Vol 85, April 2004

Environmental Considerations in Vaastu Culture forResidential Building Orientation

V K Awasthi, Non-memberN B Singh, Non-memberDr D S Bhargava, Non-memberDr M Singh, Non-member

In recent times, the ancient Vaastu culture has assumed a significant role in the planning and orientation of residentialbuildings. The technology of Vaastu application, originally based on a scientific footing, has assumed a kind of a technologyof myths by the pseudo-Vaastu experts. A study, based on environmental considerations, energy entrance into the residentialbuildings, aestheticity aspects, etc has been carried out on 50 randomly selected residences in Lucknow to correlate thebuildings environmental-cum-orientation placement with the prosperity of its dwellers in all its possible aspects. A goodcorrelation between the two aspects (namely, the orientation and prosperity) justify the scientific basis of Vaastus applicationin the orientation and planning of residential buildings. This article contains evolved criteria and rating grades fordifferent orientation situations of various components of residential building apart from a suggested model plan of anideal residential building.

Keywords : Vaastu ; Building complex ; Design criteria

INTRODUCTION

The basic needs of human-folk in the society are: food, clothand shelter. People spend much of their time in their homes.Comfort and environmental considerations are, therefore,important aspects of a house. The Vaastu is the science ofbuilding and essentially the art of balancing nature with man-made environment and correct placement of man in such amanner so as to get the maximum benefits of the energyemanated by natural and man-made environment.

The two basic tools of building planning are the architecture(based on science of aestheticity, comfort and utility) and theVaastu Shilpa Shastra (based on myths with linkages to health,wealth, fortune, happiness, prosperity, etc). An individual getsconfused as also with the growing trend and fashion of Vaastu,the basic features of environment often get ignored.

With the recent developments and higher living standards,house construction has now become so complex a task thatinternal form and environment are determined by thefunctional requirements of the occupants. The space needed tomeet these functional requirements and the required comfortlevels in regard to such items, as noise, health, happiness,temperature, humidity, lighting, etc, are often considered.Similarly, the working conditions of the workers (especially in

factories), should also be improved to make the people feel thatwork is more a pleasure than a task to enable greater efficiencyand increased output. The external form as well as environmentdepends upon the site characteristics and adjacent buildings.The health conditions of the masses can be improved byproviding them with open spaces, clean environment (refreshingto mind, eye and body), good hospitals, colonies, homes andsanatoria along with other facilities. All these aspects are greatlyinfluenced by the constraints arising from time and cost.

The objective of this study is to incorporate maximumenvironmental considerations in the residence planning and toremove the mis-conceptions between the distortedly practicedVaastu and the environment. This article attempts to developorientation related design criteria for residential buildings byincorporating maximum environmental considerations. Theevolved design criteria are correlated with field-live data. Thepresent Vaastu has been attempted to become more of ascientific technology.

LITERATURE REVIEW

In ancient India, science, medicine, astrology, astronomy,mysticism, philosophy and spirituality lived in amiablejuxtaposition, their boundaries overlapping and one enrichingthe other. The principles of Vaastu and environmentalconsiderations in residential buildings were formulated keepingin view the cosmic influence of the Sun, its light and heat, thedirection of the wind, the earths magnetic field and theinfluence of Cosmos on the Earth. House building design,comprising its internal and external environment, hastraditionally been the responsibility of the architects.

V K Awasthi and N B Singh are with the Institute of Engineering and Technology,Lucknow; Dr D S Bhargava resides at Bhargava Lane, Devpura,Haridwar 249 401 and Dr M Singh is the Director, Government College ofArchitecture, Lucknow.

This paper was received on November 7, 2003. Written discussion on the paperwill be received until June 30, 2004.

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The scriptures on Vaastu were written thousands of years backat a time when architecture was primarily for the king, theroyalty and for the religious structures. The basic architecturalprinciples vis-a-vis climate, orientations, functions, planning, etcare now being left on the back seat by the planners anddesigners. Particularly in India, the very possession of a houseis regarded as a symbol of prestige belonging to community andstatus in the society.

Environmental considerations in residences is as old as thearchitecture, the Vaastu and the Vedic Era. Rich purearchitectural evolutionary Shashtra or theoretical treatises wereunfolding in Shloka after Shloka, providing just the minimumtheoretical base. In the Shastras, architecture was described asa Shilpa (craft) and not as a Kala (art) and certainly not as aJyotish Vidya (astrology). The cities of the Vedic period wererectangular in shape and divided into four quarters, namely,the citadel, the residential area, the merchants and trademen(who could display their wares). Early Hindu architecturegradually metamorphosed into the magnificent Buddhist Stupasand the rock-cut caves at Ajanta. The great culture at Harrapa(in 3000 BC) applied Vaastu to created sophisticated cities. Inthe shala structures, the proportions and sizes of thequadrangles used for residential purposes, were based on casteconsiderations which hardly has any significance in todayscontext. The tenets of Vaastu Shastra could be employed forthe general planning considerations of residential and othercolonies with due modifications. The Vaastu Shastra provides theguidelines for the design of buildings and planning of cities,such that, the same would bring health, wealth and peace tothe inhabitants. Man builds the city so that the city shall buildhis dwellers. Today people have global appreciation ofgeomagnetic or cosmo-telluric fields. The last 30 years have seenrevival of the ancient Roma, Egyptian, Vedic or Chinesethoughts. The Shadvargas or Marma in Vaastu or energy flowsof Pyramidical of Feng-shui are better understood byenvironmental medicine in Europe today. The LondonUniversity offers a Doctoral Dissertation in Vaastu Shastra whileIndia is yet to get this field of design recognized as alternativearchitecture.

The new profession of architecture sidelined the Vaastu Vidyaor the traditional Indian knowledge of architecture. VaastuShastra is as old as knowledge itself, but the profession of theVaastu Consultants is a recently modified one, applies only afragment of this knowledge. It is time Vaastu Shastra is madefree of its mystic garb and developed as a logical and scientificdiscipline. Vaastu Shastra is also described by the Vaastu Pundits(experts) as The Edifice Science (a science whose principles, iffollowed in planning a house or building, will ensure peace ofmind and progress for its inhabitants). It is claimed that thescience is the result of a study of the nature and the occult byancient Aryan sages and seers. It considers the impacts ofearths magnetic fields, the Sun, bio-chemical effects, etc onhumans, mainly in their prosperity to acquire wealth. Research

in neuro-science has shown that the Cosmic counter-parts,namely, the Sun, the Moon, Planets have a one-to-onerelationship to the different parts of the brain (namely, the basilganglia, than and hypothalamus). Thus, the Vedic formula oforienting building towards the east to gain the support of therising Sun and an ideal house according to Vaastu, is a perfectlysquare house, with a central courtyard. Environmental energyhas successfully been used in healing diseases like asthma,angina, cerebral palsy, diabetes, depression, epilepsy, fatigue,hypertension, insomnia, migraine, muscular dystrophy, stress,schizophrenia, tension, etc and about 40 000 patients of variousailments were healed in the last 15 years. Long before it becamefashionable, Vaastu Shastra had been researched by Sanskritscholars through a study of Shikpashastra, Matsya, AgniPurana, Samaragana Sutradhara Arthashastra, Mansara andmany others including the epics and it was accorded the statusof a science like Dhanur-Veda (military science). The role ofthe architect as a designer is totally confused with that ofastrology. Indian architecture has traditionally been consideredexotic, not subject to the same rules of analysis as the westernexamples.

