Oliver Perceval RIBA set up as a sole practitioner, based in London, in April 2004 after 7 years with Burrell Foley Fischer LLP. He qualified with MA Hons DipArch at Edinburgh University in 1997.

Mission statement: "To design buildings which support and promote the physical, mental and spiritual health of all those who use them, and to specify them to be as sustainable and energy efficient as possible."

Materials vitality and sustainability

We should aim to maximise the vitality of the spaces that we inhabit. A building should act as a storehouse for this vitality, and so the type of materials chosen are very important in this regard.

As a rule of thumb we should employ building materials in a state closest to that in which they are found. The more coherent and natural a material is the more vitality it will hold (this is worth remembering with food too). The high temperature processes used to create steel and aluminium for example disrupt their atomic coherence and make them into net absorbers of vitality. It is un-natural to make inhabited enclosures with a pre-dominance of these materials. Sometimes of course there are mitigating benefits, such as using steel structurally. Glass is inert, giving no net gain or loss of charge. The paramagnetic stones (granite, limestone), which have a crystalline internal lattice, have a beneficial magnetic field which supports life, and are therefore favourable above the diamagnetic stones (slate, sandstone), which consist of layered non-crystalline material.

“The only definition of sacred (sustainable) architecture is the skill to fabricate a biological capacitor. The way success is measured in a building (or anything) is harmonic inclusiveness of charge density (life).” Dan Winter

Using natural materials is also sustainable. Managed resources are used, and also the energy embodied in processing, manufacture and transport can be minimised.

Sacred Geometry order and harmony

“The proportions of architecture have to embrace and express cosmic order” vitruvius

This is simply about designing within a certain geometric discipline, to create harmonious, related forms. By creating our buildings using the principles of sacred geometry, which reflect the patterns underlying all of life, we create spaces that resonate with the Order of Things (fractal) and which corral energy in a balanced and restorative way. The same principles should be applied to the design of any created object so that it just ‘feels’ right.

“One reason architecture should learn from biology is that biological structures have discovered the materials and shapes which allow the electrical fields we call Life to converge into self-organization and self-awareness. Nature never uses a sharp corner because it would bleed electrical force. It would only use sharp edges exactly where charge needed to be projected. The bee hive and the pine cone are excellent examples of sacred architecture because as biological capacitors they implode charge, making life possible and sustainable. It is because of this that the beehive, cathedral, fresh eggs or sea-sprayed celtic straw huts make things live so long - they are Full of Charge.” adapted from Dan Winter

Electro-magnetic pollution emf hygiene

With our increasing use of technology and electrical power we are becoming more exposed to high and sustained levels of microwave and electrical/magnetic radiation in the work and home environment. I can detect these fields, using modern devices, and deal with some of their effects in existing spaces. I would also work on reducing or minimising the inevitable levels where possible on a project.

Daylight

It seems obvious to say this but maximising the use of natural daylight can dramatically enhance the quality of a space. Full spectrum daylight is known to have many curative effects on the body and mind, it is too easy to settle for artificial substitutes that seem to do the same job. Natural daylight consists of a complete spectrum of very short wavelengths which have perfect Phase Discipline, this is very healing and grounding since it forms an absolute reference to life’s matrix. Artificial light should be as close to being full spectrum and in phase with the sun as possible.