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.