Before There Was ​Biophilic Design, There Was Leonardo Da Vinci

So, who is Leonardo Da Vinci? He is probably one of the most influential people of all time, leaving his footprint during the High Renaissance era. His major accomplishments included advances within the fine arts, architecture, the engineering of flying machines, military equipment, science, anatomy, botany, geology, and physics, as to name a few categories. 

For this particular article, let’s examine Leonardo’s inspiration behind the, “Ideal City.” Between 1484 and 1485, 50,000 people died in Milan of plague, killing off nearly a third of the city’s population. Due to this, Leonardo developed a keen interest in urban renewal and a desire to liberate people from the old fashioned, over-crowded medieval city where people were crammed together “like a herd of goats”. 

Leonardo proposed new solutions for cities, based on the concepts of natural geometric design, cleanliness, convenience, and the circulation of air and exposure to natural sunlight. The concept of Leonardo’s “ideal city” was derived from the Florentine architect/engineer Antonio Filarete, but Leonardo’s vision was more radical.

His “ideal city” would have two levels. The top level was for foot traffic, designed with wider streets. He also proposed a paddlewheel system to maintain cleaner streets. The second level was for carts, animals, and underground waterways for commerce traffic and to help remove garbage from the city.

Leonardo also wanted to limit the height of buildings as to allow the air and sunshine to circulate more freely throughout the city streets. To help with this concept, he proposed arched doorways and walkway designs around the buildings.

Leonardo was not very concerned with integrating natural landscape into his urban renewal and that is where Biophilic Design complements his vision for the ‘ideal city.’

Biophilic Design provides a strong focus on integrating Natural Landscapes, Ecosystems, natural colors, and Images of Nature into exterior and interior designs schemes. The more you learn about Leonardo’s “ideal city” and ​Biophilic Design Principles, the more you’ll see how they parallel each other in fascinating ways.

Did Leonardo’s evolutionary ideas ever come to fruition? No.

Yet, today, they are with a modern twist.

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How Much Effort is Required to Transform The Energy of Your Home and Self With Feng Shui?

To segue into this question, I invite you to read a brief true story. As I was shopping at Lowe's within the garden section of the store, I came across the Clearance Rack and found various flowers and plants that have been greatly discounted because they appeared to be on their last licks of life. 

I prefer purchasing from this section because on a very practical level, you save money, and on a spiritual level, it provides a simple, yet profound lesson.  There was a half dozen annuals that seemed pretty worn down. One of the employees was standing near by and saw me pick up the batch. She stepped a bit closer to me, leaned in, and said softly near my ear, "it's too bad they are finished blooming and will not make it." And then walked away. 

I kindly disregarded her comment and whispered to the stunted pink annuals, "forgive her, she does not see the potential in your ability to grow." So, I happily adopted them, along with another wilted plant. To provide a more solid environment of nourishment, I also bought organic soil to feed the baby plants and made sure to mindfully place them within my yard that would allow the most sufficient opportunity for growth according to the amount of light needed. After settling them back into the earth, I tended to them daily for about a week. Watering them for a moment or two during the morning hours, while also checking to make sure the leaves were lifting upward and to see if the vibrancy of color was returning to the plants aura. 

I'm happy to report, the pink annuals and salvia plant have become stronger in their presence and more brilliant with the color in their leaves and blooming flowers.  Do I still tend to them? Of course, but now they are more self-sufficient and do not require as much vigorous attention. It's more about maintaining.  

From this story you can see It does not require much to encourage positive transformation. Being present and taking small simple steps is what contributes to the overall picture.  As you reach your goals for positive change, it's vitally important that you REMEMBER to maintain that beneficial energy of transformation and make adjustments as needed. In the world of Feng Shui, as you grow and develop so will your living and working environments.