choosing remedies to counteract single symptoms systems according to basic quality consisting of Five Phases (or Five Elements) of Fire, Earth, Air (or Metal), Water and wood.

Hundreds of years later, there are studies supporting earlier observations of these herbalists. Lungwort is an expectorant helping to remove catarrh from the lungs; walnuts with their high omega-3 oil content are considered a “brain food;” kidney beans assist the kidneys by removing excess of phosphorus. How early herbalists were able to obtain specific information by observing the plants is difficult to know for certain, but it is clear that the benefits of these plants are just as relevant today as they were then.----------------------------------------

Picture from http://www.pharma.unibas.ch/bio/img/Humor_now_and_then/Alraune_2.jpg

The doctrine is now subject of analysis between open minded scholars, who offer us different points of view based on their current research on folk medicine in different countries.

¨Some evidence of the existence of an ancient pharmacological theory—the Doctrine of Signatures—has been found in the folk medicine of Israel. The research reported 14 plants with folk medicinal uses based on the Doctrine of Signatures categories including: similarity of the plant or plant organ to the damaged human organ (Alhagi maurorum, camel thorn; Astragalus macrocarpus, milk-vetch; andCynoglossum creticum, blue hound’s tongue), similarity to animal shape or behavior (Heliotropium europaeum, European turnsole;Asteriscus spinosus, starwort; andBriza maxima, large quaking grass), similarity of plant color to the color of the disease’s symptoms or the medical phenomena (Rhamnus alaternus, Italian buckthorn; Citrullus colocynthis, bitter gourd; and Ecballium elaterium, squirting cucumber), and similarity of plant habitat or characteristic to human features (Parietaria judaica, wall pellitory; and Ruta chalepensis, African rue). (Amots Dafni and E Lev. The doctrine of signatures in present-day Israel . Vol. 56, No 4. December 2002)

And Bradley C. Bennet from the Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Ethnobiology and Natural Products, Florida International University, Miami, has arrived to different evaluations and conclusions resumed in four items:

1. There is no evidence that morphological plant signatures ever led to the discovery of medicinal properties. 2. Plants with morphological signatures are no more likely to be used medicinally than are those lacking them 3. Signatures are post hoc attributions rather than a priori clues to the utility of medicinal plants. 4. Redefining signature to include organoleptic properties associated with therapeutic value is productive.

REFERENCES

The Doctrine of Signatures

http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Doctrine/index.html
Doctrine Of Signatures And Astrological Botany (originally published in 1912) in Old and Sold. Antiques Digest. http://www.oldandsold.com/articles31n/herbals-22.shtml
Bradley C. Bennett. Doctrine of Signatures: A Further Examination. Oral presentation.
http://www.econbot.org/_organization_/07_annual_meetings/meetings_by_year/2007/pdfs/abstracts/bennett.pdf
http://www.sierrapotomac.org/W_Needham/The%20Doctrine%20of%20Signatures.htm
Kamlesh Wadher, Ravi Kalsait, Milind Umekar / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2009, 2(5),852-857. 3 D of herbalism - Dogma Doctrine and development. February 25th 2009, available on line through www.jpronline.info
Gordon, Lesley. Green Magic. The Viking Press, New York, 1977.

Do SoCal Cities Need to Invent their History?

Historical building in Westminster. Picture by Myriam Mahiques

My native city, Buenos Aires, has more than 400 years. Not too much, compared to medieval cities, but enough to have a history of colonization and European eclectic influences imprinted in its architecture and urban morphology. Architects are free to design buildings accordingly to history –depending on the urban context- or oppose to it. If the neighborhood has a strong historical background, most probably there will be an Association to defend it, and beyond, we have the Architects’ Board. In Historic Preservation, we first learn not to copy, but to analyze the building to be respected and find some abstract design lines (heights, direction of cornices, textures). It is an intellectualization of history, respect but do not offer a poor imitation.

My concern in Southern California, is that cities do not have a long historical record, for example, Huntington Beach is proud to be100 years old, with origins based on Petroleum excavations. Santa Barbara is proud to have a beautiful Mission, same for San Juan Capistrano, and so on.

Newland House in Huntington Beach. Picture by Mike Stankewich.

Mission Style for houses. Sotheby’s International Realty, Los Angeles. Built 2005

Then, what is left for a model of history is, for instance, the Mission and a couple of adobe houses. Not too much, so planners –who are not architects, but experts of the Zoning and Planning regulations- decided to recur to some European styles to “invent” history. And it has to be strictly respected under the “Design Guide Lines”. So, in Huntington Beach, downtown area, the styles MUST be Mediterranean, Tuscan Italian, Spanish (colonial) or a combination of them. The result, a quantity of quasi identical Post modern houses that reinforce their uniformity with the palette of stucco colors. Main problem are the public buildings. A pharmacy is similar to a house, that is similar to a pet shop, that is similar to the Theatres, and infinitely so on. Talking about these procedures with a colleague friend, she said “well, at last it is a nice composition”. I would say it is a neat composition, you have the pieces and then compose them. That is not a real design process, we are far away from the composition rules of SXVI.

