Augmenting Alchemy: Ronchamp and The Cornell Sculpture Garden

Augmenting Alchemy
Ronchamp and The Cornell Sculpture Garden

Hugo Lemes, B.Arch May 2012
Content
I. Introduction Augmented Reality Examples Thesis II. Esoteric Architecture Rudolf Steiner Frank Lloyd Wright Carlo Scarpa Louis Kahn Gunnar Asplund and George Hascup Le Corbusier III. Site: Cornell Sculpture Garden IV. What is Hidden at Ronchamp? Alchemical Principles Constellations Chemical Marriage Inverted Cross Number 7 Three Tables Number 5 Harmonic Proportions and the Modulor Colors of the Great Work South Door What does this all mean? 7 | Rosicrucian Initiation 7 | Corpus Hermeticum Alchemists Other Examples of Cubist Compositions V. Levels of Alchemy Demonstration 5 6 7 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 28 29 30 33 34 35 37 38 40 41 42 47 48 49 50 52 53 54 1-7 Level 1 | Calcination Level 2 | Dissolution Level 3 | Separation Level 4 | Conjunction Level 5 | Fermentation Level 6 | Distillation Level 7 | Coagulation App VI. Bibliography 55 64 66 77 81 86 88 89 91 92
I. Introduction
I. Introduction
The 21st century is evidencing the blurring of the real and the virtual, particularly after the ongoing popularization of augmented reality in mobile devices such as the iPhone. Architectural potentials are limitless, and the possibility to be anywhere at any moment is now second nature. We are already used to seeing the overlaying of information onto physical places, but what if we began to create more experiential augmented spaces?
Augmented reality applications are generally made for informational purposes, such as Junaio, or for small scale scenarios, such as a game on top of a table. Qualcomm technology, for example, allows developers to create such games. Undoubtedly, it would be interesting to take this technology one step further to a larger architectural scale.
1.1 iPad table augmenteation with Kinect
1.2 iPad information augmentation with Junaio
1.3 iPad small scale architectural augmentation
Augmenting Alchemy | Ronchamp and the Cornell Sculpture Garden
| Augmented Reality Examples
1.4 Google Glasses
1.5 Corning Glass
I. Introduction
| Thesis
1.1 Ronchamp 1.1 Cornell Sculpture Garden
1.6 Ronchamp
1.7 Cornell Sculpture Garden
Exploring the possibilities of a virtual-physical hybrid, this thesis proposes to take the hidden, esoteric meanings and allegories from Ronchamp, and create augmentations over the Cornell Sculpture Garden. This will both serve to demonstrate augmented reality in an architectural context, and heighten modern peoples awareness of esoteric, hidden knowledge that has been passed down through the ages in forms such as hermeticism/alchemy.
The content of the augmentation will be focused on revealing the esoteric, hidden meanings of Ronchamp (an imposition on the sculpture garden) In the end, this thesis is not about demonstrating augmented reality as a technology. Instead, it is about facilitating a spacial immersion into a world of knowledge that is commonly found abandoned in dusty libraries, unchecked books - troves of ancient principles and traditions which Le Corbusier and others have been able to successfully synthesize into their work architecturally. It is about bringing into the digital realm, graphically, information and speculations by serious researchers such as Robert Coombs, who spent significant time investigating what was really going on in Le Corbusiers mind, particularly after the war, in his Mystical Themes in Le Corbusiers Architecture in the Chapel Notre Dame Du Haut at Ronchamp:The Ronchamp Riddle. 7
1.8 Ronchamps South Door
It is the seven stages of alchemy that this project will try to augment in the sculpture garden through architectural elements. Note: The marian mysteries are Catholic, and the Cathar references link Le Corbusier to an early form of heretic Christianity (and with which Corbusier is directly linked through his family).
I. Introduction
Research evidence of esotericism being used by modern architects in design
Focus on Le Corbusiers work, particularly Ronchamp
Derive alchemical/hermetic principles used by Le Corbusier and others in design
Create augmentations based on a 7 level alchemical system
1.9 Progression of thesis
The thesis progressed through four stages, the first being purely research focused. During research, the priority was to look at various modernist architects and find evidence of esotericism being employed. What was discovered was that many of these designers began introducing esoteric principles at some point late in their careers, and that most, if not all, of the influences came directly from Hermeticism, which is the westerm mother of alchemy. The second stage involved narrowing on Le Corbusier, for the richness of esoteric research available on Ronchamp. The door, in particular, is the key to unlocking the architecture of Ronchamp, according to Robert Coombs. The interpreted seven stages of alchemy on the door of the chapel testify that the building is much more than an expressionist work. A derivation from the alchemical principles both on the door of the chapel and throughout the building follows with the third stage, which made the fourth stage of augmentation on the Cornell Sculpture Garden possible. 9
II. Esoteric Architecture
Louis Kahn, Frank Lloyd Wright, Gunnar Asplund, Carlo Scarpa, Rudolf Steiner, and Le Corbusier are known to have used symbols, allegories, and other mystical or sacred elements in their architecture. In Le Corbusiers architecture of Ronchamp, La Tourette, and other post World War II works, complex layers of meaning can be derived - from functional, to christian, and alchemical, always in brilliant cubist compositions, as we see in Ronchamp. These designers, often sharing similar sources of esoteric knowledge, exemplify Carl Jungs proposal that the human psyche is religious by nature. Jung was similarly interested in eastern and western philosophies, symbolization, astrology, alchemy or hermeticism. Le Corbusier is perhaps the most fascinating esoteric designer because of his intriguing biography connecting him to the ancient
German Romanticism Neo-Platonism Nordic Mythology Esoteric Christianity Paganism
Cathars, his link to hermetic scholars in France like Sar Josephin Peladan (creator of the Salon de la Rose Croix) since 1915, his post war collaboration with the priest Marie Alain-Couturier, his curiosity for the occult as evidenced by many marked books in his library such as the Princese Cathare, as well as for his complex multi-layered use of esoteric content and the current scholarship on the subject. Amongst his designs Ronchamp is the most intriguing, and Le Corbusier is known to have spent more time on it than he did designing the government complex of Chardigarh.
Eclecticism Esoteric Christianity Catholicism
Anthroposophy Transcendentalism Theosophy
Asplund
Kahn
Wright
Le Corbusier
Scarpa
Steiner
Symbolization Hermeticism Jung
Hermeticism
Gurdjie an Mysticism
Theosophy
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| Rudolf Steiner
2.1 Rudolf Steiner
2.2 First Goetheanum, 1925 (destroyed by Arson)
2.3 Second Goetheanum, 1928
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| Frank Lloyd Wright
Inuences
2.5 Helena P. Blavatsky Helena P. Blavatsky Founder of Theosophy Founder of Theosophy
2.6 Hentry Steel Olcott Henry Steel Olcott
2.7 Gurdjieff Gurdjieff
2.4 Frank Lloyd Wright

