Vaastu and the Environment

One of the most interesting findings from this ancient science (Vaastu) was the focus on the environmental impact created by the building. The first requirement of a good Vaastu structure was the use of regional and naturally occurring materials. The regional materials were typically within 100 miles of the building site. This minimized the creation of wastage due to transportation and by reducing the effort from animals to move the material. This made the animals and resources available for other tasks. This created a micro-cosm of providing employment and a sense of belonging for the local population with the new building. This led to the pride of communities towards their buildings.

Further requirements include the need of a building to relate to its surroundings. For example a new palace in the desert of Rajasthan in India should match the local architectural elements like window and door designs, ornamentation and use of local materials.

Other interesting concepts that builders used when building temples were:

1. The growing of Peepal trees around the building
2. The growing of Banyan trees around the building

Peepal trees have the quality of propagating at high speeds i.e. if no one maintains or looks after the structure, the Peepal trees grow and a forest comes up in no time wherein the structure is lost forever.

The banyan tree has the quality of strong, deep and long roots which spread fast and if not controlled properly rip into the structure and damage the foundations. This was the self destruct means for the temple. The roots of the Banyan tree would slowly consume the structure and demolish it. The materials used were local and natural; hence when a temple was neglected and went into decay - the temple would self destruct and disappear into the wilderness. It would disintegrate and decompose over a short time and would not contribute to any kind of pollution due to the disposal of the building.

Why have we forgotten these means of responsible design today? Our life within an age of information seems so easy to gain control over; yet it has never been tougher. The world is moving towards environmental initiatives to reduce the use of energy and resources and reduce the contribution towards landfills. Have we been successful? - No, due to the lack of there being an intuitive process and design methodology; the adoption in a whole hearted manner is limited to minimal stake holders and not the entire community. New design methodologies like Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design have come up, but the costs associated with certifying buildings can sometimes be high and scares away many clients from becoming followers.

The orientation of the buildings is done to reduce the amount of energy required to heat or cool a building. For example the south and west sides have less to no windows or openings; and if any were present they were protected with overhangs or tree were planted to shelter the windows from the direct sun rays coming from the south and west sides. At the same time the north and east sides were left open and maximum light was allowed to enter the space. The North and East provided adequate sunlight without glare and minimum amount of Ultraviolet rays mixed with visible light.

Water bodies were located in the North East. At the same time the site was levelled in a way that the run off from rains would flow from other directions towards the north east. This helped the water body that was located in the north east to get replenished as well as minimized the need for a regular drainage system because the water body acted as a catchment area.

Only natural materials, cement and metal hardware was used which did not create harmful emissions of any indoor gases and helped the interior environment to be in harmony with nature; which meant a comfortable space to live and work.

New York Presentation (April 2007) Pictures

I believe that the New Yorkers were one of the best audiences I have been exposed to over the past few years. They were knowledgeable and accepting to different schools of thoughts elsewhere in the world. I enjoyed every minute presenting to this wonderful audience.

Press Releases on New York Vaastu Presentation

5000-year-old Science Brings the Earth into Design
The bedroom should never be in the north east sector, according to Vaastu Shastra.
BY MAIRI BEAUTYMAN
INTERIOR DESIGN · MAY 3, 2007

Last month, Sharad Mathur, senior manager of marketing intelligence for furniture manufacturer Teknion delivered an impassioned speech on the power of Vaastu Shastra, an ancient Indian science which helps define the layout in buildings (including palaces, homes, and temples). The presentation, which could be applied for one CEU credit, was held in Teknion’s New York showroom. Based on the idea that alignment with the Earth is needed for the health of a building’s inhabitants, Vaastu Shastra—literally, Book of Architecture—was written in Sanskrit in the 10th century AD by King Bhoja and used by the Vedic civilization. According to Vaastu principals, the bedroom, for example, should be in the south west sector of a house and never in the north east sector. This positioning will maintain stability in relationships.
"The principles of Vaastu harness the power of the earth in addition to other surrounding celestial bodies to bring health, wealth and good fortune," says Mathur. "By using these principles we can ensure that we do not lose out on opportunities and have stable and lasting relationships.

Ancient Indian Science May Be the New Feng Shui
May 04, 2007 - Source: InteriorDesign.net

KITCHEN & BATH MAGAZINE

A 5000-year-old Indian science may be the design world's new feng shui. Last month, Sharad Mathur, senior manager of marketing intelligence for furniture manufacturer Teknion, delivered a speech on the power of Vaastu Shastra, a 10th-century Sanskrit book and principle that explain how alignment with the Earth is necessary for the health of a building's inhabitants. "The principles of Vaastu harness the power of the Earth in addition to other surrounding celestial bodies to bring health, wealth and good fortune," says Mathur. "By using these principles we can ensure that we do not lose out on opportunities and have stable and lasting relationships." Vaastu Shastra's tenets help define building layouts, including kitchen design. They claim that because the kitchen deals with the health and nourishment of the family, inappropriate placement or design can directly cause illness and loss of health.

Techniques to Vaastu a kitchen include: place the room and stove on the southeast side of the house; orient the kitchen platform to allow the chef to face auspicious east while cooking; and put appliances like dishwashers and toasters on the south side because of their heat production.

Vedic Square and Cosmology

The most stable number in Vaastu was considered to be the number 8. This was due to a number of observations that were made. One of the major observations was that the human body was designed on the proportionate basis of 8 head lengths. The belief that the earth and the universe were also based on man as a unit of measurement - added to the belief that 8 was an integral number in the study of numbers.

Other events included the eight primary phases of the moon and the movement of the moon through 28 days; which formed the number of outer in a 8x8 square as shown in the chart. Eight also was the cardinal directions from East, South East all the way to North East.

Nature always treated 8 as a stable number when we saw how elements in nature reacted and how stable compounds were created. It was seen that all elements reacted till hey had 8 electrons in their outer circle. The only stable elements are inert gases which have 8 outer electrons. The story of 8 goes on with the 7 colors of the rainbow in addition to the entire form of the rainbow itself and the 8 wheels in the chariot of the sun god as a symbol of stability.