¨Tuscan Village¨ close to Downtown H. Beach. Picture by Myriam Mahiques

H. Beach Downtown houses. Picture by Myriam Mahiques

More Downtown H. Beach houses. Picture by Myriam Mahiques

In Santa Barbara, the extreme to copy the Mission style, is reflected in public parkings, where you can see domestic pots (!) with geraniums in wrought iron balconies closing the parking openings, in a clear reminiscence of Andaluz patios. But transposed to public parking…(By the way, I wonder who waters the geraniums). Another “aesthetic” solution, that I’ve seen in Alhambra, is to have niches as arches in solid facades, with a wrought iron guardrail, to protect, of course, a piece of solid wall. In desperation to look for history, some important concepts are left aside: a Roman Villa is located atop of a hill, surrounded by green landscape, here, the “Villa” is separated 5’ from the property line and cannot exceed the maximum height (ex. Newport Beach waterfront= 14’); masonry massiveness is very difficult to achieve when the wall framing is 4 inches plus stucco assembly, and windows that align with the exterior finish (Well, it “never” rains in SoCal). The building is not an excavated mass but a combination of planes with a stucco rough finish. Cornices, columns, you can buy them anywhere from a catalogue; heavy timber, is not “that” heavy timber, because it is not justified for balloon frame. The final product, is a scenography of simil European buildings.

For readers who think balloon frame is the only response to earthquakes, I will answer no. Concrete and brick, with special shapes and footings is also good to support earthquakes. There is no special need for the wood technology in California. William Deverell, in his book “Whitewashed Adobe”, chapter 4, has a version that involves some political issues with old Simons Brick factory in Montebello.

“Montebello took off in part because Simons had been so successful and could be pointed to as evidence of the region’s industrial promise…..But as the one community began to grow and expand, the brickyard faltered. Late 1920s price wars between competing brick manufacturers, greater use of masonry block building materials, and the 1933 Long Beach earthquake all combined to hurt the brick business in Southern California, as did, of course the arrival of the Great Depression. Tougher post –Long Beach building codes hurt the brick trade perhaps the most. As Los Angeles County planner William Fox remembered, the new codes (subsequently amended) did not sit well with Walter Simons. “ The new code outlawed all brick construction,“ Fox told an interviewer, “and Mr. Simons of the Simons Brick Company –great big fat guy, practically the head of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce- just blasted me and the department and the board and everyone else….The Simons Brick Company was out near Montebello, where it did all the brick work in Los Angeles County. Now it was obsolete.” (Deverell, p. 166, 2004).

I think Culver city shows some signs of style freedom. Some public buildings depict intellectual interesting design from architects. The other extreme, you can see a ranch style house, with an addition at the back following dubious design concepts from Frank Gehry, except that Frank was not hired …….

My conclusion, let the technology express itself. A wooden house is a wooden house, not a masonry house. Ranch style, Victorian, it could be, any real Californian style derived from the climatic conditions and the available technology. And please let the Architects Board supervise, at least the public buildings design.

Mouldings in an empty a wall; the circles are simulating windows. Huntington Beach, picture by Myriam Mahiques

Same treatment for garages in alley. Picture by Myriam Mahiques

Lotus: Legends, Metaphors and Effect

Buddhist Saint sitting on Lotus. Wat Rong Khun temple, Thailand. www.thailand-travelonline.com

Before Saints were worshipped as guardians and protectors of gardens, Priapus or Priapos - Mutinus Mutunus in its Roman version - was adored by Greek and Roman as the god of the procreation, extensive to the livestock, the gardens and vineyards. His statues were placed in the gardens to protect them from predation, especially of crows'. In time, this statues were considered obscene, since they showed the permanent god´s erection.

Priapus was described as Aphrodite and Dionisio's son, as son of some local nymph, as father or son of Hermes, or Zeus's son, depending on the version of the myth. Hera, jealous because the hero Paris dared to judge Aphrodite more beautiful than her, cursed Aphrodite's son with impotence, ugliness and a silly mind, while he was still in her womb. Other gods refused to allow him to live with them in the Mount Olympus, and they threw him to the Earth, where he was eventually found by shepherds. Priapus, eternally frustrated by his impotence, united to Pan and other satyrs as a spirit of fertility and growth.