Charles Ennis (Ennis-Brown)House, 1923 2.8 Charles Ennis (Ennis-Brown) House, 1923 Hollyhock House, 1919-1921 2.9 Hollyhock House, 1919-1921
Frank Lloyd Wright, best known for his modernist ecclectic architecture, was influenced philosophically and spiritually by key metaphysical figures like the founders of the Theosophical Society Madam Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott. Madam Blavatsky is also known to have lived in Ithaca, and also fascinated architects like Colin Rowe with her extensive experience and research on esoteric topics. Gurdjieff, another great metaphysical leader, and publisher of a number of books dealing with the origins and purpose of mankind, also directly influenced Frank Lloyd Wright. His temple-like architecture testifies to his interest in ancient civilizations, symbolism, and ritual. 13
Architecture
| Carlo Scarpa
2.12 Scarpa Drawing 2.10 Carlo Scarpa 2.11 Brion-Vega Cemetery, 1970-1972
I due cerchi intrecciati, in piastrelle blu e rosse, ritagliati nel muro sullasse dellingresso, sono la prima battuta del dialogo: riprendono uno schema formale di origine cinese, simbolo dellunione delluomo e della donna, della conciliazione di polarita` opposte. Essi sono anche forma duplicata, struttura binaria particolarmente cara allarchitetto veneziano e da lui proposta in piu` occassioni, ripetuta in diverse dimensioni, anche nel cimitero.
Maria Antonietta Cripa, Carlo Scarpa, il piensero, il disegno, i progetti 2.13 Italian Pavilion - Venice Biennale, 1950-1960
Carlo Scarpa, although a traditional Catholic, is known to have applied occult eastern and western symbolism in his architecture at works such as the Brion-Vega Cemetery and the Italian Pavilion for the Venice Biennale of 1950-1960. Evidence can be traced to his obsession with the intersecting circles that stand for the female and male dualities, as well as his careful consideration of the meaning of union after death, symbolized through the Brion leaning tombs.
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| Louis Kahn
2.15 National Assembly Building, 1983 2.14 Louis Kahn
2.16 National Assembly Building, 1983
Louis Kahns architecture is equaly intriguing in how he applies esoteric knowledge through the Platonic geometries. His interest in romantic platonism seems to stem from his early education through his mother, who had received esoteric information from the German Bohemian circle in which she was brought up, in which metaphysical dinner conversations were almost treated as hobbies at that time.
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| Gunnar Asplund and George Hascup
2.18 Woodland Cemetery/ Skogskyrkogrden,1917
2.17 Gunnar Asplund
Gunnar Asplunds work at the Woodland Cemetery with Sigurd Lewerentz is very Christian in nature, but also very pagan. In the cemetery, pyramids and mounds link to more ancient nordic civilizations. Current practicing architects like Cornell Professor George Hascup still perpetuate the application of esoteric principles in their work, as the Ithaca Youth Bureaus 51 degree roofs demonstrate. This angle is derived from the Egyptian Cheops pyramid at Gyza.
2.19 Ithaca Youth Bureau, George Hascup
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| Le Corbusier
2.20 Notre Dame du Haut (Ronchamp), 2.21 La Tourette, 7 light wells (Alchemical colors), 1957-1960 1954
2.22 St. Pierres Constellation of Orion (Revered by ancient Egyptians), 2006
2.23 Palace of Assembly, Chandigarh (Taurus Constellation), 1953
Le Corbusier, however, stands out for the number of works he created post World War II that feature very deep esoteric meanings which scholars struggle to decipher. From Notre Dame, to the complex of Chandigarh, example after example of hermetic influences can be found. For example, at La Tourette 7 windows tinted with the alchemical colors can be found in the main chapel: 3 on one side, and 4 on the other side, hinting at the lower work and the greater work in the alchemical process of transformation. The same pattern also appears on a side chapel roof of the same building. The constellation of Orion, very revered by the ancients, shows up at St. Pierres Church, and Taurus horn, another constellation of esoteric imporance, is expressed on the roofs of both Ronchamp and the Palace of Assembly at Chandigarh. 17
2.24 Unite dhabitation
2.25 La Tourette
2.26 High Court Building, Chandigarh
2.27 Carpenter Center
2.28 The Four Elements
Color, representing the colors of the alchemical stage, as well as the four elements, is emphasized prominently in Le Corbusiers post war architecture. Notice how the colors at La Tourette (2.25), hint at the alchemical stages, particularly the 3 circular lightwells (black, white, and red) that represent the first material alchemical stages of Calcination, Dissolution, and Separation.
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III. Site: Cornell Sculpture Garden
The Cornell Sculpture Garden was designed and poured by Cornell undergraduate architecture students in the 1960s, as part of a class taught by Emeritus professor Jack Squier. Funded by the students, the project was initially located in an abandoned site. Now it is located in a well landscaped, mound-like area, after Newmans 3 million dollar donation to the creation of the arboretum. Industrial Design magazine called it the most exciting and successful projects for training architects in the country. The abstract, experimental shapes and engineering are beyond inspirational. It almost feels sacred. It was a challenge for the students to have the 10-ton concrete structures not only completed, but also be able to stand, as the grading was either an A or an F.
3.1 Sculpture Garden, Jack Squier
3.2 Sculptures near Tjaden Hall, 1960s
3.3 Sculpture Garden in the 60s
3.4 Sculpture Garden Construction, Jack Squier
Because of its Corbusian sculptures, as well as its location on a almost pagan-looking mound (which is the case of Ronchamp), choosing the Cornell Sculpture Garden for the augmentations was almost instinctive. Although it was not initially intended to have any religious meaning (at least expressly), visitors to the site often associate it with a sacred site like Stonehenge, or are simply affected by its meditative, comtemplative qualities, which are key features of a church or a chapel, or of a sacred location in general.
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Charles Rogers '59
Randy Lewis '62
Stewart Carter '61
Alan Chimaco '63
Ted Graves '58
Kent Moore '62
Fred Biebesheimer '61
Webb Nichols '63
Brewster Ward '62
3.5 Sculptures
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Ted Graves '58
Kent Moore '62 Michael Newman '58
Fred Biebesheimer '61
Roberto Einaudi '60
Webb Nichols '63
Brewster Ward '62
Note: Einaudis sculpture is no longer standing on the site.
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3.6 Sculpture Garden Site, Google
3.7 Ronchamp Site, Google
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3.8 Sculpture Garden 2 ft Contours
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3.9 360 View from Center of Garden
3.10 360 View from West
3.11 360 View from South
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3.12 View from East
3.13 View from Southeast
3.14 View from Southeast
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IV. What is Hidden at Ronchamp?
| Alchemical Principles
According to Coombs, Ronchamps South Door explains what is happening at the building diagrammatically. But before going into details regarding the meaning of the door, it is important to go over some basic principles of alchemy.
4.1 Ronchamp South Door Exterior
4.2 Ronchamp South Interior
4.3 Le Corbusier and the South Door
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Exoteric: Middle Ages chemistry devoted to the search of the Elixir of Life, and transmuting metals into gold through the Philosophers Stone Esoteric: Change of substance or nature, particularly human, for the transmutation of the soul into higher planes of existence - culminating in the immutable Philosophers Stone (similar to the masonic rough and perfect Ashlar allegory) Binary cosmos: universe as a battleground of opposing forces Goal of alchemist: to reach the one or universal consciousness through a balance of these forces The sun and the moon: symbolize the opposite forces in alchemy Warring birds: symbolize the struggle between these forces
4.6. Sun King and Lunar Queen 4.7 Symbol used by Taoist Alchemists
4.4 Masonic Polishing of the Rough Stone 4.5 The Warring Bird of Alchemy
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| Constellations
4.8 Ronchamp Constellation Alignments adapted from Coombs
30
