• Highlights from our Vedic Architecture Conference

• Investing In Natural Law

• Navigating the Insulation Maze

Highlights from our Vedic Architecture Conference

For those of our readers who were not able to attend the Institute for Maharishi Vedic Architecture’s standing-room-only conference on October 8th here are some of the highlights:

Developer Jeffrey Abramson’s described the green buildings that he and a handful of the nation’s larger developers are now building. These large buildings create a work environment that simultaneously generates happiness and better health among workers, greater productivity for company owners, and a more sustainable use of the earth’s resources. And he gave the audience a computer-generated animated view of his next office project, a 200,000 square foot green building designed according to the principles of Maharishi Vedic architecture.

Abramson also speculated intriguingly on how the founding fathers designed the city of Washington, DC according to principles of Natural Law as they understood them, in order to uphold and promote the nation’s newly formed constitution. This perspective on the design of our nation’s capital gave a fitting historical context to our current work introducing the full value of Natural Law into the design of America’s buildings and cities.

Richard Bialosky, AIA told the compelling story of his journey from a conventional architectural practice, to building responsibly — making homes that truly nourish their inhabitants. Also included were highlights of his forthcoming residential community on the Florida shore, designed according to the principles of Maharishi Vedic architecture, incorporating healthy house construction, eco-village green technologies, and contemporary community-promoting design concepts.

Michael Sorkin ,AIA examined the current climate of urbanism, globalization and sustainability. He concluded that there was great need for a system to bring coherence and order to the urban environment. He described to us the encouragement he felt as he toured Maharishi Vedic City.

Dr. Veronica Butler’s presented her peer-reviewed research on the effects of orientation upon quality of life measurements. Her work is some of the groundbreaking research that is thus far validating the ancient recommendations in the system of Maharishi Vedic architecture. We will highlight her findings in the next issue of our newsletter.

The Institute for Maharishi Vedic Architecture is planning now to hold future conferences in Washington, DC and on the West Coast.

Investing In Natural Law

You can move into a Maharishi Vastu home to enjoy greater peace and prosperity. Or you can work in a Maharishi Vastu office to increase creativity and financial success.

What more? Some business people have invested in Maharishi Vastu buildings, getting a good return on their money, and helping others to grow in health, happiness and prosperity.

When Paul Gandy decided to move his business into the Amy Ram building in Fairfield, Iowa, he didn’t just sign a lease; he bought a share of the building. “First of all, I wanted my business to have the support of Natural Law that comes from Maharishi Vastu design,” says Paul. “But when I saw that I could turn my rent checks into payments toward ownership of the building, it was too good to pass up. We’re enjoying greater coherence at work, and building equity for the future.

Building for Success

Doug Greenfield, president of Maharishi Global Construction, has developed four commercial properties in Fairfield during the past 15 years using the principles of Maharishi Vedic architecture. The Katie Ram building was the first office space in the United States constructed according to the principles of Maharishi Vedic architecture.

“We were told by the Maharishi Sthapatya Ved experts that the structure would have remarkable properties—it would repel adverse influences at all times; it would attract wealth; outside companies would be drawn to the companies inside the building; and people working there would have distinction of speech.”

Doug and his partners moved Danaher Oil into the Katie Ram building 11 years ago. “We’ve had unbelievable prosperity here,” Doug says. “Our sales have gone up every year, and there’s much more harmony among the brokers.”

For the first eight years, Doug had a waiting list of people who wanted to move into Katie Ram, so he built a second space—the Amy Ram building—a beautiful brick office building just one block away.

In 2002, Doug and partners constructed Gate Ridge Court, a two-story courtyard office building on the Maharishi University of Management campus. Recently, a tenant signed a lease for the entire second floor, and there is a waiting list of prospective tenants.

Commercial Investing

Commercial investors can benefit several ways—use rental income to build equity, write off depreciation, gain as the building appreciates over time, and take the tax advantage of a Section 1031 rollover.

One added benefit of investing in Fairfield is the ability to “trade up” from a non-Vastu property to an investment that is in tune with Natural Law.

Residential Investing

Preston and Sidney Gibson moved to Fairfield in 2003, just as the Orchard Place Village housing development was nearing completion. After one look at the homes they signed up to buy one. A second look and they decided to buy a second house as an investment.