Priapus and Lotis, III Quatre of SXVI, by a non identified autor, possibly Jacopo Bertoia, Italian, 1530-1575 or Francesco Parmigianino, Italian, 1503-1540 http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/prof/ho_27.78.1%5B26%5D.htm

Lotus flower. http://2clicks.files.wordpress.com/2006/08/lotus-flower.jpg

Lotus flower. Internet download.

Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso 20 March 43 AC -17 o18 AD), mentions the version of the creation of the lotus flower twice. On a certain day, Priapus tried to rape the nymph Lotis, but the strong bray of an ass, caused him to lose his erection, and Lotis, who was sleeping, woke up. Priapus pursued to the desperate nymph, until the gods, grieved by such a situation, transformed her into a lotus with a beautiful flower.

In The Merchant´s Tale, from the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer, invokes Priapus with the following words:

Ne Priapus ne myghte nat suffise,

Though he be God of gardyns, for to telle

The beautee of the gardyn and the welle,

That stood under a laurer alwey grene.

The Sacred Lotus Flower in India- From Bukisa on line. Posted by Shebear July 12, 2009

Lotus Dome. http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/36/5b/6d/lotus-dome-mt-abu.jpg

This is a literal metaphor of the Lotus Flower in a temple. The Bahá'í Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, known as "Lotus Temple". Architect Fariborz Sahba.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oFV3mfTS2qM/Sia8kDFJFjI/AAAAAAAAAKM/7r6hrcCwu9Q/s1600-h/387103309_120523e0f0_o.jpg

Another version of this flower in India is: ¨in the epic poetry of the Mahabharata, the Creator, under the name of Brahma, is described as having sprung from the lotus that grew out of Vishnu's navel when that deity lay absorbed in meditation. Hence, one of the appellations for Brahma is lotus-born [abja-ja, abja-yoni, etc.). The lotus is thus connected with Vishnu, one of whose names is, accordingly, padma-nabha, lotus-naveled. It is further associated with Vishnu's wife, Lakshmi, goddess of fortune and beauty. The Mahabharata relates the myth that a lotus sprung from Vishnu's forehead, out of which came Sri (another name for the goddess). Lakshmi is also called Padma (lotus-hued). The Mahabharata, in its account of Mount Kailasa, the abode of Kubera, the god of wealth, described his lake, Nalini, and his river, Mandakini, as covered with golden lotuses.

With the rise of religious art in India, the lotus appeared on all the Buddhist monuments which came into being in different parts of the country from about 200 B.C. onwards. In its simplest form, the expanded lotus appears frequently as a circular ornament in the sculptures at Sanchi, Bharhut, Amravati, and Bodh Gaya, as well as in the rock-cut Buddhist temples of Western India, introduced as medallions on pillars, panels, and ceilings¨. Excerpt from http://www.bahaindia.org/temple/jewel.html

A magnified lotus leaf. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Lotus3.jpg

Lotus effect in buildings coating. http://biodsign.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/lotusan.jpg

In Biomimicry, the lotus technology of natural cleaning is taken as a good model. ¨Even after emerging from mud, the leaves do not retain dirt when they unfold. This property has been studied intensively by the two botanists Barthlott and Neinhuis from the University of Bonn. In 1975 they discover the reason for this self-cleansing effect. Before that it was the general opinion that the smoother a surface, the less dirt and water adhere to it. By using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) the two scientists discovered that the surface of some Lotus leaves was everything else but smooth. It showed a combination of nano- and microstructures that gave the surface a rough structure. The explanation for the effect lies in two physical characteristics: the properties of these microstructures repel water and the nanostructures found on top of the microstructures are made of waxy materials which are badly wettable. The combination of the chemistry, the ultra structures, and the adherence properties of dirt and water to the surface, is what Barthlott and Neinhuis named the Lotus-Effect.

…. A droplet on an inclined superhydrophobic surface does not slide off; it rolls off. When the droplet rolls over a contamination, the particle is removed from the surface if the force of absorption of the particle is higher than the static friction force between the particle and the surface. Usually the force needed to remove a particle is very low due to the minimized contact area between the particle and the surface. As a result, the droplet cleans the leaf by rolling off the surface¨. Excerpt from http://ssp06.isunet.edu/the_lotus_effect.htm

There is a commercial paint brand that has introduced the technology found in the Lotus´leaves. It is expected that in the future, self sufficient buildings will incorporate this type of biomimicked materials as water repellent and to keep glasses clean. In consequence, it will take longer to fungi and bacteria to appear visible on buildings´surfaces.

