Skip to content

Architectural genius from Lunnford

Say one thing about Bruce Daniel, say he is a genius of architectural design. That is the consensus of local residents and one that the Barrhead Leader acknowledged following an interview with Daniel at his residence in Lunnford Aug. 4.
STAINED GLASS – MULTITUDE CONSCIOUSNESS “I made it in 1991 and there are actually four copies, one of which is lost. I have one and two are in the hands of people
STAINED GLASS – MULTITUDE CONSCIOUSNESS “I made it in 1991 and there are actually four copies, one of which is lost. I have one and two are in the hands of people I know. The piece has, incorporated into the overall design, the symbology associated with every religion that exists on this planet at this time – the Star of David, the Yin and Yang principle, the lotus flower of the Buddha, the 12 signs of the zodiac, the four seasons of the year, the Third Eye, the Chalice predominant in Christianity, et cetera. There are 16 spirals and if you take four together, they create a circle. It all represents absolute balance. ” says designer Bruce Daniel.

Say one thing about Bruce Daniel, say he is a genius of architectural design.

That is the consensus of local residents and one that the Barrhead Leader acknowledged following an interview with Daniel at his residence in Lunnford Aug. 4.

Daniel, a retired architectural designer by trade, says he considers himself a perfectionist and the various projects he has spent time on can attest to that boast.

“I’m from Ontario originally and a graduate of the secondary school system as an architectural draftsman and designer,” Daniel said, adding his career has included teaching structural engineering, math and architectural delineation at the high school level for 13 years, as well as home renovations.

Daniel noted he got his start in home renovations through a friend.

“After a while, I fell out of love with teaching and a friend who worked as an enforcement officer for the Metropolitan Toronto Licensing Commission kept encouraging me to get into the renovation business,” he said, adding with his experience in the field, that friend felt Daniel was more qualified than 90 per cent of the people in the industry at the time.

“I took his advice eventually, establishing my own business in 1981 and I ran it until 1999 when I left the city to participate in a unique domed housing design project in Salmon Arm, B.C.,” he said, adding due to a multitude of reasons, the project failed to come to fruition and while he had at the time moved to the Fort Assiniboine area, Daniel continued to do design and construction work for friends in the Toronto area.

Daniel said the reasoning behind the uniqueness of the B.C. project was due to the intended structure’s design.

“These were domed houses that were entirely unique in that they weren’t like typical geodesic domes but more of a flat design, almost like a mushroom cap. The engineering on it was extensive and that in itself bears mention because they were done by a gentleman with Tourette Syndrome — the disease has the effect of stimulating cerebral function. The project was supposed to be a school and the design would have radically changed the engineering textbooks.

“However, the funding for the project wasn’t there and so I did some travelling around North America for a year, just kind of enjoying life. At around the beginning of 2000, another friend from Toronto called and said she wanted me to design and build a house for her. I had anticipated an eight-month stint but ended up being there for two years, working with foam-block — a process that isn’t all that common anywhere in the country except for here,” Daniel said, adding he continued to work in the Toronto-area again until 2006 while maintaining his residence in the Fort Assiniboine home of his sister Shirley Anderson.

Daniel eventually moved to the Lunnford area where he currently resides with his partner, Rita Malik, in their century old home, which they have spent more than 10 years renovating.

He said every aspect of the house has a unique feature and he is quite happy with the results.

Mnemonic spirals, based on the concept of sacred geometry, are an integral part of nature says Daniel.

Sacred geometry ascribes symbolic and sacred meaning to certain geometric shapes and proportions and is associated with the belief that a god is the centre of the universe.

“I don’t know why they call it ‘sacred geometry’ but this geometry is found everywhere in the universe. It’s in everything from the Milky Way to the curl of a ram’s horn, a nautilus’ shell, to the way branches might grow on a tree, the female uterus and ovaries,” he said, adding it is based on a ratio of 1:1.618.

For instance, Daniel said, if you take a rectangle that has a short side valued as 1 and a long side valued at 1.618, known as the golden mean, and if you deduct a uniform piece, say a square, you will be left with a rectangle that has the exact same proportions as the original only smaller.

“If you use one corner of the square as a pivot point with a compass and scribe an arc through 90 degrees, repeating the process on the ever-diminishing squares, a spiral shape will be created,” he noted.

“It [the shape and pattern] is found in architecture and sculpture and has a significant influence in the art world.”

Daniel said when he was designing a stained glass piece entitled “Multitude Consciousness”, which was finished in 1991, he was actually working on the design of a house at the time.

Daniel said he became so engrossed in the art project, he forgot to work on the commissioned house design.

“They [home-owners] may have gotten a little upset with me about that but what can you do. The art project turned out marvelous and everyone I asked to help with its manufacture instantly expressed the desire to play a part. The jewel insets were made by my late friend [internationally known Toronto sculptor] E.B. Cox. They all wanted to be a part of its creation and most were quite generous with their talents,” he said.

Daniel said he feels that the varied accomplishments of his life have been so because of the generosity of many much more talented individuals who took the time to share their expertise with him.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks