Feng Shui In Architecture

Some architects practice feng shui along with their normal architecture methods, but others look down upon it as a bogus practice. Theater led a man named Vincent M. Smith to feng shui. He was a Harvard graduate and had a degree from Yale Law School. He worked in the real estate field for more then 25 years. When he wasn’t working within his field, he pursued his greatest passions. These passions included: acting, directing plays, and designing stage sets. Upon really thinking about it, he soon realized that his sets were short lived. After the play was finished they were no longer used. These sets took energy to construct.

He was intrigued with the fact that he could create spaces that enhanced the moods of his actors just by the settings alone. He could make the set have negative energies or positive with the objects placed within it. It was through these ideas and thoughts that he came into contact with feng shui. He also published a book because of this. It was written alongside Barbara Lyons Stewart, and is entitled Feng Shui: A Practical Guide for Architects and Designers. This was a significant circumstance due to the fact that most architects look at feng shui as tilting toward the superstitious and new age.

The reason for this is that the architects often criticize feng shui for it’s use of decorative fixes instead of sound space planning. Some of these fixes include wind chimes and Chinese firecrackers. The dialect used with feng shui can also throw off someone who is serious about their professional career. Feng shui very often talks about the energy flow of the surroundings and the five elements. Smith is that his initial purpose is to de-Easternize the ideas found in feng shui teachings. Feng shui is simply creating an environment that has a harmonious affect on the way people act and feel.

It is very clear that there is a connection between what makes people feel comfortable and relaxed within their home and what feng shui, at many levels, is trying to achieve. Feng shui uses terms such as chi and yin and yang as metaphors for the sense of orderliness, fluidity, and balance that architects are taught to design into their buildings. For example, in Smith’s book he writes that porches and porticos are useful as a middle ground between outdoors and indoors. This is due to the fact that the transition from the energy of the open sky to the closed-in space of the home is dramatic.

Another example of these teachings is when a person enters your home and are immediately confronted with a wall. This stops them and blocks their energy which creates stress because they are forced to decide which way to go. A way to solve this problem is to hang a mirror to cause depth to the space. A painting could also be hung to direct the visitors in the appropriate way without them really noticing. While feng shui may not be a practical method of architecture, the design methods are much the same.