Chinese lantern with Lotus decoration. http://parisparfait.typepad.com/paris_parfait/images/2008/08/16/lanterns_and_lotus.jpg

REFERENCES

http://ssp06.isunet.edu/the_lotus_effect.htm
Gordon, Lesley. Green Magic. 1977
http://www.bahaindia.org/temple/jewel.html
http://biodsign.wordpress.com/2008/08/27/lotus-effect-efecto-lotus/
Wikipedia.org

Reflexiones Sobre la Ciencia Aplicada al Diseño

Ciudad ciclotrónica. Diseño de los arqs. Luis Makianich y Myriam Mahiques, 1989

La experiencia en campos de diseño y ciencia, muestra que no es fácil la relación entre diseñadores y científicos. Los reportes sobre antecedentes en disciplinas como la Mecatrónica que combinan equipos de ingeniería mecánica, eléctrica e informática, así lo demuestran. Sin embargo, la multidisciplinaridad no lo es todo, porque las compañías luego pretenden ver qué sucede con el producto en el mercado y posteriores testeos sobre el diseño del producto deben realizarse. Es por ello que se busca también el apoyo de especialistas en marketing, productores, obreros, usuarios. Estos requerimientos nos conducen a re-pensar cómo el pensamiento científico debiera ser incluído en los procesos de diseño, cómo debiera ser integrado con otros tipos de pensamientos más humanistas, cualquiera sea la disciplina y complejidad del proyecto.

Interpretación artística de las kivas de los Pueblos, por Myriam Mahiques.

Tim Hawkinson. ¨Emoter 2002¨. The Mechanical/Scientific Approach to Hybrid Art

The Eco Pods are a structure concept that can act as a temporary algae bio-reactor in vertical way. This concept is specially designed for Boston and features robotic arms, powered by micro-algae mechanism, which will continuously rearrange the pods to different positions to ensure the best possible growing condition for the algae. From www.tuvie.com/search/architectural+design

Sobre cuatro items definidos en los trabajos de equipo, prescripción, descripción, observación, y reflexión, los tres primeros parecen recibir eficaz contribuciones de arquitectos, psicólogos e ingenieros mecánicos envueltos en problemas de diseño; las publicaciones se dirigen a revistas específicas de diseño y los temas se enfocan a las actividades del/ de los diseñadores. En los temas de reflexión y sus publicaciones, se han destacado los filósofos, historiadores, científicos, sociólogos, quienes generalmente no se involucran en cuestiones de diseño. Sus publicaciones en ámbitos científicos se enfocan en el medioambiente social y científico en el que se desenvuelven sus prácticas. Evidentemente, cada disciplina presenta distintos acercamientos al diseño. También existen diferencias culturales productos de las tradiciones, por ejemplo los suizos y alemanes presentan metodologías analíticas más estrictas. (Marc de Vries, p.2, 1993).

Sin embargo, se ha vislumbrado una evolución en la relación de ambos equipos de profesionales, humanistas vs científicos. Los nuevos conocimientos científicos ya no se apoyan como originalmente, en observaciones de la experiencia directa, sino que los nuevos paradigmas han logrado una gran distancia entre el observador y el objeto de estudio (imaginemos la nanotecnología) y por ende, el científico no está tan preocupado por lo visible, sino los aspectos invisibles, abstractos, lo que lógicamente lo conduce a una ciencia del diseño. En otras palabras, la ciencia se vuelve visible, a través del diseño e, indirectamente, se vuelve dependiente del Arte. Las imágenes cautivantes generadas en los ordenadores nos acompañarán y estimularán el placer de crear. Diríamos que más que un bloqueo a la creatividad, se produce una evolución de los pensamientos, donde las ciencias duras y blandas llegan a unirse en idilios impensados hasta los últimos años. Y después de todo, la ciencia también es creatividad emanada del ser humano.

La ciencia aplicada al diseño, no sólo responde al incremento del uso de tecnologías digitales, sino también a la incorporación del pensamiento científico. Desde los tiempos más antiguos de la palabra escrita, hay evidencia que el hombre ha dado sentido al mundo mediante abstracciones que buscan los principios subyacentes y el orden en nuestras experiencias y percepciones. Las habilidades de abstracción y la posibilidad de asignar orden y estructuras a diversos fenómenos son una de las tantas que nos separa del mundo animal.

La incorporación de temas en el diseño como modelación, abstracción, medición, percolación, etc, ha causado discusiones acerca de sus aplicaciones y la incómoda sensación de que el dominante rol de creatividad del diseñador se está bloqueando o dejando en desuso. De acuerdo a mi investigación de años, entiendo que no es así, y que justamente la amplitud de posibilidades que brindan los softwares nos abren el espectro de una creatividad sin fin.

Folding design by Priscilla Astrid Brinshot

REFERENCIAS
De Vries, M. J., Cross, N., Grant, N.P. Design Methodology and Relationships with Science: Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop, Eindhoven, the Netherlands, September 29 - October 2, 1992. Publicado en 1993. Springer, Londres.