One of the first obvious esoteric evidence to be found at Ronchamp is related to its cosmological alignments, some very personal to Le Corbusier. For example, the Libra alignment to the East relates to his ascending astrological sign, and Aries, to the west, with his descending sign. The Aries alignment is expressed architecturally through the chapels famous nostril shaped water scupper. On the southern wall, both on the interior and the exterior, further constellation relationships are made. The libra constellation, again, appears to show up, as well as the constellation of Corvus (from which the word corbu comes from). Further, Coombs also suggests that the female constellation of Virgo, and the male constellation of Hydra, can be traced.
4.9 South Wall Constellations adapted from Coombs
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| Chemical Marriage
According to Coombs what is most insteresting and not at first obvious about Ronchamp is a pervasive reference to the chemical marriage, or the conunctio, which happens from the ascendance from the third to the fourth stage of alchemy, a very important moment where one moves from a purely physical reality to a spiritual awareness. A chemical marriage results from a perfect balance of male and female forces, culminating in an absence of gender in the spiritual realm. The union of the king and the queen in alchemy can be seen both on the plan and elevation of the chapel. On the plan the nave is their bodies, and the towers, their heads. The southern wall (in red) is the Kings hosed leg, and the northern and eastern walls (in blue) form the dress of the queen. The towers symbolize their bodies, as well as the alchemical instrument called the athanor. In between the towers we find the nostril through which water falls into an oval basin, symbolizing conception.
4.11 Chemical Marriage Illustration 4.12 Protruding Gargoyle symbolizes conception
4.10 Plan and elevation showing male and female bodies and towers
4.13 Athanor symbolizes the human body and are expressed through the vertical towers that sublimate light
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The oval pool features two pyramids and a cylinder, abstractly hinting at the King and the Queen, the male and female forces, which unite as the egg in order to move into the next alchemical stage, which is rebirth (as the rebirth of a phonenix), in the spiritual realm.
4.14 Protruding gargoyle symbolizes conception
4.15 Oval water pool symbolizes the egg
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| Inverted Cross
Another evidence of the chemical marriage being emphasized is Le Corbusiers use of the iverted cross, which in alchemy symbolises that very moment. He interestingly also reverses the orientation of the altar towards the sun, which traditionally faces the west. The inverted cross also appears on the towers, as well as in an intriguing drawing by Le Corbusier.
4.16 Inverted cross symbolizes the stage after coniunctio. The crossbar of the T connects the Solar King and the Lunar Queen
4.17 Le Corbusiers Drawing of the Inverted Cross
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| Number 7
4.18 Hidden beams and pillotis, Coombs
4.19 Hidden beams
After the chemical marriage, the manifestation of the number 7 architecturally is perhaps the most intriguing evidence of Le Corbusiers integration of Hermeticism/Alchemy into Ronchamp. Seven beams and seven pillotis are embedded in the structure of the chapel, directly hinting at the seven alchemical stages. 35
4.20 7 terraces, 21 steps
4.21 7 stepped pyramid of alchemy
4.22 7 lights inside Ronchamp
An ancient looking pyramid having seven steps can be found immediately outside. 7 stepped pyramids is a common alchemical symbolism, as evidenced in numerous hermetic illlustrations. The pyramid is further subdivided into 21 steps, refering to the Holy Grail, as explained on page 33.
Within the Kings tower, the windows and the sun produce 7 distinct lights.
4.23 7 pointed star in Corbusiers book The Chapel at Ronchamp
A seven pointed star can also be found among the drawings of Le Corbusier
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| Three Tables
Three tables bore the Grail one table round, one table square, and one table rectangular. All three have the same surface and their number is 21. Riddle found in Charpentiers book on the Chartres Cathedral
4.24 Charpentiers Three Tables of the Grail Theory superimposed, Coombs
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| Number 5
4.26 Montsegur
4.25 Pentagon on site and transformation from Montsegur, adapted from Coombs 4.27 Pentagon in Bethleen Cave: A Neo-Cathar Site
After 7, the most significant number to be expressed at Ronchamp is the numeral 5, which refers to the pentagon, a very sacred polygon that, in medieval masonry guilds, was used in the squaring of the circle, a technique applied in the design of cathedrals like Chartres, with which Le Corbusier seems to have been fascinated with. It also links directly to the sect of the Cathars, which considered the pentagon as one of its most sacred shapes. Le Corbusier, being a Cathar, was obviously aware of this, and seems to have applied the pentagonal shape of Montsegur, a Cathar fortress, in the design of Ronchamp (Coombs). 38
| Golden Ratio
4.29 East Elevation - Golden Ratio
4.30 Golden Section on Plan
4.28 1:1.78 on North and South Towers
4.31 North Interior - Golden Ratio
4.32 Golden Section on Plan
Elaborated further in the Reinassance, the concept of the golden ratio had been applied in medieval architecture losely through the sacred cut. At Ronchamp, Le Corbusier seems to use it throughout the design.
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| Harmonic Proportions and the Modulor
4.33 Harmonic Proportions (Fugal) - South Wall Section, Coombs
4.34 Plan of Ronchamp featuring irregular Modulor patterns, Coombs
4.35 The Modulor, The Panel Exercise
His emphasis on Ronchamp echoing the surrounding landscape supports the contention that sound was to play a role in the chapels conception. Similarly, his efforts to have Edgar Varese compose electronic music to be played at Ronchamp affirms this aspect. - Robert Coombs
At Ronchamp, the modulor exercise is applied on the floor of the chapel, just as it is in other of his projects, including the Carpenter Center.
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| Colors of the Great Work
Main Divisions
Black: reduction of materia prima
Subdivisions
Bright Yellow Blue
White: puried materia/soul ready for the spirit
Green Bright Red
Red: represents the Philosophers Stone
Royal Purple
Silver/gray: nishing of the Lesser Work
Gold: Final Tincturing
Colors, again, play a major role in the design of Le Corbusier. Maybe not so much at Ronchamps architecture, but in the door of the building, and in many of the architects later works. Many of these colors, including red, white, and black, are direclty related to the alchemical early stages, as shown in figure 5.35.
4.36 Alchemical Stages 4.37 and 4.38 The Four Elements
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| South Door
4.39 Ronchamp Door, Exterior Approach
4.40 Ronchamp Door, Interior
42
Lesser Work
6 2 5
1
Exterior Interior
Greater Work
4.41 Ronchamp Door Diagrams
Lesser Work
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Greater Work
Convex Pentagon with a Cross (Squaring the Circle, and means for Salvation)
Divine World
Conunctio takes place (marriage and death) (transmutation of color, male and female united) Window indicates 4 elements or aspects (water, air, re, and earth or thinking, intuition, sensation, and feeling), and beginning of Conunctio Gold Star (Moon Queen - suffering transmutation)
Angelic World
Sun King Pyramid and Hand / Sulphur
Blue Star (Moon Queen/Mercury)
Stellar World
Feminine Hand (lower than male) Black Egg
Snake
1
Exterior
Lower World
4.44 Boulbon Retable
4.42 Ronchamp Door, Exterior 4.43 Alchemical Symbol for Squaring the Circle
Squaring the circle through the pentagon was widely used in medieval architecture, and pervades the design of cathedrals like Chartres. It is also interpreted as a means to salvation, particularly here in the door with a cross overlaid on top of the pentagon. According to Le Corbusier, the door's composition is derived from the Boulbon retable. 'I was telephoning, the photograph of the redos by Boulbon was in front of me upside down. The pentagon hit me in the eyes...' 44
The Turba Philosophorium describes the philosophers stone as a thing...which is found everywhere, which is a stone and no stone, contemptible and precious, hidden, concealed, and yet known to everyone.
Mystical Union with the One As below, so above Hermes Trismegistus Puried White Egg held by a hand (Symbolizes Philosophers Stone) Upside down triangle (Permanent state achieved)
7
Sun King /Sulphur Lunar Queen/Mercury (Tinted with Gold) - 7 stages
Alchemical Flame
Cofn Plan
5
Pentagon with four elements
Cofn Section
Body with upraised hands located partly inside a cofn (dead body) New Life evolves from death and decay (Phoenix)
4.45 Ronchamp Door, Interior
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| South Door
4.46 Alchemical illustrations showing the seven stages of the alchemical process
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| What does this all mean?

