So the story goes, a food retailer built a big-box grocery warehouse in southeast Calgary.

This place was the size of the Cologne Cathedral, but had the eye appeal of a cavernous dumpster.

Ownership flung open the doors, and waited for Costco-size crowds.

But nobody came. The place soon closed, its owners bled dry.

Mike Sturk, Business Edge
Feng Shui consultant Gina Dolinsky says a fountain or fish tank near a front entrance can jack up revenue.

Reason? Bad Feng Shui.

If it’s an urban myth, plenty of intelligent people believe it.

One is Sam Switzer, Calgary’s no-nonsense business elder, whom I wrote about a few weeks ago.

In the mid-1990s, Sam built the Dragon City Mall in Chinatown. But before construction began, he heeded the advice of experts in the art/science of Feng Shui.

He pledges to do the same before ground is broken for the new casino and entertainment complex he hopes to build, north of his Elbow River Inn & Casino.

What’s Feng Shui?

Here’s a non-initiate’s stab at a broad definition.

Pronounced “fung-shway,” it’s a traditional Asian approach to positioning and building homes, stores and office buildings, so they’re in accord with natural rhythms and laws, generally ignored or unknown in Western culture.

As one of a zillion Feng Shui Web sites, www. qi-whiz.com (aka “Feng Shui with attitude”) puts it, this is not about snake oil and incense.

In fact, as spelled out by Calgary consultant Gina Dolinsky, there is a refreshing element of horse sense in the approach. From the non-initiate’s point of view, Dolinsky’s take on Feng Shui seems to jive with sound basic principles of architecture and interior design.

Feng Shui consultants are doing a roaring trade in New Age-friendly towns such as Victoria and Vancouver.

And in the Bay Area, where Dolinsky spent three years studying the principles of North American master Lin Yun, developers routinely outbid each other for the best Feng Shui advice money can buy.

But Feng Shui has been slower to gain favour in Mammon-kissing Calgary, where arcane matters of the spirit take a back seat to the daily price of Texas crude.

Still, even in this Material World capital, many real-estate buyers hook up with Feng Shui consultants while checking out residential and commercial markets.

Several have sought Dolinsky’s input re: size and shape of residential lots.

(FYI, square or rectangular lots are better than pie shapes. And if your lot’s nestled at the foot of a benevolent upward slope, you’re in Feng Shui heaven).

Meanwhile, commercial clients seek her aid in choosing and setting up congenial office or retail space.

A space with “good” Feng Shui, advocates insist, can jack up the vitality — and the productivity — of those who work there.

Dolinsky worked alongside the construction crews which created new offices for Pangaea Systems Inc., on the second floor of the renovated Louise Block at 11th Avenue and Macleod Trail S.E.

That strip of 11th has been a street of broken dreams for years. But with several uptown-type businesses occupying its rebuilt brick warehouses, Dubinksy says the Feng Shui (read, “good vibes”) of the district is streaking through the roof.

“The Chi is rising there,” she said.

For “Chi,” read life force, or positive energy.

So, how’s it work? Dolinsky did her best to distill three years of study into a one-hour overview.

First, Pangaea was designed to attract the free flow of Chi, in through the front entrance — otherwise known as the “mouth” of Chi.

To achieve this, adding a fountain, or fish tank, is one answer.

Why? Because, in Feng Shui, water symbolizes wealth and abundance.

Dolinsky swears clients have reported dramatic upswings in revenue after taking this step.

Other interior-design points:

* Tear out fluorescent lights. “They sap your energy, and affect your ability to concentrate.”

* If the space lacks windows, or if workers are stuck in those horrific cubicle pods, add plants — even silk ones — or create the illusion of light and space by the creative addition of mirrors.

* Try to encourage the use of contours on desks and tables, and the walls if possible.

Sharp corners and edges on work stations may be counter-productive.

“If you’ve got sharp things coming at you, you subconsciously feel you have to move away — it doesn’t contribute to harmony,” Dolinsky said.

Let’s see, what else?

Oh, right . . . get that “money corner” up to speed.

But we’ll leave the part about muscling up your bank balance to the experts.

Give Dolinsky a shout. If the lesson takes, you may never buy another lottery ticket.

Web Watch:
www.fsdi.com/articles/blacksect.htm