Vastu Shastra
The ancient Indian science of space
Vastu Shastra is a traditional Indian architectural system, thousands of years old, that studies how the orientation, layout, and proportion of a space affect the people living in it. Much like Feng Shui in Chinese tradition, it treats a building not as a neutral container, but as something that actively shapes daily life: sleep, focus, relationships, energy.
At its core, Vastu looks at simple, observable things: which direction a room faces, where the sun enters and when, how air and movement flow through a space, and where key functions - sleeping, cooking, working, resting - sit relative to each other and to the cardinal directions.
Why it still matters in modern design
Long before Vastu was a spiritual tradition, it was a practical one: a response to climate, light, and how people actually use and experience their homes and property. A kitchen oriented to catch morning light. A bedroom placed away from direct afternoon heat. An entrance that doesn't put you face-to-face with a wall. These are common-sense design decisions dressed in an older vocabulary - and they hold up remarkably well against contemporary architectural thinking.