In the Lesser Work, the physical body is either male or female (BLACK EGG/Nigredo), and universal consciousness in limited, as one is limited to the material world. Opposing forces (Ying and Yang) have to be understood and be united in harmony in order to move to the Greater Work. Upon death (literal or of the ego) there is a marriage - meaning the spirit is a combination of male and female, and represented by hermaphrodite in alchemical drawings. Also, upon literal or allegorical death the physical body decomposes (putrefaction), and the spirit can either reincarnate and go through several cycles until the Lesser Work is no longer necessary, or immediately go through the Greater Work. The Greater Work is an improvement of the spiritual body, which again, is neither male or female. A permanent, immutable, purified state is achieved in the end of the GreaterWork, which is also called the Philosophers Stone (The WHITE EGG), and consciousness with the one is universal A purified spirit is never going to go through the Lesser Work again
4.47 Hermes Trismegistus
4.48 Squaring the Circle
4.49 Squaring the Circle
4.50 Hermaphrodite Drawing
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| 7 | Rosicrucian Initiation
References to the number seven are common in many mystical schools, and in the Rosicrucian Order, the mother of all modern mystical organizations, the Seventh Degree of Initiation is its most sacred degree:
Very impressive Psychic Initiation illustrating some of the highest mystical teachings of the Order, followed by a series of monographs and lessons dealing with the metaphysical and psychic existence of Man, and leaving aside the material and earthly matters covered in the first six Degrees. This Degree fully explains the real purpose and nature of the psychic body of Man within the physical body and contains exercises for strengthening the vitality and power of the psychic body with its Psychic Consciousness; and then proceeds to explain how the psychic body may be temporarily separated from the physical body and both be made visible at the same time. After these experiments are completed the Student is instructed in the Rosicrucian methods of projecting the psychic body out into space to any point in place there to be made visible to others without affecting the continuous functioning of the physical body. Other exercises assist in the development of the Aura, so that it may be made very visible in a darkened room and sufficiently strong to cause illumination and to make the hands magnetic. Also other exercises are given in connection with the highest mystical vowel sounds with methods for pronouncing them so as to produce psychic manifestations at will. Also the Lost Word, sought for by the ancients, is further explained in this Degree and the Student begins to realize that he has been gradually acquiring the Lost Word and gaining very unusual occult powers. This is the most mystical Degree of study in the principles of Rosicrucian Teachings ever given in the Occidental World. (Rosicrucian Manual AMORC, 1918, 72-73)
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| 7 | Corpus Hermeticum
Often, the bodily experience of the ultimate knowledge is described as divination, as in the Corpus Hermeticum: Thus, unless you make yourself equal to god, you cannot understand god; like is understood by like. Make yourself grow to immeasurable immensity, outleap all body, outstrip all time, become eternity and you will understand god. Having conceived that nothing is impossible to you, consider yourself immortal and able to understand everything, all art, all learning, the temper of every living thing. Go higher than every height and lower than every depth. Collect in yourself all the sensations of what has been made, of fire and water, dry and wet; be everywhere at once, on land, in the sea, in heaven; be not yet born, be in the womb, be young, old, dead, beyond death. And when you have understood all these at once times, places, things, qualities, quantities then you can understand god. By means of a direct, individual experience of and merging with the divine the Hermetist reaches ultimate understanding a clear example of esoteric discourses of knowledge. Although knowledge is revealed by superior entities (Tat, Hermes, Mind), it is the adepts own active mental faculty that secures knowledge and understanding the self-empowerment of the understanding subject. This self-empowerment and the knowledge claims attached to it provide perhaps the most important contribution in a polemical discourse of antiquity and beyond. One may only recall the famous passage of Poimandres that was so influential and controversial in subsequent esotericism, as it inaugurates the divination of the adept: Thence the human being rushes up through the cosmic framework, at the first zone surrendering the energy of increase and decrease; at the second evil machination, a device now inactive; at the third the illusion of longing, now inactive; at the fourth the rulers arrogance, now freed of excess; at the fifth unholy presumption and daring recklessness; at the sixth the evil impulses that come from wealth, now inactive; and at the seventh zone the deceit that lies in ambush. And then, stripped of the effects of the cosmic framework, the human enters the region of the ogdoad; he has his own proper power, and along with the blessed he hymns the father. [] They rise up to the father in order and surrender themselves to the powers, and, having become powers, they enter into god. This is the final good for those who have received knowledge: to be made god. (von Stuckrad, 76-77)
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| Alchemists
4.52 Isaac Newton, Alchemist and Translator of the Emerald Tablets of Hermes Trismegistus to English
4.51 Sir Francis Bacon, Imperator of the Rosicrucians in the Seventeenth Century (Modern Symbolical Drawing)
4.53 Lord Raymond VI, who, as Count of Toulouse, refused to prosecute the mystics who laid the foundation for Rosicrucian philosophy in Southern France in the Thirteenth Century. As a mystic martyr, his body was refused burial in Holy Ground, but was preserved for 600 years in the Knights Templar Building, built by his forefathers. Copyright, 1917, by the Supreme Grand Lodge. A.M.O.R.C.
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Sir Francis Bacon, Newton, and even Dalton were fascinated by Hermeticism/Alchemy, and much like Le Corbusier, spent considerable time trying to understand the occult meanings behind some ancient writings. Newton translated the Emerald Tablets of Hermes Trismegistus to English, Dalton seems to have derived the concept of atoms from the Rosicrucian degrees, and Francis Bacon is sometimes atribbuted to having written the highly symbolic Shakespearean plays, according to Dr. Spencer Lewis, the writer of the Rosicrucian Manual. In the 13th century, despite the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars/Gnostics in Southern France, Lord Raymond VI of Toulouse refused to persecute the the mystics. This, of course, was one of the reasons that allowed Catharism to survive and persist in future generations, and to influence such figures as Le Corbusier, a direct descendant of this mystical group.
4.54 A Modern Alchemist in his Laboratory, Monsieur F. Jollivet Castelot, Past President, French Alchemical Society and High Officer of La Rose-Croix of France, who demonstrated the Rosicrucian Doctrines and produced gold by transmutation.
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| Other Examples of Cubist Compositions
4.55 Tapestry Design for the Parliament Building in Chandigarh, Le Corbusier
4.56 Door at the Parliament Building in Chandigarh
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V. Levels of Alchemy
| Demonstration
5.1 Level 3: Separation, interaction with sculpture
5.2 Level 6: Distillation, Water Temple Augmentation
As a visitor walks through the Cornell Sculpture Garden with his or her iPad, augmentations related to the seven stages of alchemy will show up through the device, indicating which level of the process the person is on. Image 6.3 shows a person interacting with a sculpture on the third alchemical level: Separation, which features holograms that demonstrate whether a sculpture has a sacred cut, as will be described later on. The holograms also switch from blue to red, signifying the duality of the forces, and the unification that is about to happen: the conunctio. This level is one of the challenge levels.
Figure 6.4 shows the sixth stage, called Distillation, in which a desintegration or dematerialization of the sculptures happens, indicating that the physical world is becoming fully spiritual. This level features a water temple, from which the user can contemplate the sculptures, as they fly up into heaven. In the end, it is a very contemplative level.
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| 1-7
Coniunctio MATERIAL
SPIRITUAL
Conjunction
Fermentation
Dissolution
Calcination
Separation
1
Physical Exhaustion, Burning of Ego
2
Introspection of Repressed Feelings, Adding water to the ashes, Emotional
3
Discernment of the Male and Female Forces
4
Glimpse of Higher Realms of Consciousness, The Concept of God
5
Putrefaction of the Physical self, Realization of ones limitations, Dark Shadows, Regeneration
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Detachment from the Material World, Second washing of negative aspects of the personality
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Complete balance of opposite forces, Movement from realms of matter and spirit, Universal Consciousness
Maze of the Ego
Water Temple
Maze of Forces
Spiritual Realm
Maze of Shadows
Water Temple
Spiritual Realm
396 Hz Physical Exhaustion through exploration and challenges
417 Hz Time for Introspection and Contemplation, Cleansing
528 Hz Moments of revelation of the opposing forces, Marriage of the two
639 Hz Visualization of higher realms The Universe
741 Hz Windows into moments of failure, Healing Opportunity
852 Hz Second Time for Contemplation and Cleansing
936 Hz Ability to move from spiritual and physical realms at will
Coagulation Vibration Objective
Distillation
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5.3 Augmented Seven Stages of Alchemy
As the table on the left shows, the alchemical levels are divided into the three earlier material levels (the lesser work), and the 4 higher spiritual levels (the greater work). There are also levels that are more challenging, and ones that are more contemplative and meditative: the levels that feature a Water Temple.
Charpentier believed that the Benedictines stepped up the terrestrial forces by means of physical sounds - Gregorian music - whose action enhanced the building's geometrical harmony to produce higher states of consciousness. The Benedictines were indeed one order which utilized ancient knowledge. The German researcher Kurt Gerlach found that the Benedictine monasteries in Bohemia (Czechoslovakia) had been arranged in precise geometrical relationships with one another. These monasteries were placed on lines at specific multiples and submultiples of the ancient measure known as the Raste, forty-four kilometers. (Nigel)
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62
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Level 1 | Calcination
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7.3 Egg Reference

