SPACES WITH SOUL AND DA VINCI'S GOLDEN RATIO
March 11, 2023
Not only is the coffee exceptional, but the space itself is filled with an incredible energy, which is easy to feel once you get to know the people behind this place, Ivana and Alex.
Plus, let's just say that, aesthetically, it's not your typical coffee shop. You might know about my love for this caffeinated liquid created by the gods (touch of humor) and that discovering new coffee shops is one of my pleasures. That's why when I do, I'm immersed in the whole experience, absorbing all the elements: the taste of the freshly ground beans, the aroma, the light of the space, and the background music. Even the type of seating, whether it's the kind that invites you to pause and enjoy the experience or whether it's one of those walk-by places.
I remember the first time I walked into Rythm Zero and felt a connection; honestly, this time it was purely visual. I was captivated by their design concept.
Then, on an emotional level, it made me feel like I was entering a space in a house, not a coffee shop. And that got me.
Other layers were added, the right ambient music and the aroma of fresh beans being ground for each order of coffee. Everything in this place was becoming a sensory experience.
The other day I went there I was lucky enough to sit at a table that had a book by Leonardo da Vinci. So that day I not only drank coffee, I also traveled.
While I was in design school, much of my art history classes were about the Vitruvian Man and Da Vinci's approach to using the so-called "divine proportion" in his work. Personally, I was always very attracted to that theory, its significance, and all that it brought to the art world. So, as soon as I opened the book, I immediately looked for the page with its image.
Always amazed by the perfection of the lines and contours of the bodies, I realized that Da Vinci makes me see his application of the "Divine Proportions" as something natural, and that the fact of seeing these paintings and perceiving them as real as a photo is something, let's say, normal.
Has it ever happened to you that, when viewing works in museums, you sometimes lose your sense of wonder at how realistic they seem? In a way, it's because our brains have become so used to perceiving these paintings as something normal—the shadows, the proportions.
The fact that we can have such a clear representation of that period, thanks to such techniques, in the case of Da Vinci the "divine proportion", helps us to understand our reasoning and emotions when viewing these works.
This led me to ask myself, what is my divine proportion in spaces?
What is the formula that gives me understanding and balance between what my inner self perceives and what I choose to surround myself with? What is the one that defines my perception?
What is my divine proportion that also makes my thoughts and decisions in a space congruent?
And all this leads me to what's important, which is what I choose to have around me, whether it's things, people, thoughts, or energy.
And so I ask you, what is yours?
Once again, spaces with soul, those that ground you. They encourage you to be present and reflect.
Once you become aware of their existence, it's more as if they find you.
Because one way or another, you reach them.
Thank you, Rhythm Zero. Thank you for that and for the most delicious coffee. Always.
32 Kent St, Brooklyn, NY 11222