“We live next door to our rental. We knew this would be a great location. We thought, ‘Why not bring the nourishing influence of good health and happiness that we feel to a tenant?’ It gives us twice the return to know we are providing a totally beneficial environment to someone as well as having a sound investment for ourselves.”

While not everyone is able to purchase a Maharishi Vastu home in Fairfield, many people want to live in Vastu. There are very few Vastu rentals available, and they go fast. One opportunity for investors is to buy now, rent the house, and move to Fairfield after they retire.

Doug Greenfield has built 26 single family home and condo units during the past three years but he is not the only developer building according to Maharishi Vedic architecture in the area. Chris Johnson, who developed 200 residential units in Northern California before moving to Iowa, has built over 80 residential units in Maharishi Vedic City including a hotel with both short- and long-term accommodations.

Nancy Walker and Martin Brett of Vastu Homes, LLC. have built 12 single-family residences to date developing the first phase of Fairfield’s North Campus Village. Investors can participate with them in future phases of the community.

And Tim Fitz-Randolph developer of Mandala I in Maharishi Vedic City has built 18 houses and a mixed-use office/apartment building.

Supporting World Peace

These days Fairfield is booming. The climate for the arts has expanded dramatically. Many new homes are being built in Fairfield and in Maharishi Vedic City. The Raj resort continues to attract clients from around the world as the premier Ayur-Vedic health spa. The community enjoys an abundance of locally grown Maharishi Vedic Organic produce. Preparations are nearly completed to host the 500 Vedic Pundits from India and support their peace-creating efforts.

Moving to Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City is great, but if you’re not able to take that step right away, you can still support the community by providing offices and homes for those who are here.

A Sound Investment

Doug and the other developers mentioned previously are always interested in talking to prospective partners or any one interested in investing in Maharishi Vastu buildings locally or around North America.

“We all welcome investors to become a partner in any of our commercial buildings,” says Doug. “Or buy a home or condo for investment income. In Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City the demand is great.” Chris Johnson points out, “Over the past decade much of the infrastructure has gone into Maharishi Vedic City. With this year’s wave of national publicity on Vedic architecture, and with the imminent arrival of 500 Vedic Pandits in Vedic City I believe it is a good time to participate with the possibility for a good upside.”

Successful, satisfied, and happy tenants, financial incentives, plus support for America’s largest coherence-creating community. Three very good reasons to begin investing in Natural Law.

For more information on Maharishi Vastu investment opportunities in the Fairfield area, call Maharishi Global Construction at 641-472-9605.

 

As we have written in previous issues of At Home in Maharishi Vastu, modern construction methods and materials can produce very unhealthy buildings.

One primary recommendation from Maharishi Vedic architecture is to build with natural and non-toxic materials suitable to the local conditions. The field of insulation is complex even when narrowed to use of natural, non-toxic materials.

The following is the first in a multi-part series of articles evaluating natural and non-toxic building materials for your Maharishi Vastu home. This first part defines general considerations for effectively choosing insulation.

Navigating the Insulation Maze

When the thermometer drops below 50 you put on a light jacket. When it drops to 30 degrees you switch to a heavier coat, and add a good hat, scarf, gloves, etc.

If the temperature is below zero you seriously consider every exposed area of your body — especially if wind chill is a factor. Suddenly, heavy coats don’t seem to work as well as the down-filled ones. Buttoned coats are replaced with zippered or velcroed coats, hoods instead of hats, face masks instead of scarves. If you’re hiking Everest you need different insulation.

High performance winter clothing breathes, sheds moisture better and is more comfortable. The cost is higher, but pays off if you want to stay warm and remain active.

Insulating your home is similar in many ways to insulating your body. As the temperature drops the demands change. The only problem is, your house can’t change insulation like you can change your coat. This makes your choice of insulation critical and your research essential.

There are other things to consider for insulation besides temperature. Roof and wall type and thickness, heating system, life style, landscaping, window size and type, humidity, height above sea level, etc. all must be taken into account because every insulation material performs differently.

There are numerous types of insulation: fiberglass, rock wool, earth, rammed earth, cellulose, cotton, vermiculite, perlite, polystyrene, polyurethane foam, straw bale, and dozens of others. Some are loose filled, some come in batts, and some are blown in, while others are built in. With all the hype and promises, how do you determine how well they insulate?

You may continue a more in-depth examination of insulation factors by clicking here: In part two of this series, we will evaluate specific natural and non-toxic insulation solutions.