Deep Design has been around for a long time, but I have only named it recently. It was born the moment I decided to become an architect. Architecture seemed like the a wonderful balance of of science and art, and I have always been drawn to bridging complementary ideas and synthesis. Of course when I was young I thought Deep Design would be some revolutionary new way to design that I dreamed up, but as my knowledge base and experience slowly grew I came to realize that the great ideas were already out there, and these ideas were not only not revolutionary, many were thousands of years old. Thus the soul of Deep Design evolved into the harmonious synthesizing of several design systems and philisophies that I felt best acheived my root goal: creating beautiful home spaces that enhanced and reflected happy balanced lives.

I have chosen the ancient elements of Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Spirit to be the primary organizers of the information. Even after years of studying them, I appreciated their power, but felt as though they were somewhat arbitrary. It was not until I learned that in ancient Greece each was related to a platonic solid that I truly realized just how important the elements are. Earth was associated with the cube, Air with the octahedron, Water with the icosahedron, Fire with the tetrahedron and Ether with the dodecahedron. These solids are not just pretty shapes; they are fundamental to to the crystalline atomic arrangement of every known substance in the universe. All atoms arrange themselves into groups of one of these shapes. Additional the platonic solids are at the core of an incredible new branch of physics that is actually has its roots in antedilvian civilizations. This physics was well on its way to being developed in the late nineteenth century when their key 9 equations were "streamlined" down to four, which ultimately formed the basis of modern electromagnetic theory. You can get a taste of this what this physics was about at blazelabs.com.

The incredible design theories of my former professor Christopher Alexander are so important to truly harmonious design that I cannot pretend to encompass them in anything philosophy of my creation. I can only hope to apply the principles that he expounded upon with half the adeptness and courage that he did. Professor Alexander is the author of many books, including A Pattern Language, holds a Phd in Architecture from Harvard, is Professor Emeritus at U.C. Berkeley, and has designed and built more than 200 buildings on five continents. He taught us with his magnun opus, The Nature Of Order, which is absolutely essential reading for any designer. The very heart of his design is creating beautiful, life filled spaces. If you have any interest in our built environment being healthier, happier and more harmonious, visiting patternlanguage.com is a must. 

Sustainability and green architecture are somewhat ambiguous terms, as earth friendly design is a rather large and largely uncharted field. Yet I feel the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has done a masterful job in creating standards for sustainable construction. Their LEED (Leadership in Efficiency and Environmental Design) program provides invaluable benchmarks in the areas of innovation, connectivity, site considerations, water and energy efficiency, materiality, indoor environmental quality and awareness. LEED standards should be met by all construction. For the scoop on LEED, check out this link: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19. 

As cumbersome as it might seem, all of the considerations of these formidable designs schools must be balanced with the art of Feng Shui for a home to be truly harmonious. The core of Feng Shui is using design elements and decorations to control the flow of Chi, or energy in a given space. This energy meanders peacefully in healthy spaces, going neither too fast nor stagnating too long long in some dreary corner. Feng Shui has a 3000 year history, and is catching on more every year in the United States.

While I think that all of these philosophies must be woven into any harmonious home, on the surface it seems like an excess of philosophy. Would a designer be too busy worrying about multiple levels of considerations to be successful? The goal of Deep Design is to algorithmically (and humbly) synthesize these ideas into something approaching a lean, workable idiom. At the very least I hope my words can extend the awareness of the importance of all these concepts as we begin to heal ourselves and this planet.