One home style that pretty captures most of today’s modern architecture is Japanese home style. Minimalist in orientation with simple angles and less clutter, it has raved up many American homes. Today, more and more homes feature Zen gardens signifying the peace and serenity of some of the most peaceful settlements in Japan.
One significant add on to the celebrated Japanese home is the presence of the legendary Koi garden and of course, the infamous Koi itself. Common element in a Japanese garden is the presence of water, which brings abundance and symbolizes eternity and life. Also, present in a Japanese garden are rocks arranged in different styles and formations. They resemble strength and longevity. Another elemental entity in the garden is the lantern which provides the dramatic lighting during the night. It entails the presence of guidance of divinity over the “little paradise.” Paramount to the beauty and grace of the garden is the presence of the bridge with cobbled stones. It adds so much drama and meaning to the whole ensemble as well as it defines the innate characteristic of a human being as a necessary bridge that connects all life forms.
The king of the pond is the Koi, which lazily wiggles its way through crystal clear water. Its presence is imminent and means the balance of life forms in the garden which should resemble the eternal joy, peace and natural balance of paradise.
Quite closely, the garden resembles the real mountainous gardens of China where Buddhism and Taoism flourished. They are expressions of a spiritual connection between the goodness of nature and man.
Today, gardens are evident in most affluent homes in America and many other countries around the world. The Japanese have successfully spread their culture and has influenced even the farthest places like Argentina. One of the greatest and most beautiful Japanese gardens outside of Japan is the one located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They resemble water and plant relationship beyond reckoning.
Most homes start up with just a bit of the whole thing. Apartments in New York that desire to have a sizeable Zen Garden start out with a young bonsai coupled with an electronically pumped small fountain, add a suitable lighting fixture to that and voila, you have an improvised and miniature Japanese garden. Just as long as the elements are there, plus the perfect lighting within the room, the total ambience may just be like that of the ones by the mountainside. In other words, today, lighting plays a pivotal role in modern day architecture in creating an ambience of any kind- even the riveting Zen garden.