Most indigenous peoples around the globe built simple dwellings that were more circular and curvy rather than squares and rectangles and hard corners. There is some belief that squared rooms and hard corners have deleterious and undesirable effects on the “energy” of the dwelling—that due to the harsh effect of hard 90 degree corners, energy cannot “flow” as it should, and becomes perturbed in ways that can actually be harmful to humans over time. Is this true? And if so, is the widespread use of straight lines and hard corners in modern construction a result of interloper manipulation?

There are differences in the energetics of enclosed spaces that are angular versus circular. These are not major considerations with respect to health, for example, but are more important aesthetically. This is not to say they are trivial and meaningless, but to the eye of the artist, which might be rare and little shared as a perspective, all human beings to some degree can appreciate beauty. They might react in differing ways but will be perceiving it nonetheless. Round spaces have great visual appeal, they are intriguing to the eye, they have a more natural feel because there are not such angular spaces in nature, so it is unnatural to live within a cube, for example, and that is a reminder in and of itself that one is in an artificial space. To the extent they can be decorated, they can be uplifting and even perceived as spectacular, but usually what that requires is some kind of opening or a series of openings where one can look beyond the dwelling itself and perhaps see the heavens through a series of skylights or have a view of the outdoors as in backing up to a forested area and feeling like one is within it, at least on one side of the dwelling. Such properties are always perceived as high value for those reasons when there is a view—a view of water being in very high demand universally. This is the inherent appreciation of natural beauty that humans love and will cherish as a blessing. A rounded dwelling is a greater reminder of beauty and a natural feel. It is true, of course, that anything can be degraded in some way and rendered ineffectual in enjoying a good reception, and to be sure there are practical issues with curved spaces, particularly with regard to economy of scale and the demands for good engineering and use of materials to meet the particular needs of such designs, but this is a practical consideration only, not what is most desirable or would be preferred, all other things being equal. To some degree, of course, there are cultural norms and conditioning through life experience to be comfortable with what one is used to and to seek something similar, where a large departure in design would strike many as being radical and a kind of disconnection from their roots, so to speak, but that is simply a testament to human adaptability and ingenuity, that you can make the best of a bad circumstance and eventually call it home and it will feel like home in the end—that is a strength rather than a weakness.