METHODOLOGY

For designing criteria, six-key accommodation units, namely, thegate, drawing room, kitchen, toilet, stair, and bed rooms of aresidence were taken into consideration. There are eight possibledirection for orienting these units [that is, four coordinaldirections, namely, North, South, East and West and fourangular directions, namely NE, NW, SE, SW]. Grading scaleswere evolved for each of the accommodation units on the basisof various aspects of the environment, namely, lighting,ventilation, energetic electromagnetic waves, size andaestheticity. The details of grading score of various componentsare given in Table 1. Each aspect has its own importance.Negligence of any one aspect may negate the effect of all others.The evolved design criterion was then tested in the field bytaking 50 random residences from the city of Lucknow. Thevarious accommodation units were awarded marks as per theevolved grading system and, thus, the total calculated value orthe overall rating of each residence was called as the orientrating. Table 2 gives the details of scoring method of variouscomponents of a residential building in regard to aestheticaspect. The residents were personally interviewed to record theevents and feelings of the dwellers with the help of aquestionnaire. Appendix 1 provides the format of thequestionnaire. The answers were recorded on a five-point ratingscale. Thus, the overall feeling called as the Fact Finding Rating,were observed. The two ratings were compared during theanalysis of the data.

DEVELOPMENT OF DESIGN CRITERIA

While orienting the various building components or objects, thedirection is determined by its closeness to any of the eight

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directions. However, when placing the opening like doors,windows, ventilators, gate, etc the direction is generallyperpendicular to the wall containing the openings in view ofthe entry of solar energy. The basic principles of the criteria forvarious environmental aspects were adopted as discussed below.

Lighting Aspect

India, being a tropical country, has extensive summer for almosteight months a year and there is thus no light deficiency andhence efforts are directed to prevent the entrance of excessivelight during these months into the buildings. Since, light iscorrelated with heat, the buildings must exposed to the Sun,gets heated up during the day and remain hot till late night.During the summer season in India (northern hemi-sphere), theSun passes over head of the accommodation unit, thuscapturing lesser heat form side windows, while during thewinter season, the Sun passes from east to west with southwardinclination, the Sun rays are distant and are captured in higherquantity from the side windows. At the same time, the gates andthe drawing rooms need maximum morning light withuniformity and the avoidance of excessive heat, and the kitchenneeds excess light and heat to support the cooking. In toilets,cooler environment is needed, whereas, the stairs needmaximum lighting because of thoroughfare throughout the day.The bed rooms need maximum light of the declining Sun tohave good after effects. On this basis, the score grading chartis presented in Table 1 for various accommodation units.

Ventilation Aspect

If a window is relied upon as the sole means of ventilation, careshould be taken in its selection and placement to minimizedrafts and to permit easy air access. Exhaust fans in the wall orceilings are often used to supplement natural ventilation. Ininterior bathroom spaces, a mechanical exhaust, of course is

essential. Good ventilation is very essential in bath rooms, bothto reduce humidity and to dispel odors2.

In India, the wind blow is generally in east-west direction whilethe movement of wind in north-south direction is for minimumhours of a day. Hence, wind should be availed from eastdirection and the windows position is best in the north-southwalls to capture more natural air resource. Generally, 15%-20%of floor area of any accommodation unit is adequate in the formof windows and ventilators. On this account, the weightage andgrade chart for various accommodation units are given in Tables1-3.

Electromagnetic Waves Aspect

Electromagnetic radiations move from north to south directionwhile electro cosmic waves move from east to west direction3.The effects of healthy infra-red (IR) and harmful ultra-violet(UV) radiations of solar energy are very important. Directionof accommodation units should be, such that, it receivesmaximum IR radiations of the morning and minimum ultra-violet radiations of the noon. It is apparent from Figure 1 that

Score Orientations for the Residential Units ofor Gate Drawing Room Bed Room Kitchen Stair Toilet

Grad- Light, Electro- Size, Light and Venti Size, Light and Venti- Size, Light and Venti- Size, Light and Venti- Size Light and Venti- Size,ing magnetic Waves m Electro- lation m2 Electro- lation m2 Electro- lation m2 Electro- lation out Electro- lation m2

Weight and Ventilation magnetic magnetic magnetic magnetic of 4 magneticWaves Waves Waves Waves asp- Waves

ects*10 NE 2.50 E NE 20 SW NE 15 SE SW 5.0 SW SW All4 NW NW 59 E NE E S E S S S S N W8 N 2.00 N N 18 W N 12 E W 4.5 W W any W N 4.5

