Feng Shui as a Powerful Sustainable Green Living System
The essence of feng shui is about living a life of balance and harmony with nature. In practice, feng shui is a total living system of thinking green and living green with our own environment.
Our physical environment fuels our well- being, pushing all the necessary elements to sustain our lives - things as simple as water to drink, air to breathe, food to eat and materials to use. A favorable environment promotes vibrant development leading to a healthy and productive life; an unfavorable environment diminishes our potential for proper growth and development.
Conservation of natural resources, including clean air and clean water, ensure the continuity of life for future generations. When we disrespect our environment by wasting or using up natural resources indiscriminately, these destructive practices threaten the sustainability of our environment. Using natural resources wisely will help to sustain our planet Earth, preserving it for future use.
Decades of uncontrollable waste have created critical global situations, such as air and water pollution and critical accumulation of a variety of material wastes. According to a 2007 World Health Organization, urban pollution directly and indirectly kills about 800,000 people worldwide every year. Deforestation continues to cause landslides worldwide, causing misery and suffering. Greenhouse effects caused by burning fossil fuel-emitting carbon dioxide cause major environmental issues with rising temperatures. There is increasing concern around the globe with the apparent climate changes and global warming caused by all these.
There is compatibility between modern green living and the ancient wisdom of feng shui. The fundamental wisdom calls for honoring our living environment with respect to our environment, natural or man made. With the growing popularity of both sustainable green building and feng shui, it would be a powerful alliance to fulfill the intention of preserving a healthy and vibrant planet Earth for future generations.
April 2008 Builder Architect Edition Issue
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Feng Shui Aspects of Doors and Windows for Buildings
There are infinite possibilities available through the wisdom of feng shui to enhance the quality and sustainability of our living environment and to enjoy greater fulfillment in our lives. This issue will focus on the roles and impact of doors and windows from the feng shui perspective.
IMPORTANT ROLES OF DOORS AND WINDOWS
The feng shui system treats doors and windows with high regard, as they are the openings that connect the inside of a structure to the outside world. Their basic functions are to admit light or to prevent the loss of light from the living environment. They also help to frame the beauty of the surroundings to create a greater appreciation of them, as a beautiful view is worth a premium for many of today's homeowners.
Windows and doors also play important roles in bringing the desirable chi, the universal life force, into the indoor living space. Without these openings, a place would be dark and stagnant or dead, just as a tomb is - devoid of life, light and vibrancy. A powerful analogy of window and door openings is their comparison to our human eyes, nose, ears, mouth and pores of the skin. These organs all play an important function to ensure the effectiveness of a person. Without their functions, one cannot see, hear, smell, taste or feel. From the feng shui perspective, windows and doors play these same integral, crucial roles in providing the "aliveness" for a structure. Thus, their placement within the structure and their orientation to the outside environment - as well as their shapes, forms and designs - all have an enormous impact on the quality and flow of the chi, which influences the quality of the lives of its inhabitants.
A structure's exterior entry doors are the most important of all of its openings. On one hand, they represent the homeowners to the outside world, giving a certain perception of the family. On the other hand, the front door provides protection and privacy. Feng shui symbolizes the front door as the mouth on a person's face. It should be placed in the front center of the house and should be proportional to the size of the front area of the house for a balanced look. A balanced house gives a strong foundation for the stability and harmony of the household.
In addition to the balance principle of feng shui, it is more desirable to have a wide entrance than a narrow one. This is based on the principle of chi circulation. A wide front door helps to improve the circulation of the flow of chi by creating more space for the chi movement. Therefore, it is more favorable to have a double front door than a single one.
A bigger opening also helps to bring in more natural light, making the front entrance brighter. A bright entrance is favorable to attract the positive flow of chi into the house, whereas a dark entrance will attract the negative chi. In addition, a small front door creates a "bottleneck" situation, which affects the quality of the chi. The quality of the chi is rendered to be less beneficial in a narrow, cold and/or dark entrance.
March 2008 Builder Architect Edition Issue
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Applying Feng Shui Techniques in Staging Homes for Sale
All real estate marketing professionals want to sell their listings quickly and effectively. The ancient wisdom of feng shui is a system that can be applied easily in modern marketing efforts. The end results will enhance the general attractiveness of the physical settings of the environment and the buildings.
In general, feng shui works well together with the real estate principles of "staging" the home for sale. It is a useful tool to "quality check" the house, both the interior and exterior settings. Feng shui helps to prepare the house to become more vibrant and beautiful, creating affinity to the prospective home buyers.
FOUR BASIC STEPS TO ENHANCE ATTRACTIVENESS IN A SPACE
1. Clean up and get rid of any "dirty" elements. A clean space speaks of a clean life. Get rid of dust, dirt and toxins that pollute the space. This will give the area a feeling of freshness and cleanliness.
