Alchemy Research

the whole alchemy idea came from the fob watches in the National British museum and the alchemist circles, also known as transmutation circles, popped into my head an created an idea.

these are my fob watches.

they are not as amazing as the real gold ones in the museum but they are still pretty. i think they are gold plated.

so what is alchemy you ask and who are alchemists??
Alchemy is an early protoscientific and philosophical discipline. it combines aspects of chemistry, metallurgy, physics, medicine, astrology, semiotics, mysticism, and art. it has been practiced in ancient Egypt, India, and China, in Classical Greece and Rome, as well as the Islamic empire, and then in Europe up to the 19th century.it has been present in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least 2500 years.

The alchemists did not use what is known as scientific methods. Most of the "knowledge" they produced was found to be banal, limited, wrong, or just meaningless. Today it is of interest, especially to historians of science and philosophy; for its mystic, esoteric, and artistic aspects. alchemy was a great help to modern sciences, and we owe the ancient alchemists the discovery of many substances and processes that are important factors of the modern chemical and metallurgical industries.
alchemist were "crazy" scientist who were obsessed with immortal life and creating precious metals such as gold and silver from base metals,(they did manage to make fools gold!). they used the esoteric teachings of the universal power and spiritual aspects to do there work. they were deemed very powerful people to to the everyday medieval person but other scientists disregarded there work massively. they used symbols and spells/rituals to do there work hence the creation of the transmutation circles. but alchemist wheel is easier to say.

http://thepaintedalchemist.tumblr.com/about

http://www.junglekey.com/wiki/definition.php?terme=George_Ripley_%28alchemist%29

can you see the resemblance to the fob watches!.
i want to use these circles to help me design a building or an aspect of a building, probably using the symbols and lines as a foundation. then building upon them, thus creating architectural features which is what my final project is about.

if i use the alchemist wheels as foundations i could create circular buildings and this got me thinking about the circular features in architecture and how we rarely see this shape.despite its organic nature it is rarely used in architecture, well it wasn't used but contemporary architects have also picked up upon this. i thought of all the circular/organic building shapes we see in nature and architecture and made a list:

• sun
• moon
• planets
• solar orbits
• spaceships 
• futuristic
• submarines
• circular doorways
• mysterious spaces
• womb
• domes
• cathedrals
• mosques
• igloo
• huts
• wheel
• clocks

despite being such an organic shape it still has a weirdness about it because we hardly see it or we see it too much and don't appreciate the greatness of circles. they come across as ornate when there are many in one place but yet they are contemporary when there is one. the circles is a great shape ans should be used more is what im trying to say.

http://courtneyswonderousworld.blogspot.co.uk/2010_06_01_archive.html

my gem bracelets i beaded and made myself from semi precious stones i ordered from china. this picture shows how something as simple as a circle can look soo ornate (well in my eyes). the gems from descending order are: sapphire, rose quarts, turquoise, garnet, coral, carnelian, amethyst, lapiz lazuli.

the Japanese flag is soo simple. the dot represents the the sun in a simple form. showing how the use of this shape can be simple. image found: http://www.mapsofworld.com/flags/japan-flag.html