HK: Harmonious Canons
18 January
A local legend: The Bank of China commissioned I.M.Pei to build them a marvelous skyscraper. He did. It's a nice building: slim, glass, and cross-gartered with lines that light up at night (many prominent buildings down town display colorful, nightly light shows). The criss-crossing lines, however, form diamond shapes and diamonds, I'm told, run starkly counter to the principles of harmonious architecture; that is, they're a serious fung shui faux pas.
Counter-measures must be taken! To combat the Bad Energy effluviating from the bank's offending diamonds, the adjacent HSBC building has mounted stylized CANONS on its rooftop and aimed them at the Bank of China. We have a good view of this energetic stand-off from our hotel room. Is this now...harmonious enough? HSBC is hedging its bets; their building is also designed to be modular: in case things go south in HK, the building can (in theory) be taken apart and reassembled on more harmonious ground.
In further superstition: 8 is said to be a lucky number (because the word for 8 is similar to the word for "money"). The number 4 is considered unlucky (because the word for 4 is similar to the word for "death"). Many buildings, P's building included, do not have 4th, 14th or 24th floors. (Nor, 13th floors: offend no one's superstition.) That said, I can't help but notice that my hotel room is on the 4th floor, and that I am in room 409. But as the hotel is of Catholic origin, perhaps in here 4 is just a number.
A local legend: The Bank of China commissioned I.M.Pei to build them a marvelous skyscraper. He did. It's a nice building: slim, glass, and cross-gartered with lines that light up at night (many prominent buildings down town display colorful, nightly light shows). The criss-crossing lines, however, form diamond shapes and diamonds, I'm told, run starkly counter to the principles of harmonious architecture; that is, they're a serious fung shui faux pas.
Counter-measures must be taken! To combat the Bad Energy effluviating from the bank's offending diamonds, the adjacent HSBC building has mounted stylized CANONS on its rooftop and aimed them at the Bank of China. We have a good view of this energetic stand-off from our hotel room. Is this now...harmonious enough? HSBC is hedging its bets; their building is also designed to be modular: in case things go south in HK, the building can (in theory) be taken apart and reassembled on more harmonious ground.
In further superstition: 8 is said to be a lucky number (because the word for 8 is similar to the word for "money"). The number 4 is considered unlucky (because the word for 4 is similar to the word for "death"). Many buildings, P's building included, do not have 4th, 14th or 24th floors. (Nor, 13th floors: offend no one's superstition.) That said, I can't help but notice that my hotel room is on the 4th floor, and that I am in room 409. But as the hotel is of Catholic origin, perhaps in here 4 is just a number.
posted by Anne E. Campisi at 12:07 AM
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