Feng Shui and Sustainability

Abstract

Feng Shui, as ancient environmental art and science, provides a significant reference for many East Asians to choose the living environment and building environment. Nowadays, the concept of Feng Shui has gradually been introduced to some western countries. And some experts have found that the traditional Chinese Feng Shui theory is similar to the western concept of sustainable development in many ways (Mak and Ge, 2013). It can be seen from the analysis results of the building cases; the western sustainable design perspective focuses more on the physical characteristics of the building. However, the focus of Chinese Feng Shui is on the exterior and interior of the building space, and the connection between people and the surrounding living environment (Mak and Ge, 2010). Today’s interpretation of Feng Shui principles has incorporated Western concepts of sustainability, but some of these effects are difficult to measure (Mak and Ge, 2010). This situation also shows that if architects can consider the concept of Feng Shui when designing buildings, and combine it with Western sustainable design concepts, it will be conducive to enhancing the development and application of sustainability. Therefore, scientific research on Feng Shui and how to integrate it with the western concept of sustainable development requires more studies.