 

Concepts About Biomimicry

Sperm and Creation. Fractals, arts and biology in a single representation. Digital painting by Myriam Mahiques.

Jason Mc Lennan is considered one of the most influential individuals in the green building movement today, his work has made a strong impact on the shape and direction of green building in the United States and Canada. In one of his articles, he explains he had to give a talk in Northern California on the future of architecture, because of the work he was doing with Bob Berkebile, one of the pioneers of the "green" architecture movement. As he had an audience of different backgrounds, he realized that what he needed most in describing the future of architecture was not drawings and building images, but a metaphor - a simple way to describe the future- that would embody the green principles he wished to communicate. For too long the machine had been the metaphor for buildings, but now, metaphors should be changed.

In his own words ¨I found myself searching amidst the sand and rocks for this new metaphor, one that could replace the machine, and provide a new construct into which state of the art technologies and age old principles could be placed. Serendipity being the mother of all inventions, I soon came upon some tiny flowers eking out an existence in this harsh, but beautiful climate that would provide inspiration for this new metaphor.¨ Mc Lennan saw in the flowers the perfect metaphor for the future of architecture. ¨Flowers are marvels of adaptation, growing in various shapes, sizes and forms. Some that lie dormant through the harshest of winters only to emerge each spring once the ground has thawed. Others that stay rooted all year round -opening and closing as necessary to respond to changing conditions in the environment such as the availability of sunlight. Like buildings, they are literally and figuratively rooted to place, able to draw resources only from the square inches of earth, and sky that they inhabit. The flower, must receive all of its energy from the sun, all of its water needs from the sky, and all of the nutrients necessary for survival from the soil. Flowers are also ecosystems, supporting and sheltering microorganisms and insects like our buildings do for us. Equally important is that flowers are beautiful and can provide the inspiration needed for architecture to truly be successful¨. Then, he reminds us of Buckminster Fuller, who once said "We do not seek to imitate nature, but rather to find the principles she uses."

Solar biomimicry. http://conservationreport.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/solar_biomimicry.jpg

We do not need to imitate, but to understand the principles. It leads us to a new way of viewing nature as a model and mentor: Biomimicry.

Biomimicry is a new science that studies nature’s models and then takes inspiration from these designs and processes to solve human problems, e.g., a solar cell inspired by a leaf. We can learn from the leaf, but do not need to copy the morphology of the leaf.

From a Conversation with Janine Benyus, author of Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature ¨Biomimicry introduces an era based not on what we can extract from organisms and their ecosystems, but on what we can learn from them. This approach differs greatly from bioutilization, which entails harvesting a product or producer, e.g. cutting wood for floors, wildcrafting medicinal plants. It is also distinctly different than bio-assisted technologies, which involve domesticating an organism to accomplish a function, e.g., bacterial purification of water, cows bred to produce milk. Instead of harvesting or domesticating, biomimics consult organisms; they are inspired by an idea, be it a physical blueprint, a process step in a chemical reaction, or an ecosystem principle such as nutrient cycling. Borrowing an idea is like copying a picture-the original image can remain to inspire others¨.

Green house. From Jason Mc Lennan's web page.http://jasonmclennan.com/create/architecture.html

Berkebile and Mc Lennan offer as example of bio-mimetic the photovoltaics, as a technology that directly converts solar radiation into electricity that can be stored or used on demand while producing no pollution. They state that the big expensive panels, in recent years have become more efficient and able to integrate seamlessly into architecture. ¨Where before solar panels were placed on top of roofs they can now serve as the roof membrane themselves, replacing conventional metal roofs or shingles. Transparent PV panels are also being developed that can be used as windows and skylights allowing daylight to enter a building while still generating electricity¨. That is good news for me. A few months ago, a Southern California resident explained to me that he loved to contribute with nature, but even with the taxes exemption, and the waive of fees from the City Hall, he could not afford solar panels in the new addition of his house, he would be spending his whole life trying to amortize the huge cost of the installation.

As we can see, the practice of biomimicry is a two way bridge, from biology to design or from design to biology.

REFERENCES

http://jasonmclennan.com/articles/The_Future_of_Architecture.pdf

Bob Berkebile and Jason McLennan. The Living Building. Biomimicry in Architecture, Integrating Technology with Nature

http://elements.bnim.com/resources/livingbuildingright.html

Mc Lennan, Jason. The philosophy of sustainable design: the future of architecture. Ecotone LLC, Kansas, EEUU, 2004

What Do You Mean by the Term Biomimicry?

A Conversation with Janine Benyus, author of Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature

http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/about-us/what-do-you-mean-by-the-term-biomimicry.html

Excerpts For Housing Rights

Favela Slum, painting by Adalardo Nunciato Santiago.