2. Remove the clutter. This is to clear out and get rid of useless or unwanted things. It helps to create additional space to an area, plus a sense of openness and freedom.
3. Organize the space. Organization is a process of creating order and harmony. The act of organizing a given space will harmonize that space while it helps to organize a person's thoughts or emotions.
4. Proper placement of objects, such as furniture, fixtures and home accessories, will give a sense of order and harmony in the house. Ideally, objects should be placed away from the entrance of a room as they create obstacles or blockage at the point of entry to the space.
These are basic and simple feng shui steps to follow that can be achieved with very little effort. The end results will give a sense of cleanliness, openness, harmony and freedom. In addition, it will also create good feelings for buyers when they walk through the house.
Simple tasks, such as painting the exterior and interior of the house, removing dead plants and planting fresh ones, and removing unnecessary furniture and other items, will all help to simplify the home environment, making it more inviting and welcoming to prospective home buyers.
February 2008 Builder Architect Edition Issue
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Powerful Feng Shui Principles for Modern Architectural Designs
Part 2 of 2
The system of feng shui provides simple and easy approaches to modern-day builders in designs and construction. Although ancient and Eastern, feng shui has an unchangeable intention of creating favorable environments so that all living beings may live in harmony with nature. Integrated wisely in modern design and construction, feng shui is the highest level of sustainable, green building.
II. OPENNESS
Another basic principle that builders can adhere to is openness. Openness in feng shui is important as it creates a space to receive the chi as it arrives. Openness is applied to both the exterior and interior of a building. An ideal feng shui site is on a hill rather than on flat land, as higher ground has an easier access to the universal life force. Houses built at mid-hill with a rolling hill at the back as a support and an unobstructed view from the front of the house are considered the best.
Also, a significant symbolic meaning of buildings with obstructions relates to a life full of obstacles for the people who live there. Accordingly, a house built on the downward slope of a street facing an uphill is considered less favorable than one built on an upward slope, as the hill in front of the house is considered an obstacle. Likewise, other taller buildings or trees in front of the house are considered as obstructions. Builders should be careful not to place tall trees or streetlights in front of the front door of a house as it creates a situation of obstruction.
This principle of openness can also be applied to the interior of a house. As we enter the front entrance of a building, it is important to have open space without facing an obstruction such as a wall, as it interferes with the flow of the chi. Moreover, obstruction at the entrance usually creates darkness. And a dark entrance portends disaster from a feng shui point of view because it creates a situation where a sudden change of lighting could disrupt the flow of chi. Builders should be careful in applying this principle. Too much openness results in too much exposure, which leaves the homeowner vulnerable in life. One example of such vulnerability is the house built on a hilltop where there is too much exposure to the sun, wind and rain. Remedies are then needed to provide protection when there is excessive openness.
III. CONNECTEDNESS AND FLOW OF CHI
"Everything in a space should be connected without disconnection or interruption to ensure a continuous flow of life."
This ancient wisdom refers to the flow of chi, the universal life force that is vital to a person's well-being. It was observed and believed since ancient times that positive chi flows gently on a curved surface and gives beneficial effects, while negative chi travels viciously on a straight line and gives harmful effects. Without the flow of chi, a space becomes dead or stagnant, lacking in vitality. An example would be a dead-end street location or a storage room. It is always crucial to connect a space to another space with a channel that enhances the flow of positive chi.
A valuable application of this concept in subdivision development is to create flowing streetscapes. A positive feng shui site would be one with maximum connection of streets and minimum dead-ends. It is more desirable to have curved, meandering streets rather than long, straight, narrow streets. A straight dead-end street is considered as unfavorable, but a horseshoe cul-de-sac that allows for in- and-out circulation of chi is favorable.
To direct a better flow of chi, there should be a walkway that is leading from the street to the front door. A curved pathway is preferred to lead the beneficial chi into the house. Front doors are considered as "mouths," and they should be facing the street with no obstacles in front. Builders should avoid planting trees in front of the entry doors, as they are perceived as obstacles in life. Other unfavorable obstacles in front of the house include utility poles, streetlights and sharp rooflines of neighboring homes. Windows are considered as "eyes" of the house. They should be opened to the best views. Sharp corners are considered as arrowheads and dangerous to one's health and well-being. They should be avoided by the windows, especially the bedroom windows.
January 2008 Builder Architect Edition Issue
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Powerful Feng Shui Principles for Modern Architectural Designs
Part 1 of 2
There are numerous traditional and nontraditional feng shui designing principles in modern-day building industries. Building professionals need not be concerned about following principles to the extreme, as they can be interpreted in many ways. However, there are three basic principles that, when applied wisely, can greatly enhance the designs as well as the sales of new homes.
