The Outer Shape Comes First, and the Song of the Site

The Outer Shape Comes First

The book opens with its whole argument in one line: what surrounds a house matters more than what is inside it. The twelve-line song that follows gives the ground rules for a site — broad and level where one lives, water wrapping front and back, roads that come toward the house rather than turning away, and a hill form that suits building. A writing-brush peak or a banner crag is welcome so long as it rises outside the bright hall, and the water's exit should be gathered tight. Whatever the interior may do, a poor outer shape is never fully auspicious.