Modular Helix
Egg
Snake
Caduceus Symbol of Hermes Trismegistus
5.4 Maze derived from a 3D overlay of the modular experiment
5.5 Snaking water path and double helix
5.6 Caduceus of Hermes
Calcination is a level about physical challenge and burning out ones energies and the ego. Its about discovering ones limits through a maze in which the sculptures serve as reference points for finding ones way around. A metaphorical snaking path leads one through the maze. The design of the maze is derived from the modulor laid both on 2D and 3D. 65
Level 2 | Dissolution
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A purely contemplative level, Dissolution is about washing out ones burned out body and reflect on the sculptures from a temple basically sitting on crystaline water. The design of the temple is inspired after Tadao Andos Water Church, which lacks an altar, but features a large cross sitting on a rectangular pool. Tadao Andos design seems to make use of the sacred technique of the Sacred Cut, which was an earlier form of the golden ratio used in medieval construction to derive good proportions.
5.7 Tadao Andos Water Church as the formal inspiration
5.8 Interior view from Water Temple framing the sculptures
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10 m
45 m
90 m
Sacred Cut
The ancient system of geometry can almost be regarded as a direct development of meditation on the sacred cut and the sacred number seven, and in the same way as these latter it has remained part of the early Churchs occult teaching. (57) The Secrets of Ancient Geometry - and its Use by Tons Bruns
15 m
5.9Tadao Andos Water Church, Application of the Sacred Cut
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According to Tons Brunes, the author of The Secrets of Ancient Geometry, the sacred cut was used in both ancient art and architecture, as figures 7.7 to 7.11 show.
5.10 1350 B.C. King Tut Akamon
5.11 615 B.C. Greek Sculpture
5.12 5C B.C. Myron, Discus Thrower
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5.13 New Cologne Cathedral
5.14 Pantheon
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The design of the Water Temple was based on the technique of the sacred cut, as figures 7.12 and 7.13 demonstrate.
90 m / 295 ft
45 m /147 ft
5.15 Site showing Sacred Cut Application 5.16 Sacred Cut Technique as the Generator for the Water Temple
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Cosmological alignments and the suns location at specific times of the day during the equinoxes and soltices were taken into account in providing phenomenal effects.
Water Level Pond Bed
5.17 Seasonal Sun Alignments and water level
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References to the 7 stages of alchemy are to be found throughout the building, as well as links to the virgo and hydra constellations: the male and female forces.
North
East
South
West
5.18 Water Temple elevations incorporating seven alchemical stages, as well as southern constellations of Virgo and Hydra, as female and male counterparts
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Modular Floor
Top
5.19 Water Temple roof plan showing the seven alchemical stages
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The Modulor, The Panel Exercise
5.20 Water Temple modulor application on the floor plan, and field of view towards sculptures
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5.21 Water Temple Model Views
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Level 3 | Separation
Separation is the third stage in the aclhemical process and perhaps the most important of them, as the chemical marriage or conunctio follows immediately after, introducing one into the spiritual world. This level features hollograms that reveal whether the sacred cut is a property of a particular sculpture. The alternating blue and red colors represent the duality of the two opposing forces in alchemy. The hollograms are activated by a visitor touching the iPads screen in order to unleash a cube that activates a sculpture upon hitting it.
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5.22 Sculptures
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5.23 Sacred Cut Analysis on the sculptures
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5.24 Sacred Cut Analysis on the sculptures
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Level 4 | Conjunction
Distorted Visions of Metatrons Cube and the Flower of Life
Conjunction is the first spiritual level in the alchemical process, and it is intended to introduce a glimpse of higher conscience to the user. The level is optically and chromatically distorted in order to convey a feeling that one is no longer in the typical physical reality. The first event that occurs here is a flock of bird which approaches flying backwards, as if time is no longer running as expected. Then, as one walks around, a scrumbled set of hollograms of Metatrons Cube rotate around in the atmosphere, causing confusion of what it actually is supposed to be. However, if one approaches a sculpture really close, it is possible to see a clearer view of Metatrons Cube and the flower of life.
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The Flower of Life
Metatrons Cube
Female Lines Male Lines 5.25 Metatrons Cube derived from the Flower of Life
Metatrons Cube is derived from the sacred Flower of Life through the extension of it, as the diagrams in figure 7.21 show. Note that any platonic solid can be derived from this shape. The knowledge and application of this derivation was something highly guarded in ancient times. Metatron is the known in Jewish esoteric texts as the highest angel, the closest being to God, as well as the scribe. Equivalents to Metatron exist in many religions and beliefs. In ancient Egypt he was known as Thoth, and in Greece as Hermes Trismegistus. Hermes Trismegistus is known as the creator of Alchemy or Hermeticism, which Le Corbusier seems to have studied and applied in his late architecture. Hermes, then is the archetypal being representing the level of awareness or perfection one can reach through alchemy.
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5.27 Metatrons Cube
5.26 The Sacrifice of Abraham (Genesis 22: 1012) Rembrandt, 1635 5.28 Thoth/Hermes Trismegistus/ Metatron, The Scribe and Messenger of the Gods
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5.29 Hermes Trismegistus/Metatron/Thoth represented in different times and civilizations. (Egyptian, Greek, Modern Western)
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5.33 Enoch,/Metatron, the highest of the angels, and the only able to see Gods countenance
5.30 Hermes Trismegistus as il- 5.31 Hermes Statue, the lustrated in western alchemy or Greek Messenger of the Hermeticism Gods
5.32 John The Baptist, Leonardo Da Vinci. Also Elijah, twin brother of Metatron, he appears as John The Baptist during Jesuss time. Like his brother Metatron/ Enoch, he was transformed into a higher being without tasting death. That is, both went through the seven alchemical stages successfully, achieving universal consciousness.
5.34 Assassins Creed representation of Hermes Trismegistus or Metatron
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Level 5 | Fermentation
5.35 Maze of trees and shadows haunted by five platonic Solids
Fermentation is another challenging level in which the user has to confront fears, perils, and essentially, try to overcome them. Here one is faced with trying to keep a clear view of what is going on in a maze of trees inhabited by five platonic solids. If one approaches a platonic solid too close, the solid will notice and attack. The attack causes ones vision to become blurry, which can be remedied by touching a sculpture. But as you hunt down for a sculpture, you might attract other platonic solids, and the battle can become more and more challenging. One way to counter the solids is either to run away from them or counterattack by shooting cubes at them. If hit, the solids will retract, and become disoriented for a while. 86
Tetrahedron Octahedron Hexahedron Dodecahedron
Isosahedron
5.36 The five platonic solids derived from Metatrons Cube
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Level 6 | Distillation
Dematerialization
Gravitational Pull
Double spiral that alludes to greater consciousness
5.37 Dematerialization of the Sculptures
One level before the seventh, Distillation introduces one to the idea of dematerialization of the physical reality. Here one can witness the desintegration of the sculpture garden, as fragments of it fly into heaven, through a double helix spiral. Another contemplative level for purification and meditation, it once again features the Water Temple, which is now composed of a crystal structure that is lighter than the previous one in level 2.
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Level 7 | Coagulation
5.38 Dematerialization of the Water Temple
Temple Dematerialization
The climax of all the levels is level 7, in which the actual temple desintegrates above the clouds, and one is able to get a better view of Metatrons Cube. As the floors and walls begin to move up and separate, one eventually becomes aware that the floor will tilt, and that the idea of a physical ground will no longer exist. Here one finally succumbs to the reality of spirit.
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5.39 Clearer view of Metatrons Cube and the Flower of Life
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A clearer view of Metatrons Cube and the Flower of Life
| App
5.40 Application for the iPad featuring the Seven Stages of Alchemy augmented on the Cornell Sculpture Garden
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VI. Bibliography
VI. Bibliography
VI. Bibliography
Books
Birksted, Jan. Le Corbusier and The Occult. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009. 239-334. Print. Bruns, Tons. The Secrets of Ancient Geometry. 1. 2. Conpenhagen: Rhodos, 1967. 7-135. Print. Churchward, Albert. The Arcana of Freemasonry: A History of Masonic Signs and Symbols. 1. 1. San Francisco, CA: Red Wheel/Weiser, 2005. 86-318. Print. Coombs, Robert. Mystical Themes in Le Corbusiers Architecture in The Chapel of NotreDame-du-Haut at Ronchamp: The Ronchamp Riddle. 1. 2. Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales: The Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd., 2000. 4-90. Print. Crippa, Maria Antonietta. Carlo Scarpa: Il Pensiero, Il Disegno, I Progetti. Milano: Jaca Book, 1984. 89-100. Print. Lewis, H. Spencer. Rosicrucian Manual. 1.23. Kingsport, Tenn.: Kingsport Press, 1974. 9-127. Print. Montanari, Franco. Archittettura Religiosa Contemporanea: La chiesa di Carlo Scarpa e Edoardo Detti a Firenzuola. Florence, Italy: Atti del Convegno, 2004. 20-90. Print. Pennick, Nigel. Sacred Geometry. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1980. 93-150. Print. Spradley, Todd. Myth, Ritual and Architecture: The Path Toward Architectural Transcendence. Houston: Atrium Press, 1995. 53. Print. von Stuckrad, Kocku. Locations of Knowledge in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Esoteric Discourse and Western Identities. Boston; Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, 2010. 76-77. Print. Williamson, Jim, and Renata Hejduk. The Religious Imagination in Modern and Contemporary Architecture: A Reader. New York; London: Routledge, 2011. 217-255, 65-77. Print.
Images
1.1 Ipad Augmentation with Kinect. Blogspot. Accessed 15 May 2012 <http://techno-angel. blogspot.com/2011/07/augmented-reality-with-kinect-and-ipad.html> 1.2 Ipad Information Augmentation with Junaio. Cnet. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://cdnstatic.cnet.co.uk/i/c/blg/cat/mobiles/junaio-ipad2.jpg> 1.3 Ipad Small Scale Augmentation. Nick Clegg Visits Inition & Holition. Inition. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www.inition.co.uk/news/nick-clegg-visits-inition-holition> 1.4 Google Glasses. NY Times via Google. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://bits.blogs. nytimes.com/2012/04/04/google-begins-testing-its-augmented-reality-glasses/> 1.5 Corning Glass. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/02/06/ corning-visualizes-our-glass-future-tablets-huge-displays-video/> 1.6 Ronchamp. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www.organicarchitecture.info/chapel-dunotre-dame-du-haut-le-corbusier-ronchamp-france-1954/> 1.8 Stein, Fridtjof. Ronchamps South Door. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www.panoramio.com/photo/26990724> 2.1 Rudolf Steiner. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://yesterdayland.web-daemon.com/img/ Osho_on_rudolf_steiner.jpg> 2.2 First Goetheanum. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://upload. wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/First_Goetheanum.jpg> 2.3 Wladyslaw. Goetheanum in Dornach. 4 May 2008. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 15 May 2012. < http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Goetheanum_ Dornach.jpg> 2.4 Frank Lloyd Wright: American architect, portrait, head and shoulders, facing right. March 1, 1926. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://bar.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Datei:Frank_Lloyd_Wright_LC-USZ62-36384.jpg>
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2.5 Helena P. Blavatsky. 1877. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hpb.jpg> 2.6 S. James. Henry Steel Olcott. 2008. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 15 May 2012. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:H.S._Olcott-portrait-300.jpg> 2.7 Gurdjieff. Accessed 15 May 2012. < http://www.gurdjieff.org.uk/> 2.8 Associated Press. Charles Ennis (Ennis-Brown) House. Accessed 15 May 2012. < http:// www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/architecture/5949467/Frank-Lloyd-Wrights-Ennis-Houseon-sale-for-15-million.html> 2.9 Covarrubias, Amanda. Hollyhock House. 2008. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://blog. allanellenberger.com/wp-content/uploads/hollyhock.jpg> 2.10 Miller, Angier. Scarpa Portrait. 2012. Accessed 15 May 2012. < http://blog.claytongrayhome.com/2012/02/carlo-scarpa/scarpa_portrait/> 2.11 Brion-Vega Cemetery. Accessed 16 May 2012 <http://www.vulgare.net/wp-content/ uploads/2663840027_c2f5cdb301.jpg> 2.12 Crippa, Maria Antonietta. Italian Pavilion - Venice Biennale. Carlo Scarpa: Il Pensiero, Il Disegno, I Progetti. Milano: Jaca Book, 1984. Fig. 81. 2.13 Crippa, Maria Antonietta. Italian Pavilion - Venice Biennale. Carlo Scarpa: Il Pensiero, Il Disegno, I Progetti. Milano: Jaca Book, 1984. Fig. 82. 2.14 Louis Kahn. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://www.nndb.com/people/048/000113706/> 2.15 Lykantrop. National Assembly Building. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 16 May 2012. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:National_Assembly_of_Bangladesh,_Jatiyo_Sangsad_Bhaban,_2008,_8.JPG> 2.16 National Assembly Building. 2008. Accessed 16 May 2012 <http://www.alvaraalto.fi/ ptah/issue/0201/curtis9.htm> 2.17 Gunnar Asplund. 2007. Wikimedia Commons./ Stockholms stadsbibliotek. Accessed 16 May 2012. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gunnar_Asplund.jpg> 2.18 Woodland Cemetery. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://www.chasmiller.com/images/719_20_-_05-20-06_-_01_Woodland_Cemetery_-_a2.jpg> 2.21 La Tourette. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://www.arcspace.com/architects/corbusier/ La_Tourette/letter/1.La-Tourette.jpg>, < http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/ medium/12442842.jpg >, and < http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2079/3529492308_6c62726d dd_z.jpg?zz=1> 2.22 St. Pierres Constellation of Orion. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://4.bp.blogspot. com/_8EZv0rqcto8/TDxZRKAt5yI/AAAAAAAAAHw/H6g032G2av4/s1600/ LE.CORBUSIER.EGLISE.ST.PIERRE.FIRMINY.3.jpg> 2.23 Palace of Assembly, Chandigarh. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://static.guim.co.uk/sysimages/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2008/01/28/chand372.jpg> and < http://www.santralistanbul. org/uploads/2011/Aug/19/Palace-of-Assembly---Chandigarh_web.jpg> 2.24 Unite dhabitation. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8y3w0YbjE2o/ S0wk668lQVI/AAAAAAAAApE/rUlM-FKcU1s/s400/400px-Unite_dHabitation_ (Rightee_2).jpg> and < http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RiyKPuGs2Jc/TU67Dfhng9I/ AAAAAAAAAAk/aIO7_qu66jY/s1600/Unite_d%2527Habitation_Firminy.jpg> 2.25 La Tourette Light Wells. 2.26 Chandigarh High Court. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://farm5.static.flickr. com/4081/4855107006_d7689384c5_b.jpg> 2.27 Carpenter Center. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wpcontent/uploads/2011/02/Carpenter-Center6.jpg> 2.28 Quaternity: The Four Elements. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://www.redicecreations. com/ul_img/1721quaternity3.jpg> 3.1 Squier, Jack. Sculpture Garden. Simply Squier by Phil and Maddy Handler. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw3oAgM4mf8> 3.2 Squier, Jack. Sculptures Near Tjaden Hall. Simply Squier by Phil and Maddy Handler. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw3oAgM4mf8> 3.3 Squier, Jack. Sculpture Garden in the 60s. Simply Squier by Phil and Maddy Handler. Ac2.19 Ithaca Youth Bureau and George Hascup. Accessed 16 May 2012. < http://www. georgehascup.com/> and <http://aap.cornell.edu/arch/faculty/faculty-profile.cfm?customel_ datapageid_7102=18251> 2.20 Notre Dame du Haut (Ronchamp). Accessed 16 May 2012. < http://archpaper.com/ uploads/image/RonchampPhoto.jpg>
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VI. Bibliography
cessed 16 May 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw3oAgM4mf8> 3.4 Squier, Jack. Sculpture Garden Construction. Simply Squier by Phil and Maddy Handler. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw3oAgM4mf8> 3.5 Squier, Jack. Sculptures. Simply Squier by Phil and Maddy Handler. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw3oAgM4mf8> 3.6 Sculpture Garden Site. Google Earth. 42276.96N, 762717.82W, 1.3 km 3.7 Ronchamp Site. Google Earth. 474214.47N, 63714.06E, 464 m 4.3 Le Corbusier and the South Door. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://theurbanearth.files. wordpress.com/2008/08/576lcwithdoors-1499.jpg> 4.4 Masonic Polishing of the Rough Stone. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www.cachevalleymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/FREEMASONS-ROUGH-AND-PERFECTASHLAR-STONES-300x159.jpg> 4.5 The Warring Bird of Alchemy. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://images.unurthed.com/ LCS-mercurial-eagle-42.jpg> 4.6 Sun King and Lunar Queen. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://media.photobucket.com/ image/recent/TheKTBushFan/alchemy-sun.jpg> 4.7 Kenny, Shen. Taoist Alchemy Symbol: Esoteric Taijitu. 2007. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Esoteric_Taijitu.svg> 4.8 Ronchamp Constellation Alignments adapted from Coombs. Mystical Themes in Le Corbusiers Architecture in The Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Haut at Ronchamp: The Ronchamp Riddle. By Robert Coombs. Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2000. Fig. 50. 4.9 South Wall Constellations adapted from Coombs. Mystical Themes in Le Corbusiers Architecture in The Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Haut at Ronchamp: The Ronchamp Riddle. By Robert Coombs. Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2000. Figs. 53-55. 