The Chi is Off in Porter Square
Since 2004, the City of Cambridge has been working to redesign the major intersection of Mass Ave and Somerville Ave in Porter Square. Not only has the city wanted to slow traffic at the busy corner, but in so doing enlisted the help of Harvard Professor Emeritus Toshi Katayama to incorporate positive design elements into the reconstruction.
But according to an article in today's Cambridge Chronicle, the redesign has made some people concerned, including Feng Shui expert Natalia Kaylin:
My first impression of the square, when I was driving, there are a few rocks along the road that are a little bit sharp, when you are entering the plaza many people will feel a little anxious
By using the ancient Taoist tool, Lo Pan Compass, Kaylin measured the chi flow in the redesigned Porter Square. As a result of her measurements, Kaylin determined that "because the square faces West, a bad position to be constructed in this year, the energy created by the square's positioning will be lawsuits, disaster and gossip."
My favorite quote in the article:
"I like the stones," said Kaylin. "But some are positioned horizontal and some vertical, it's not natural. It gives the feeling of some catastrophic event."
While I'm certainly no expert on chi flows or Feng Shui, Kaylin has echoed something that has bothered me each time I pass the plaza on my bike. As soon as the construction crews began setting the stones in place, I've had sudden fears of an awful accident in the intersection causing a biker or pedestrian to be impaled on the giant, awkwardly placed boulders.
Perhaps the Cambridge DPW needs to employ Kaylin as a full time Feng Shui consultant.
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