The perfect house                                                         

Background

This is the first house designed in New Zealand applying time tested formula of the Vedic art and science of building in accord with natural law - Maharishi Sthapataya Ved. 

Sthapataya Ved in accord with Maharishi natural law is an ancient system of country, town and home planning according to solar and  lunar influences creating ideal living conditions free from noise, pollution, stress where everyone feels wherever they are “I am living in heaven” 

It is also a science which uses precise knowledge and time tested formulae for proper allocation of rooms, finding the exact purpose within a building according to the path of the sun -the strongest influence in natural law on earth. 

The proportions of the building are calculated using these ancient formula “to connect the proportions of the lot, the building and even the individual rooms with influence of the sun, moon and planets bringing to every family the support of nature’s government providing unbounded awareness : perfect health, prosperity, creativity, success and harmonious and fulfilling family relations” 

The main architectural elements  and features of Maharishi Sthpataya ved are:

1.  Creating the Vastu of the house which is a square or rectangular flat area designed as an “exquisite park like flower garden with abundant flowers, fountains, ponds and water displays arranged according to ones taste and possibilities”.

2. Positioning the Brahmasthan ; according to Maharishi “total potential  of natural law is radiating from the Brahmasthan, the place of honour... of natural law.  Every home and every town has to have a Brahmasthan to remind the generation at the total value of Natural Law  and to connect individual life with cosmic life.”  This is a free space ideally open to the sky and establishes ones home as a lively seat of total organising power, balancing one’s relationship to the cosmos, experiencing unbounded awareness leading to higher states of consciousness.

3. Meditation room.

4. The usual living and utility spaces sitting, dining, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry.     

All rooms are precisely proportioned.  Door sizes are made to recommended ratios and all measurements are integrated. As it says in the Mayamata“if the measurement in the building is in every way perfect, there will be perfection in the universe as well”. 

Maharishi Sthpataya ved promotes use of natural non toxic building materials with materials for a new building always new and not taken from an old building.  According to Mayamata “The use of any material taken from another building, say the ancients causes  the ruin of the building and will bring misfortune.”  Colours are generally selected to avoid sharp contrasts. 

Architectural program.

The client is a family of 2 adults and 3 teenagers, all practitioners of Transcendental Meditation.

They wanted a solid timeless 4 bedroom home with the usual amenities but with a Sthpataya ved

plan layout. A Tuscany style seemed appropriate given the cellular nature of the floor plan with main living spaces on the upper level and bedrooms below focussing onto an atrium internal “courtyard” space, the Brahmasthan.  

The site is down a long right of way in a tree filled valley overlooking a suburban park to the north. Whilst a flat site would have been more cost effective for establishing the essential Vastu there were compelling reasons for their choice to build here. Abundant greenery, north facing,quiet,tranquility. 

The architect was provided with Maharishi Sthpataya ved plan layouts for a 2 level house comprising vedic elements and features and asked to overlay the client’s style and aesthetic preferences in the development of elevations,sections and 3 dimensional spatial relationships.   A standalone double garage with flat over is positioned  at an oblique angle to the main house outside the Vastu and acts as a visual counterpoint in the picturesque composition. 

The ritual of entering the house is celebrated by a generous front porch and continued through timber double doors into a soaring double height entry hall.  A sculptural stair clinging to the side of a wall winds upwards and around in the vedic determined clockwise direction to the main living level. 

The architect’s signature slot, massive timber columns and beams with raw concrete corbels supporting their ends, a shuttered opening high up greet the visitor and provide tantalising glimpses of the open plan internal spaces beyond.  Vaulted openings,arched doorways and  a subtle change in level signal the more private reaches of the house on the lower level.  

The spatial layering,framed openings and the combination of timber and light colours modulated  by shafts of sunlight and softer dappled light from many directions infuse the interior with a warm and comfortable glow which is also spiritually uplifting. Robust polished concrete handrails invite touching and will gain a graceful worn patina with age.  

The Brahmasthan is separate yet connected through all levels.  Apart from its vedic importance,  it has proven to be a most practical architectural feature and is very much the heart and focal point for daily family activities.It is defined at the corners on the upper level by four 300 square timber posts. These massive posts exude a primeval textural and livable quality against the clean smooth wall and ceiling planes. Expressed as a turret thrusting through the roof plane and open to the sky it also acts as a ventilation tower. Main living spaces pinwheel about this core and provide surprising flexibility for large social occassions or intimate family gatherings.   

As the Main living spaces were  predetermined to being on the upper level visual connection with the outside is achieved through several architectural devices. A  copper roofed floor to ceiling bay window, a glazed roof porch  outdoor room partially enclosed with slatted timber,projecting metal balustraded balconies paying homage to the Tuscany inspired architecture,sliding bifolding windows along the 2 exterior walls of the library,varied disposition of other window shape and location on other walls all establish a seamless communion with the natural surroundings  outside and conjure up a feeling of being in harmony with nature. Extensive planting by the Client shall in time reinforce this. 

This project has been a testament to the timeless architectonic possibilities of Maharishi Sthpataya ved.