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Khosla Designs a Vastu-Compliant Home that’s Peaceful, Inspiring

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If you thought that Feng Shui made lots of demands on how a house should be sited and the interiors arranged, try Vastu. A Vastu-compliant home is designed to resonate with cosmic energies, and because so many of its requirements involve room placements and direction, it really is almost impossible to renovate to Vastu-compliance. The house has to be built that way to begin with.

Here is one from Chictip, that meets all the demanding precepts of Vastu-compliance, the ancient Indian science of correct orientation and placement.

The main areas of the house are arranged according to the elements – Master bedroom in the Earth zone (SW), kitchen in the Fire zone (SE), and the pool and entrance in the Water zone and Air zones (N and NE).

The positions of chairs and desks, doors, the direction of the stairs, location of beds, wardrobes and even the positions of the toilets in the bathrooms, all had to be in accordance with the correct energy flows.

Even the siting of toilets must follow the directions.

The architect says, “The biggest challenge while designing the house was to arrive at a visually appealing piece of architecture from a rigid program that dictated the specific locations of various spaces. Our approach was to respond to the traditional science, extract its essence yet arrive at a fresh and innovative interpretation of the same.”

Khosla managed to make it a beautiful house, even so. Many of the living spaces are outdoors, where temperatures are more comfortable. Throughout, luxurious materials are balanced by simple, almost rustic ones. Rough stone steps, pebbled courts, exposed concrete ceilings and polished cement floors contrast with polished Italian marble, fine teak furniture, velvets and silks.