4.11 John Daniel Mylius, Chemical Marriage Illustration: Philosophia Reformata, Emblem 8. Coniunctio: the Mediator married the opposite Principles. The Janus-headed Secret Fire breathes out ambixes, signifying the twin bridal chambers. Neptunes trident (the Water of the Philosophers) signifies washing away the Nigredo. University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware. 4.12 Leech, John. 2008. Protruding Gargoyle Symbolizes Conception. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/leechypics/3790943961/> 4.13 Andreas Libavius, Alchymia, 1606, Components of the Alchemical Athanor. University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware. 4.14 Coombs, Robert . The gargoyle and cistern on the west side of the Chapel. Mystical Themes in Le Corbusiers Architecture in The Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Haut at Ronchamp: The Ronchamp Riddle. By Robert Coombs. Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2000. Plate 10. 4.15 John Daniel Mylius, Philosophia Reformata, 1622, Emblem 16. Exalted and multiplied by a re-Dissolution in its own blood (Mercury), the Philosophers Stone in its Silver and Golden Perfection emerges from the Well of Alchemy. This may be the alchemical source for Le Corbusiers conception of pyramids and cylinders rising form the cistern at the west end of Ronchamp. University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware. 4.17 Le Corbusier. Poeme de lAngle Droit. Editions Connivence. Le Corbusier 2000 Artists Rights Society(ARS),NY/ADAGP,Paris/FLC. 85. 4.18 Le Corbusier. FLC 7170 Section shows pilotis positions and section looking towards south wall. Le Corbusier 2000 Artists Rights Society(ARS),NY/ADAGP,Paris/FLC 4.19 FLC 7390 South Section and position of roof beams Le Corbusier 2000 Artistis Rights Society(ARS),NY/ADAGP/FLC 4.20 Casino, Doctor. Terraces, 21 Steps. 2010. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www.flickr. com/photos/doctorcasino/5079998083/> 4.21 Andreas Libavius, Alchymica, 1606. The Alchemical king and Queen in their bath flank the Tree of life atop the six stages of the Great Work. University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware. 4.22 Coombs, Robert . Window images create on the wall of the Chapel of the Virgin Mary. Mystical Themes in Le Corbusiers Architecture in The Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Haut at Ronchamp: The Ronchamp Riddle. By Robert Coombs. Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2000. Fig. 77. 4.23 Le Corbusier, The Chapel at Ronchamp, p.28. (unpaginated) Here he dramatizes the seven pointed star. 2000 Artists Rights Society(ARS),NY/ADAGP,Paris/FLC 4.24 Charpentiers Three Tables of the Grail Theory Superimposed adapted from Coombs. Mystical Themes in Le Corbusiers Architecture in The Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Haut at Ronchamp: The Ronchamp Riddle. By Robert Coombs. Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter: The Edwin
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Mellen Press, 2000. Fig. 111. 4.25 Pentagon on Site and Transformation from Montsegur adapted from Coombs. Mystical Themes in Le Corbusiers Architecture in The Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Haut at Ronchamp: The Ronchamp Riddle. By Robert Coombs. Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2000. Figs. 67 and 110. 4.26 Shacklette, Ben. Southeast view of Montsegur. Serrus, Georges . Aerial view of Montsegur. Mystical Themes in Le Corbusiers Architecture in The Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Haut at Ronchamp: The Ronchamp Riddle. By Robert Coombs. Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2000. Figs. 65 and 66. 4.27 Pentagon in Bethleen Cave: A Neo-Cathar Site adapted from Coombs. Mystical Themes in Le Corbusiers Architecture in The Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Haut at Ronchamp: The Ronchamp Riddle. By Robert Coombs. Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2000. Fig. 73. 4.28-4.32 Golden Ratio Analyses adapted from Coombs. Mystical Themes in Le Corbusiers Architecture in The Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Haut at Ronchamp: The Ronchamp Riddle. By Robert Coombs. Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2000. Figs. 89, 95, 96,97, 98, 100, 101, and 102. 4.33 Le Corbusier, Harmonic Proportions (Fugal), South Wall Section. 2000 Artistis Rights Society(ARS),NY/ADAGP,Paris/FLC. 4.34 Plan of Ronchamp Featuring Irregular Modulor Patterns adapted from Coombs. Mystical Themes in Le Corbusiers Architecture in The Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Haut at Ronchamp: The Ronchamp Riddle. By Robert Coombs. Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2000. Fig. 50. 4.35 Le Corbusier. The Modulor, figure 39. The Panel Exercise. 2000 Artistis Rights Society(ARS),NY/ADAGP,Paris/FLC. 4.36 Alchemical Stages. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://pixhost.me/avaxhome/0a/ a3/0011a30a_medium.jpeg> 4.37-4.38 The Four Elements. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www.paulocoelhoblog.com/ images/image-of-the-day/the-four-elements.jpg> 4.39 Stein, Fridtjof. Ronchamp Door Exterior. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www.panoramio.com/photo/26990724> 4.40 Iqbal, Aalam. Ronchamp Door Interior. 2006. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www.flickr. com/photos/iqbalaalam/2651493419/> 4.43 Frater5. Alchemical Symbol for Squaring the Circle. 2007. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 15 May 2012. 4.44 Boulbon Retable. Louvre Museum. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www.enguerrandquarton.com/popups/boulbon.html> 4.46 Alchemical Illustrations showing the Seven Stages of the Alchemical Process. Mystical Themes in Le Corbusiers Architecture in The Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Haut at Ronchamp: The Ronchamp Riddle. By Robert Coombs. Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2000. Figs. 36,37,38,40, and 61. 4.47 Hermes Trismegistus. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www.hermes-press.com/Perennial_Tradition/hermes2.jpg> 4.48 Squaring the Circle. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://members.ozemail.com. au/~clauspat/stonea.htm> 4.49 Michael Maier. Atalanata Fugiens, 1618, Emblem XXI. Make from the male and female a circle, then a square, afterwards a triangle, from which make a circle, and thou shalt have the Philosophers Stone. University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware. 4.50 Michael Maier, Atalanta Fugiens, 1918, Emblema XXXIII. The Hermaphrodite, who lies in the darkness like a corpse, needs fire. University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 4.51 Sir Francis Bacon: Modern Symbolical Drawing. Rosicrucian Manual. By H. Spencer Lewis. Kingsport, Tenn.: Kingsport Press, 1974. 9 4.52 Kneller, Sir Godfrey. Sir Isaac Newton. 1689. Oil on canvas. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GodfreyKneller-IsaacNewton-1689.jpg> 4.53 Lord Raymond VI. Rosicrucian Manual. By H. Spencer Lewis. Kingsport, Tenn.: Kingsport Press, 1974. 11 4.54 A Modern Alchemist in his Laboratory. Rosicrucian Manual. By H. Spencer Lewis. Kingsport, Tenn.: Kingsport Press, 1974. 15 4.55 Le Corbusier.Tapestry Design for he Parliament Building in Chandigarh. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www.urbanrealm.com/blogs/media/blogs/pauls/le-corbusier-design-fortapestry-chandigarh.jpg>
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VI. Bibliography
4.56 Door at the Parliament Building in Chandigarh. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www. ccca.ca/c/images/screen/h/haraldss/hara106.jpg> 5.6 Caduceus of Hermes. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http://www.crystalinks.com/caduceus. png> 5.7 Tadao Andos Water Church and Allens Attics. 2006. Accessed 15 May 2012. <http:// img.dare.co.uk/wp/tadao-ando.jpg> and <http://www.flickr.com/photos/ellens_album/225901351/> 5.10 Bruns, Tons. 350 B.C. King Tut Akamon. The Secrets of Ancient Geometry. By Tons Bruns. Conpenhagen: Rhodos, 1967. 121 5.11 Bruns, Tons. 615 B.C. Greek Sculpture. The Secrets of Ancient Geometry. By Tons Bruns. Conpenhagen: Rhodos, 1967. 125 5.12 Bruns, Tons. 512 B.C. Myron, Discus Thrower. The Secrets of Ancient Geometry. By Tons Bruns. Conpenhagen: Rhodos, 1967. 137 5.13 Bruns, Tons. New Cologne Cathedral. The Secrets of Ancient Geometry. By Tons Bruns. Conpenhagen: Rhodos, 1967. 35 5.14 Bruns, Tons. Pantheon. The Secrets of Ancient Geometry. By Tons Bruns. Conpenhagen: Rhodos, 1967. 54 5.26 Rembrandt. The Sacrifice of Abraham (Genesis 22: 10-12).1635. Oil on Canvas. Hermitage Museum/Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/File:Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_035.jpg> 5.28 Dahl Jeff. Thoth, ancient Egyptian god often depicted as anman. Based on New Kingdom tomb paintings. 2007. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 16 May 2012. < http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/File:Thoth.svg> 5.30 Tomisti. Hermes Trismegistus.Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HermesTrismegistusCauc.jpg> 5.31 Hermes Statue. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://www.theosophiaistheway.com/PICTURES/Hermes-Mercury.jpg> 5.32 Da Vinci, Leonardo. John the Baptist. 2011. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St_John_the_baptist_-_Leonardo_Da_Vinci.jpg> 5.33 Enoch/Metatron. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://lh3.ggpht.com/_m6qjZjycSw4/TQjzrbTBEwI/AAAAAAAAB5U/yYd_7QODQuk/Enoch%20Ascent%20A%20Tale%20Of%20 A%20Jewish%20Angel.jpg> 5.34 Assassins Creed Representation of Hermes. Accessed 16 May 2012. <http://images1. wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110713161216/assassinscreed/images/1/14/Hermes_Trismegistus.jpg>
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Augmenting Alchemy

