Feng Shui is a Chinese philosophy focusing on the relationship between humans and the environment. It is a natural earth science which reveals how people are affected by their immediate surroundings. Since everything is connected, certain geographical, architectural and planetary conditions have the power to either improve or worsen our well-being.

Feng-Shui is based on the laws of nature and provides us theories that explain why certain things happen in our lives. These theories stem from logical conclusions about natural cause and effects that have endured through time The Chinese philosophy dictates that everything is made of chi, or energy which is further broken up into the five basic elements of metal, fire, water, wood and earth. Each of these physical elements has energies that have frequencies with a unique wavelength which react with each other in different ways, either positive or negative. Humans are affected by cosmic and earth energies and feng shui is a way for us to harness this power and use it for our good.

Based on the Taoist philosophies of nature which include the Yin-Yang Theory, Five Element Theory and the Yi-Jing Trigrams, feng shui helps us determine which frequencies work positively with our own personal energy as well as the energies of our family members and co-workers. By using this knowledge we can create an environment of comfort that allows us to live efficiently and progressively. Everything can be designed keeping the principles of feng shui in mind – feng shui decorations, feng shui bedrooms, fengshui living rooms etc.

However, the phenomenon of Feng-Shui as passed down from the generations is complex to understand in its entirety and mastered by only a privileged few.

Today, feng shui is a multi-disciplinary study encompassing architecture, urban planning, geography, astrology, electromagnetism, landscape design, environmental psychology and much more.

Using the ancient science and philosophy of feng shui we can design, build, remodel, and decorate our homes successfully so that they will become environments that support our lives and our well-being. In today’s fiercely competitive world, architects have thus succumbed to the needs and demands of the clients and started incorporating principles of feng shui to harmonize with the spiritual forces that inhabit it, and their application in architecture through planning principles, services, building elements and materials. The architect well versed in feng shui can also use its benefits to match structures and land, forecast development related concerns such as cost overruns, quality issues, worker injuries and trade disputes.

By: William Brister