I have selected these excerpts, considering the growing population of homeless, even in most developed countries.

The last paragraph about discrimination is not a myth. Though, it is prohibited by law, Realtors simply say that there are no available lots or houses in certain “white neighborhoods”, at least it happens in some areas of new “hidden” neighborhoods in the mountains of California. It is easy to lie when people does not have the habit to search in the web the “for sale” signs. In another cities, the trick is so simple as to change the lot coverage, make it so restricted that homeowners or new buyers do not have any other choice to grow than making additions in second story to accommodate to their necessities, along the years, the poor ones are relocated.


From UNESCO website

"Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control." (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Paris 1948, art. 25)

Most poor people are disadvantaged and endangered by the places and physical conditions in which they live. They experience precarious shelter, problems of overcrowding, sewage and pollution, seasonal exposure to the worst conditions, insecurity of person and property, remoteness, non-existent or inadequate infrastructure, including in terms of access to drinking water, and stigma. Poor housing reflects - and deepens - deprivation.

Homeless woman in Nashville. By Wayne Andrews

The right to adequate housing should not be understood narrowly as the right to have a roof over one's head. Rather, it should be seen as the right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity. This right has a number of components, including the following:

(i) Legal security of tenure: everyone should enjoy legal protection from forced eviction, harassment and other threats;


(ii) Habitability: housing must provide inhabitants with adequate space and protection from the elements and other threats to health;


(iii) Location: housing must be in a safe and healthy location which allows access to opportunities to earn an adequate livelihood, as well as access to schools, health care, transport and other services;


(iv) Economic accessibility: personal or household costs associated with housing should be at such a level that the attainment and satisfaction of other basic needs are not compromised;


(v) Physical accessibility: housing must be accessible to everyone, especially vulnerable groups such as the elderly, persons with physical disabilities and the mentally ill;


(vi) Cultural acceptability: housing must be culturally acceptable to the inhabitants, for example reflective of their cultural preferences in relation to design, site organization and other features;


(vii) Availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure that are essential for health, security, comfort and nutrition, such as safe drinking water, sanitation and washing facilities.
http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=4662&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Untitled. Slum series, painting by Charles Ngatia, Africa

From CENTER ON HOUSING RIGHTS AND EVICTIONS website

Adequate housing is fundamental to survival and to living a dignified life with peace and security. Without adequate housing, employment is difficult to secure and maintain, physical and mental health is threatened, education is impeded, violence is more easily perpetrated, privacy is impaired and relationships are strained.

Despite the centrality of housing in everyone's life few human rights are violated as frequently as housing rights. In every country throughout the world - North and South - women, men and children, particularly those living in poverty, are forced to sleep rough, to live on pavements, in slums, parks, cars, cages, on rooftops, under bridges or to "squat" in abandoned buildings or on land owned by others. For those fortunate enough to have a home, all too frequently these places may provide some protection from the elements, but remain grossly inadequate, lacking potable water, proper drainage and sewage systems, ventilation/heat, electricity and access to basic social services. All of these denials of housing rights are intensified in situations of armed conflict or in the face of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods.

No one really knows for sure, but the United Nations estimates that over 100 million people worldwide are without a place to live and that more than one billion people worldwide are inadequately housed.

From CENTER ON HOUSING RIGHTS AND EVICTIONS website

COHRE'S WORK ON HOUSING, LAND AND PROPERTY RESTITUTION

Throughout most of human history, refugees and others displaced during war stood little or no chance of ever returning to or re-inhabiting their original homes. During the past decade, however, protecting the housing, land and property rights of refugees and IDPs has been increasingly treated as a fundamental human rights concern. In post-conflict situations, restitution is now widely seen as an essential element of peace-building, reconciliation and reconstruction. It is a treated as a primary means of reversing ‘ethnic cleansing’, conflict-induced displacement and considered vital to securing a war-torn nation’s future social, political and economic stability.

The right to housing, land and property restitution to be considered is a legal remedy under international human rights law. It is a core component of the right of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to voluntarily return to their original countries and places of origin.

COHRE’s work on housing, land and property restitution began in 1998 to strengthen the rights of refugees and internally displaced persons to the restitution of their original homes. COHRE has worked on these issues concerning Albania, Bhutan, Burma, Colombia, Croatia, East Timor, Guatemala, Georgia, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Kosovo, Sri Lanka, the United States and others. COHRE works closely with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and refugee groups themselves to promote greater attention to and enforcement of housing, land and property rights.

http://www.cohre.org/view_page.php?page_id=148

Not only is the right to housing one of the most developed economic, social and cultural rights in terms of content, but a number of the constituent elements of the right to housing are adjudicated in courts of law, tribunals and other legal and quasi-legal forums on a daily basis.