Ronchamp and The Cornell Sculpture Garden

1.1 iPad table augmenteation with Kinect

1.2 iPad information augmentation with Junaio

1.3 iPad small scale architectural augmentation

Augmenting Alchemy | Ronchamp and the Cornell Sculpture Garden

| Augmented Reality Examples

1.4 Google Glasses

1.5 Corning Glass

1.7 Cornell Sculpture Garden

Augmenting Alchemy | Ronchamp and the Cornell Sculpture Garden

1.8 Ronchamps South Door

Research evidence of esotericism being used by modern architects in design

Focus on Le Corbusiers work, particularly Ronchamp

Derive alchemical/hermetic principles used by Le Corbusier and others in design

Create augmentations based on a 7 level alchemical system

1.9 Progression of thesis

II. Esoteric Architecture

II. Esoteric Architecture

Eclecticism Esoteric Christianity Catholicism

Anthroposophy Transcendentalism Theosophy

Symbolization Hermeticism Jung

Augmenting Alchemy | Ronchamp and the Cornell Sculpture Garden

2.1 Rudolf Steiner

2.2 First Goetheanum, 1925 (destroyed by Arson)

2.3 Second Goetheanum, 1928

II. Esoteric Architecture

| Frank Lloyd Wright

2.6 Hentry Steel Olcott Henry Steel Olcott

2.7 Gurdjieff Gurdjieff

2.4 Frank Lloyd Wright

Augmenting Alchemy | Ronchamp and the Cornell Sculpture Garden

II. Esoteric Architecture

2.15 National Assembly Building, 1983 2.14 Louis Kahn

2.16 National Assembly Building, 1983

Augmenting Alchemy | Ronchamp and the Cornell Sculpture Garden

| Gunnar Asplund and George Hascup

2.18 Woodland Cemetery/ Skogskyrkogrden,1917

2.17 Gunnar Asplund

2.19 Ithaca Youth Bureau, George Hascup

II. Esoteric Architecture

2.22 St. Pierres Constellation of Orion (Revered by ancient Egyptians), 2006

2.23 Palace of Assembly, Chandigarh (Taurus Constellation), 1953

Augmenting Alchemy | Ronchamp and the Cornell Sculpture Garden

2.24 Unite dhabitation

2.26 High Court Building, Chandigarh

2.27 Carpenter Center

2.28 The Four Elements

III. Site: Cornell Sculpture Garden

Augmenting Alchemy | Ronchamp and the Cornell Sculpture Garden

3.2 Sculptures near Tjaden Hall, 1960s

3.3 Sculpture Garden in the 60s

3.4 Sculpture Garden Construction, Jack Squier

III. Site: Cornell Sculpture Garden

Charles Rogers '59

Randy Lewis '62

Stewart Carter '61

Alan Chimaco '63

Ted Graves '58

Kent Moore '62

Fred Biebesheimer '61

Webb Nichols '63