I. BALANCE
One of the basic principles is balance. According to feng shui, there is a direct relationship between balances in a physical setting to the balance in the lives of the people who live in that setting. Balance in a physical environment is the shape and the form - and also the dynamics in it. For example, a rectangular-shaped lot is considered balanced because there are no missing corners, whereas an L-shaped lot is unbalanced because one corner is missing. A building with uneven height is also unbalanced because of its irregularities. A big house built on a small lot is out of proportion and is therefore considered out of balance. The principle of balance also applies to lights and sounds. When a building has too many windows or doors on one side and none on the other, it creates imbalance because there is too much brightness and noise on one side and too much darkness and silence on the other side. All these create an imbalance in the lives of the people who live in the unbalanced space.
November 2007 Builder Architect Edition Issue
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Feng Shui in Action: Troubleshooting with Feng Shui Techniques
Recently, a renowned building company sought my assistance to resolve some design issues related to the company's custom-home development. Some of the architectural elements had a negative connotation to feng shui principles and were adversely affecting the sales of the project. Upon visitation and analysis of the site, it was clear that there were more favorable feng shui features present than unfavorable ones. The custom homes were very spacious with high ceilings. They were built by top-quality craftsmen with top-notch materials and amenities. The location is in a prestigious neighborhood with an easy access to business, educational and cultural centers. However, two important negative aspects influencing the project were easily identified: its closeness to a freeway and a "basement"-style secondary living level.
To remedy the issue of its closeness to the freeway, simply planting trees in strategic positions can help shield the houses from the sights and sounds of the freeway traffic. Tall evergreen trees, such as pine and redwood, are more effective than small deciduous trees.
Homes with lower-level basements are popular on the East Coast and in cold regions to the north. They provide warmth and coziness during the cold winter seasons. However, this type of house design is not popular with the outgoing, nature-loving homeowners in California. It is particularly unfavorable from the feng shui viewpoint that living below the street level symbolizes being buried underground, a lifeless situation that should be avoided.
This major concern can be remedied in several easy ways. Light wells help to bring in natural sunlight to brighten up the place. They can be landscaped to create an outdoor, garden-like setting, adding more space and beauty. A mosaic wall or decorative wall painting can be used to add more color, thereby stimulating interest in an otherwise dark and enclosed area. Another easy remedy is to enhance the staircase with decorative handrails. The wall section of the staircase leading to the basement can be brightened with a beautiful painting or wallpaper.
These are just a few examples of how simple feng shui remedies can be applied to overcome specific sales and marketing challenges. The concept of feng shui is multifaceted and affects every area of our physical environment. When used effectively in new-home marketing, it can increase the desirability of a project.
October 2007 Builder Architect Edition Issue
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Feng Shui Wisdom in a Challenging Market
Builders and realtors who have enjoyed many years of prosperity have recently found homes harder to sell. They are staying on the market much longer and, in many cases, prices have been lowered as well, regardless of their size and quality. Experienced builders and real estate professionals have gone through similar cycles before, perhaps a number of them. They recognize that the cyclical ups and downs are natural phenomena. While we are going through the tough times, rather than worrying and complaining, we can use some of the wisdom that surrounds us to make our lives easier. Feng shui is one of the proven systems we can apply to new home sales and marketing.
Feng shui is best known for its guidelines in the development of new subdivisions, as well as house location, architectural designs, room layouts, interior designs, and the proper placement and arrangement of furniture and furnishings. It is a detail-oriented system used widely in creating a vibrant and harmonious living environment. Used by builders in California and other parts of the country for many years, feng shui is more than a system to improve designs. Basic techniques can be used wisely in resolving building issues, to render the site, home or building more desirable. The key is to identify the positive and negative elements and then to employ different feng shui "cures" to remedy or enhance the existing conditions. Solutions can be traditional, structural, transcendental or metaphysical.
The following is a checklist of the feng shui aspects of a living environment:
Exterior feng shui aspects of a house:
- Setting and site orientation/direction
- Surrounding natural and manmade landscapes
- Neighborhood, buildings, people and other life forms
- Location of the building or house
- Shape of the lot
- Front, back and side landscaping
- Architecture of the house including shape, size, roof, foundation and walls
- Front entrance
- Windows
- House number
- Color and color combinations
- Material and textures used
Interior feng shui aspects of a house:
- Main entrance location
- Staircase location
- Living room furniture placement
- Dining room table and chair placement
- Kitchen stove and sink placement
- Master bedroom bed placement
- Study or home office desk placement
- Family room furniture placement
- Bathroom location
- Hallway shape and location
- Colors, textures and materials used for the walls, ceilings, floors, windows and doors
By paying special attention to every aspect of the building process, products will become more desirable to potential home buyers. As a result, they are easier to sell in a challenging market.