General comment. No. 4 adopted by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, identifies six specific areas within the right to housing that are capable of judicial scrutiny: legal appeals aimed at preventing planned evictions through the issuance of injunctions; legal procedures seeking compensation following an illegal eviction; complaints against illegal actions carried out or supported by landlords in relation to rent levels, dwelling maintenance, and racial or other forms of discrimination; allegations of any form of discrimination in the allocation and availability of access to housing; complaints against landlords concerning unhealthy or inadequate housing conditions; and class action suits in situations involving significantly increased levels of homelessness.

http://www.cohre.org/view_page.php?page_id=86

Diseño Participativo en Perú a la Manera de Christopher Alexander

Escultura de Andy Goldsworthy

Para fines de la década del ´60, los diseñadores urbanos ya comprendían que la ciudad era un complejo organizado a la manera de un organismo biológico, que sólo podía entenderse mediante nuevas herramientas conceptuales. En este contexto, Cristopher Alexander escribe “Una Ciudad no es un Árbol” (Alexander, 1965), que fue publicado en todo el mundo, influyendo especialmente en Italia, Francia, Inglaterra y Japón. Alexander sustituía la forma ramificada por una complejidad reticular (lattice), y demostraba que ésta era la única manera adecuada de resolver los problemas complejos. Afirmaba que todas las ciudades históricas o “naturales” tienen muchísimas superposiciones o subconjuntos que implican su diversidad. Al utilizar la teoría de grafos, Alexander llevó el proceso de diseño a un alto grado de abstracción. El problema del diseño se resolvía con variables independientes que conducían a subproblemas y su representación gráfica era una forma de “árbol” traducida a un diagrama de Venn, que mostraba relaciones jerárquicas y transversales, como un verdadero árbol. Luego, las variables eran analizadas en interacciones de pares. La metodología definió un nuevo lenguaje para expresar la ciudad, en su forma y relaciones.

Esquemas de ¨A City is not a Tree¨, de Christopher Alexander. Bajadas de su página web

Con el desarrollo de los “patterns” o esquemas, publicados en su libro “A Pattern Language which Generates Multi- Services Centres” Alexander pulió estas ideas, en una clara regresión al deductivismo, y con su equipo de trabajo las aplicó a las barriadas de Perú a modo de ¨hágalo Ud mismo¨; diseñaron un nuevo y económico sistema constructivo, con caña y espuma de poliuretano, incorporándole necesidades tradicionales como el mirador o la sala, sin desembocar en el historicismo. Además, los pobladores podrían seguir construyendo sus propias viviendas, elegir su tipo y su emplazamiento. Permítasenos transcribir la experiencia en las propias palabras de Christopher Alexander, el siguiente párrafo es tomado de su entrevista con Michael Mehaffy para Katarxis No 3, 2004. No redundaremos en comentarios....

CA: …… ¨ I remember, when we did the project in Peru. I think there were 15 architects from different countries in the UN, site of the competition, and then there were 15 Peruvian architects, designing these houses for Peruvian families of low income. And the judges, who were largely Peruvian, actually concluded that we had done a better job than the Peruvian architects, by - you know, I don't know if you know the history –

(Recuerdo cuando hicimos el proyecto en Perú. Pienso que había 15 arquitectos de diferentes países en la UN, sitio del concurso, y luego había 15 arquitectos peruanos, diseñando estas casas para familias peruanas de bajos recursos. Y los jueces, quienes eran en su mayoría peruanos, verdaderamente concluyeron que nosotros habíamos hecho un mejor trabajo que los arquitectos peruanos, por –Ud sabe, yo no sé si Ud conoce la historia-) (traducción personal)

MM: I recall that you studied very carefully the way those people lived.

(Recuerdo que Ud estudió muy cuidadosamente la forma en que la gente vivía)(Traducción personal)

CA: Well, yeah, we - absolutely, we became members of families. And so, you know, we really immersed ourselves in it.

(Bueno, sí, nosotros –absolutamente, nos volvimos miembros de sus familias. Y así, Ud sabe, nos sumergimos realmente en ello). (Traducción personal).

Esta metodología, con el compromiso inherente de Alexander hacia la familia y sus modos de vida, aún sigue vigente.

