More than 100 houses and offices buildings in the U.S. and Canada constructed according to the age-old principles of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda architecture will be open to the public for simultaneous educational tours May 6 and June 3, from 1–4 p.m. Projects are located from Boulder, Colo., to Boone, N.C., and represent more than $250 million in construction in North America completed in the last five years.

Like Feng Shui, Veda architecture is a set of natural rules that follows no particular design style. It stresses three principles: right placement, right proportion, and right direction. Many of the buildings make use of solar energy and natural insulation techniques, and all are constructed with nontoxic materials and finishes. All emphasize natural lighting and air circulation and incorporate a Brahmansthan (a central court or garden space), a special roof ornament called a Kalash, and a meditation room.

Veda architecture, like other sustainable design techniques, stresses harmony and cooperation with nature. "When we look at how things work in nature, there is always order and precision on every scale. Cells have a certain symmetry and reproduce in an orderly predictable way, the sun rises and sets and the seasons come on time," comments Jon Lipman, AIA, chief architect for Maharishi Global Construction, a Fairfield, Iowa-based company that offers design and construction services for Veda housing. "When these same fundamental laws of physics or 'Laws of Nature' are applied to the design of homes, building and cities, individual intelligence is automatically connected with the underlying intelligence of the cosmos, connecting individual life with cosmic life, with extremely powerful and beneficial results."

Copyright 2001 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.