September 2007 Builder Architect Edition Issue
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Think Green, Live Green and Build Green with Feng Shui
There is an increasing concern around the globe with global warming and climate changes. The big shift with our planet Earth is no longer a concept, but a reality. Vice President Al Gore's documentary movie An Inconvenient Truth has brought worldwide attention to the dire conditions of the planet. Concerned citizens and global leaders alike are asking themselves: What can be done to preserve our healthy planet?
For years, progressive-minded builders have been putting concepts into action through their architectural designs, construction practices and materials used; they call themselves the Green Builders. Recently, more and more builders are following this trend as they realize that buildings with green features are desired by their prospective home buyers.
There is a profound parallel of the modern "green living" with the ancient philosophy of feng shui. The essence of feng shui is about living a life of balance and in harmony with nature. In practice, feng shui is a total living of thinking green and living green.
Green living starts with a wise choice of locations. Rolling hills are preferred to flat land as the landform promotes the channeling of the vibrant chi, or the universal life force. On the hills, the gentle breeze helps to circulate air and maintain a quality of clean air, whereas on flat land, air is stagnant and tends to be polluted. A low-lying area, such as a flood zone, is also highly undesirable as it is prone to natural disasters.
A favorable orientation of a building helps to conserve energies by taking advantage of the natural light. In feng shui, south- and east-facing directions are preferred because of the longer and gentler sunlight, whereas west facing is usually hotter and dryer, and north facing is usually darker and colder.
Landscaping plays an important part in green living. It is desirable to plant trees surrounding a subdivision to create natural barriers to shield from the wind. Trees also provide shades to shield from the hot summer sun. Greenbelts are necessary to maintain a healthy and vibrant environment. Seasonal flowers, plants and rockeries are added to create an aesthetic natural environment. In a feng shui garden, water features such as water fountains and ponds with fishes add vibrant movements. Curved walking paths promote peaceful activities and sitting benches provide a place for relaxation. Combining these features creates a green environment to connect with nature.
Feng shui designs tend to bring a balanced look to a building, as a rectangular shape is preferred. Irregular shapes and forms create disharmony and should be avoided. A solid foundation on a solid ground is a must for safety. Fireplaces with chimneys are unfavorable as the wood burning process emits carbon dioxide and smoke that pollutes the clean air. Too many windows in a building cannot keep warm air in, leading to burning additional fuel, a waste of energy.
The above examples demonstrate compatibility between modern green living with the ancient wisdom of feng shui designs. With the growing popularity of both green building and feng shui, it would be a powerful alliance to preserve a healthy planet Earth.
August 2007 Builder Architect Edition Issue
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The Power of Feng Shui for Builders
The ancient philosophy of feng shui (pronounced in Chinese fung shway) has become mainstream in America. Everyday, more and more people hear about this concept and desire to know more about it. Even real estate mogul Donald Trump has used the services of feng shui experts. "It is important to adhere to the principles of a large group of people who be- lieve in these concepts," he said in an interview on national TV several years ago. "And if they believe them, that is good enough for me."
Feng shui has been popular in California for decades, particularly in metropolitan Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area. This is mainly due to the high concentration of Asian homeowners who prefer to select subdivisions with houses that are considered as "favorable" or "good" feng shui. They believe that the flow of the positive chi, the universal life force, will enhance the quality of their lives. Because of this cultural belief, it broadens the goals of many California builders, who find themselves increasingly integrating feng shui principles in their developments.
The concept of feng shui is multifaceted. Many aspects are metaphysical or mystical, and sometimes perceived as superstition. Some are practical and commonsensical, and can be used as a resource for building the highest quality environment. With the continuous public demand for green building, feng shui principles can also be applied effectively in every stages of development for conservation and beautification purposes.
Feng shui is a complex network of principles involving both art and science with many interpretations. The metaphysical aspects deal with astrology and astronomy, which many people believe influence human affairs. Fortune telling and celestial calculations are involved in these disciplines. Other traditional feng shui disciplines involve the physical environment, including the atmosphere and the earth, using symbolism, meanings and signs for their interpretations.
From a practical standpoint, feng shui is a systematic approach in building a network of communities. The applications range from building a individual house or building to subdivision development and city planning. Feng shui can be used in every aspect of the building process, including land planning, site development, landscaping, architecture and interior designs. Although feng shui is a complex concept, it boasts of a simple purpose of creating harmony between people and their environment. From my years of experience in working with builders in California, feng shui has been used effectively and economically as a technique to enhance new homes, resulting in higher sales and greater profitability.
May 2007 Builder Architect Edition Issue