LECTURAS RECOMENDADAS
http://www.patternlanguage.com/leveltwo/archivesframe.htm?/leveltwo/../archives/alexander1.htm

Myth and Symbolism of the Passion Flower

Passion flower. Photo by Myriam B. Mahiques

The beautiful Passion Flower. http://auntiekate.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/passionflower.jpg

The Passion Flower is also known as Pasionaria, Flor de la Pasión, Maracuiá, Maracoc, Passiflora, Granadilla. Its genus name is passiflora, a naturally grown medicinal herb, for the treatment of insomnia and nervous disorders used as a sedative. The plant is indigenous to an area from the southeast U.S. to Argentina and Brazil. In South America there are approximately 95% of the five hundred species. A vigorous and rapid climber, it supplies shade, color, nectar, and fragrance all year. Specific butterflies are attracted by its nectar and pollen. There are dozens of passion vines, both edible and non edible. The most popular, is Passiflora edulis. Its fruit is eaten fresh or used in drinks, pies, jams, and ice cream.

Dominican monk Simone Parlasca's drawing of a passion flower in a pamphlet dated 1609, Bologna. Kugler and King (2004) say that this was probably based on original dried plants. Poems in the pamphlet related the flower to the "Fiore della Granadiglia overo della passione di nostro Signore Giesu Christo." (Courtesy of Leslie A. King). Exerpt from http://www.flwildflowers.com/clues/parlasca1609.jpg

Eugenio Petrelli depicted this flower in 1610 as a frontispiece in a book by Antonia Possevino, write Kugler and King. This was a form that was widelyused in pamphlets of the time. (Courtesy of Leslie A. King). Excerpt from www.flwildflowers.com/clues/

Europe owes this vine to Columbus. This flower must have presented a great coloured picture to the Misioneros. From Lesley Gordon´s book, ¨Green Magic¨ we learn that ¨in their religious zeal, the Spaniards saw in this flower a God-given symbol of Christ´s Passion, and hailed it as an assurance of the ultimate triumph of the Cross. Every part of the flower, leaf and stem seemed to be clearly designed for the purpose. It was pointed out to the natives that the leaf was a symbol of the spear, and the five anthers, the five wounds; and so the converted Mexicans called it Flor de las Cinco Llagas, The flower of the Five Wounds. The tendrils were likened to the cords and whips, and the column of the ovary to the pillar of the Cross. The stamens symbolized the hammers, and the dark circle of threads –the dramatic center of this extraordinary flower- the crown of thorns. The calyx represented the nimbus, and if the flowers were white it denoted purity, and if they were blue, heaven. The three days that were the life-span of the flower meant that so shall ¨the Son of man be three days and nights in the heart of the earth.¨

Picture from http://flowergardenshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/flowwr950large.jpg

Picture from http://www.virtualherbarium.org/GardenViews/passionvines.html

And so it was called Flos-passionis, changed by Linnaeus into Passiflora, the Passion Flower. It was thus held in veneration in South America, and nuns trained it round their dormitory windows. The flesh-coloured Passion Flower, P. incarnata, was the first species known in Europe, and it was introduced into England in 1629…..The common blue, P. caerula, which thrives in the open, arrived in 1690. ….By the eighteenth century the flowers legends lose their simplicity. They are moral but contrived.¨ (Lesley Gordon, 1977).

Drawing by Johann Zahn (1631- 1707), a canon of the Church in Wurzburg, was also a scientist an inventor of the camera obscura which let artists trace three dimensions on two dimensional board. Credit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Library in Silver Spring, Maryland for this picture from the rare Zahn book. From www.flwildflowers.com/clues/

The religious symbolism associated with the Catholic Church waned with the onset of Protestantism and the advent of scientific thought. Other exotic plants were found in America. Allegories of the crucifixion were imagined in the roots or stems of other species. The religious metaphor in botany was part of the Spanish conquest imaginary needed to teach Catholic beliefs to Indians.

Panel of the Carved Pulpit, by Editha R. Plowden. From chestofbooks.com

The beauty of the Passion Flower is also represented in ornaments as carvings, stained glass, arts and crafts, wrought iron, among other designs.

Modern design of stained glass with Passion Flower. http://chantalstainedglass.50megs.com/3passifloraoval_btn.jpg

The Passion Flower at St Mary’s in France.The stained glass windows on the south side of the chancel contain the passion flower, cross and crown theme which has inspired the other items. www.gillinghamanglican.org.uk/history/

The passion flower sculpted in a cross. Green Wood Cemetery. From 

http://green-woodtrees.blogspot.com/2010/06/passion-flower.html

Modern design with Passion Flower. www.commercial.shawinc.com

REFERENCES

http://www.virtualherbarium.org/GardenViews/passionvines.html
Abrams, Michael E. Clues to the mystery: Early passion flower depictions compared to Joos van Cleve's 'Mystery Artist' Madonna; a 1640s painting by Albert Eckhout; some interesting history about the early herbals and authors
www.flwildflowers.com/clues/
Gordon, Lesley. Green Magic. The Viking Press, New York. 1977