-2.49 -20 -15 -5.0 4 -57 NW SE NW NW NW SW NW SE NW NE SW6 SW 1.50 NW SE 15 N SE 10 NE SE 4.0 NW SE Any E S 4

-1.99 -18 -12 -4.5 3 -4.55 W W W SE W W N N N SW SE4 S 1.00 S S 12 E S 8 NW E 3.0 E E Any S E 3-4

-1.49 -15 -10 -4.0 23 SW SW SW NE SW N NE NE NE SE NE2 1.00 12 8 3.0 none 3

* Four aspects: (1) : width of stairs=0.9 m -1.2 m; (2) riser 200 mm; (3) tread 250 mm and (4) number of steps in one flight =3 to 12

Table 1 Scores (grading weight) of various components of a residential building

Figure 1 Variations of IR and UV radiations during a day

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the quantum of infra-red (IR) radiation in the morning ishighest, least in the noon and again gets increased in theevening, and vice-versa profile for the ultra-violet (UV) energyof a quantum of light, E=hc/ where h is the planks constant;c, the velocity of light and is the wave length. Since, wavelength of ultra-violet waves is lesser than of infra-red, theUV wave is more energetic and affects the human beings moreadversely. On the basis of above principle and as per the activityof various accommodation units, the grade charts are preparedas given in Table 1.

Size Aspect

The size of the accommodation units depends upon the livingstandard of the family, and shape of the furniture to beincorporated into it. The total floor area required will serve themaximum utility if the length to breath ratio is between 1.2 and1.5. The door openings should be adequate (say 1m), so thatpeaces of heavy furniture could easily be moved in and out. Theminimum unbroken wall surface will enhance the properarrangement of the furniture. Interiors should be so arrangedthat user should face east or north to avail the opportunity oflighting, ventilation and IR radiations. On the basis of above,various accommodation units with their minimum andmaximum sizes have been graded as per the grade chart givenin Table 1.

Aesthetic Aspect

It is the most important aspect, and may negate every plus pointof other aspects, if it is ignored. For example, if the kitchen isexcellent with respect to every aspect other than aesthetics(located just near the toilet from where the foul gases originate),the positive effect of other aspects gets negated. The followingpoints are considered when grades are awarded to variousaccommodation units. An obstacle like huge structure in front of the building or

accommodation unit may prevent lighting, ventilation andIR radiations.

Existence of some nuisance in front of the accommodationunit (say community waste or a drain).

Presence of electric, telephone poles, causing adverse effecton utility of the building.

Undesirable ending of the road. Rooms of different activities are inteconnected, disturbing

the privacy of each other. The improper size of the openings. Internal arrangement within the accommodation unit are

chaotic.

On the basis of above principles, taking regard of adverseeffects, the grades have been awarded as 10, 8, 6, 4 and 2,respectively for none, any one, any two, any three and all of

Table 2 Score method (grading weight) of various components of a residential building in regard to the aestheicity aspect

Residential Unit Situations to be ConsideredGate Any obstacle like huge structure existing in front of the building. This prevents lighting, ventilations and IR rediations.

Existence of nuisance in front of the building, say community waste or drainPresence of electric, telephone poles causing adverse effect on utility of the buildingUndesirable ending of the road

Drawing Drawing room and bed room are interconnected, which have their quite different activities and disturb the privacy of the bed room. Room Central position of drawing room (as in European countries) causes distrubance in privacy and inconvenience to Indian ladies.

Length to breadth ratio is more than two.Huge obstacle in front of the drawing room, causing problems in lighting, ventilation and other environmental aspects.

Bed Position of bed rooms towards external noisy area causing noise pollution. Room Opening of the of the bed rooms breaching privacy and reducing the usable internal space

Puja place existence within the bed rooms.Improper size of the window(s).

Kitchen Toilet is located in just vicinity of kitchen or dining, making the environment vicious.No wall has proper ventilator to open space.Improper size toilet placed below stair which makes the space congested.Improper approach for external/internal users.

