Designing a House as per Vastu - I

Aarti Kaushik

It has always been the dream of every individual to design their own house. And I personally feel that there is an architect within all of us. Let us now understand, how to use these concepts while designing our own house. Vastu Shastra as we know by now is an ancient Indian science for designing and building which unifies art, science, cosmic energy, natural forces, astronomy, and astrology. The intent of this science is solely to restore the balance between buildings and the universe, thus making the lives of the inmates healthy and prosperous.

Earlier, the application of the principles of this science was limited to the temples but then these guidelines were applied to the residential buildings. It is surprising to know that this science is applicable even today and the people are really fond of making a Vastu compliant houses even if the society has evolved majorly from an agricultural society to an urban society. In my current practice, I have been dealing with the clients who desperately want to get a Vastu compliant house designed for them. Although sometimes, it is really a challenge to achieve it for their apartments. This is because the scientific Vastu factors viz. Panchabhutaas (elements of nature), Sun’s effects, Earth’s magnetic field, Cardinal direction and Earth’s energy (Prana) have not changed for over the centuries. It is essentially the science of creating harmony in a building by manipulating the above-mentioned factors, thus making the lives of the inmates happy and healthy.

As a professional, I have realised that these are the ground rules which are very similar to the basic design rules which we were taught in our colleges and are practicing to design a space. These Vastu guidelines are wholly based on the scientific principles. I have tried to collate the guidelines for designing a house under the following sub-heads which I will try to explain rationally and scientifically. It will thus help an individual to design a house rationally without following Vastu Shastra as a superstition. These can be broken down as,

1. Site Selection
2. Application of the Vastu Shastra principles
3. Designing the house as per Vastu

What is meant by Site selection?

When a person wants to make a house for his family, the first thing that is required is a plot or a site on which the house will be constructed. Hence, the selection of the right site is utmost important. It represents a fixed form which will radiate different kinds of energies. Some of them will have positive impact on us whereas some of the energies might not be in harmony with us and hence will create a negative impact. These will depend on the variety of factors like location, orientation, shape of the land, slope, soil quality etc.

We will discuss about the various factors in detail in our upcoming articles. Also, the orientation of the plot is very important. By orientation, I mean the directions north, south, east or west. There are various reasons to choose the orientation.

What are the principles of Vastu Shastra for designing a house?

Now, after choosing the site, we must narrow down our approach to design of the building. So, the main essential factors for the building are the proportions, aesthetics and strength of the building. Building with the right proportions and the measurements are equally important. These are again similar to the basics of the design that we were taught in our professional colleges. These have been further categorised under sub-heads like the orientation, site planning, proportions, dimensions and aesthetics of a building.

Designing the plan of the house

And finally, designing the plan of the house i.e., designating different spaces in the exterior and interior of the house considering the various factors and the energies so that the overall energy is in equilibrium with the forces around. This will help the inmates to lead a healthy and prosperous life and will be benefitted from all the natural elements and are also protected from their harmful effects. Here, we will elaborate the different areas of the house like entrance gate, trees and pants, kitchen backyard, overhead tank, verandas, entrance door, living room, puja room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, study room etc. in this we will discuss the best position of these places, designing guidelines and what should be avoided according to Vastu.

I am an Architect, Interior Designer and a Vastu Consultant, with more than a decade of experience in conceptualization, designing and construction of diverse architectural projects. An alumnus of IIT-Roorkee, I have a thorough background in architecture and interior designing with expertise in directing all project phases. My passion towards architecture inspires me to keep learning about various new trends yet following the age old traditions.