Stair Improper stair from utility point of view.Improper lighting and ventilation.Public toilet, puja and store beneath the stair.Number of winders are more.

Toilet Toilet is located at the vicinity of kitchen or dining making the environment vicious.No wall has proper ventilator or open space.Improper size toilet placed below stair makes the space congested.Improper approach for external users.

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the various encountered four considerations/situations listed inTable 2 for various units of the residential building.

EVALUATION OF ORIENT AND FACT FINDINGRATINGS

After developing the design criteria, as discussed earlier fororientation of accommodation units of the residential buildings,the next step was to evaluate the individual unit. Orient Ratingin respect of the randomly selected 50 residences is made then.The actual happening events and feelings of the dwellers, wereobtained through personal interviews with the help of a self-structured questionnaire, covering every aspect of events, peace,prosperity, etc as detailed in Appendix 1. This overall observedvalue expressed as a rating has been called as Fact FindingRating. Thus, there was a set of 50 Orient Ratings against the50 Fact Finding Ratings4 (Table 1). These data were statisticallyanalyzed to arrive at some possible correlations.

ORIENTATION OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGSAGAINST THEIR PROSPERITY

The Orient Rating is the overall grade of the house, based onorientation of different accommodation units as per thedeveloped design criteria. The Fact Finding Rating is the gradeof the house, based on actual happiness and feelings of theoccupants. The absolute rating numbers were converted intopercentages. The data collected were analyzed statistically by themethod of least squire technique (regression) between thebuildings evaluated actual value (Orient Rating) and thecorresponding observed value (Fact Finding Rating). The bestcurve fit follows a linear trend having a coefficient of correlation(expressed as R2) of 0.881 manifesting a strong correlationbetween the Orient Rating (calculated value) and the FactFinding Rating (observed value) as shown in Figure 2. It is thus,easily concluded that the orientation of accommodation unitsin a residential building (based on the presented environmentalconsiderations) is always compatibly with the health, wealth andprosperity of the occupant. The proposed design criterion is,therefore, scientific and justified.

The six key units of a residence, namely, gate, drawing room,kitchen, toilet, stair and bed room are cross-checked on the basisof Vaastu. The literature available speaks about the single bestorienting positions of these various accommodation units asgate : NE; drawing room : E; kitchen : SE; toilet : NW; stair :SW and bed room : SW. The presented environmentalconsiderations also advocate these positions as the best forrespective accommodation units. The orientations of theremaining units will, therefore, be expected to match with theorientations based on the environmental considerations. Thisproves a deep correlation between the environment and theVaastu. The basic recommendation of the real Vaastu wouldhave thus, been based purely on the environment. However,unfortunately, this real shape of Vaastu has currently been

distorted by translators and the pseudo-experts. Thus, thesuggested grade charts developed as per the environmental basisshall comply with the real Vaastu, and the recommendations ofthe furnished chart will also be fruitful and prosperous for thebuilding occupants from the Vaastu point of view.

CORRELATION BETWEEN ORIENTATION OF ANYSINGLE ACCOMMODATION UNIT WITH OVERALLPROSPERITY

The lone accommodation unit which affected mostly the overallprosperity of the occupant, was also evaluated. Six plots weredrawn4 between Fact Finding Rating (as percentage) against theindividual orientation scores (as percentage) of the gate, drawingroom, kitchen, toilet, stair and bed room. It was noticed thatnone of the above accommodation units has any significanteffect on the overall feelings (effects on the Fact Finding Rating)of the occupants because all the correlation coefficient valueswere below 0.8. However, the maximum influence was from thedrawing room and the second highest was that from thekitchen, Hence, drawing room and kitchen are the crucialaccommodation units which must be oriented with cautionbecause they do manifest some reasonable effect on the overallhappenings for the building dwellers. However, as alreadyshown, there always exists an integrated effect of all theindividual accommodation units on the overall prosperity of thehouse occupants rather than the effect of any one singleaccommodation unit to any significance.

The plots between the Fact Finding Ratings/gradings (aspercentages) individually in rspect of the nine aspects, namely,surroundings (or locality) around the buildings, health of

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Figure 2 Orientation rating against fact finding rating of the 50 randomlyselected houses

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occupants, finances of the dwellers, childrens education,harmonical relationship of the house occupants, social (out ofhomes) relationships of the house dwellers, professional fame ofthe house inmates, security of the house and its dwellers, and

infrastructure facilities available to the occupants, with respectto the overall (combined) orientation gradings (expressed aspercentage) as well as individual grading for the gate, drawingroom, kitchen, toilet, stair, and the bed room, manifested the

Figure 3 Proposed model plan

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correlation coefficients [highest values which were always for theoverall (all units of the building) orientation grading except foroutside relations where it was highest for the orientation of thekitchen and the toilet, and for security when it was highest forthe bed room] of 0.53, 0.55, 0.68, 0.78, 0.66, 0.45, 0.46, 0.29and 0.57, respectively. These manifest that there is nosignificant correlation between orientation of any singleaccommodation unit of the residence and the happenings,feelings and/or prosperity of the house inmates. There exists onlya combined impact of orientation of all the stated keyaccommodation units on the overall prosperity of the dwellers.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

On the basis of the study and design criteria developed toorient the key accommodations, a model residential plan hasbeen prepared and shown in Figure 3. This plan shows that theplot with east and north side roads is the best one. However, ifthis sort of corner plot is not available, the east facing plot canbe planned in such a way that it has maximum open space ineast and north sides. As per the basic concept of directionsadopted in the study, the position of gate is best in N-Edirection enabling maximum entry of electro-magnetic andelectro-cosmic waves, which are most fruitful for the health ofthe house inmates. The drawing room in east side with adequatewindow space in east and north sides makes it most usable forthe day hours activity. Position of kitchen is S-E with east sidewindow enabling the first ray of the Sun to fall on the tip ofkitchen window to make it more hygienic. The position of toiletin N-W, would enable draining/purging of the foul gases awayfrom the house and provide a cooler environment. The positionof master bed room lies in S-W, where the east-side windowallows the entry of morning infra-red radiation and the west-side window will provide the says declining of the Sun to theuseful in the night. The stair has been placed at a positionwhere it shall absorb excessive heat from the south side and shallalways remain well lighted for thoroughfare throughout the day.This plan is an ideal plan but many times there are constraintsto provide every accommodation at its best place. The gradecharts can then help the planner to place the various units formaximum possible grade and render the overall planning morepractically applicable.

CONCLUSION

The above study justifies the evolution of Vaastu from theenvironmental considerations. Following observations are madebased on the study made as stated above. Environmental friendly orientation of different

accommodation units of a residential building is directlyproportional to the degrees of health, wealth and prosperityof the occupants.

Implementation of environmental consideration in orientingdifferent accommodation units of a residential building is

the real compliance of Vaastu. This study proves that Vaastuemanates from the environment but not the vice-versa.

The prosperity of house inmates does not depend on theorientation of any single accommodation unit of a residentialbuilding. It does depend on the overall orientation of all thekey units. The implementation of design criteria, based onenvironmental considerations presented, will bring maximumpeace, prosperity and comfort to the house dwellers.

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Appendix 1 Format of a questionnaire for data collection regarding the prosperity of the building dwellers

Name of the Occupant :Address :

Orientation of Accommodation Unit (Fact Finding Number)

Accommodation Direction Size Aesthetics

Gate

Drawing room

Bed room

Kitchen

Stairs

ToiletFeelings of Occupant (Fact Finding Rating)

Aspect/Grade Excellent Very Good Good Average Poor Total Marks Remark

10 10 10 10 10

Surrounding/Locality

Health

Financial

Children education

and settlement

Relations among

house inmates

Relations outside

the residence

Fame in profession

Security aspect

Infrastructural facilities

Overall feelings

Grand Total

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