Does Metropolitan Manila have good feng shui? Judging from the mess we see each day, the unhealthy air we breathe and water so bad that we have to buy it processed to be able to drink, maybe not. On the other hand, there are houses, buildings and districts that have ensured health, wealth and prosperity to some.
Feng shui means literally "water and wind," the two major elements that influenced the placement of dwellings and structures in China long ago. The tenets of feng shui gradually evolved from the understanding of natural processes and their effect on human habitation and activity – the whole point being to design with nature rather than against it. According to feng shui, the best location for structures is with mountain behind, on a south-facing slope with water in front. This was to avoid the cold winter winds from the north and to take advantage of the cool summer breezes from the south (or water’s edge). Building on a slight slope also keeps one from disastrous floods.
So feng shui is really a practical way to build – considering, of course, your location on the globe. Tropical countries have different environmental parameters from temperate countries. There is no winter wind but water and wind – in the form of typhoons, floods and tsunamis – are a consideration.
Of course, there is more to feng shui than just building orientation. It did evolve to a very complicated set of rules, diagrams and interpretations relating to construction, the placement of doors and windows, the relationships of certain types of rooms to each other, the use of patterns, colors, mirrors, plants and furnishings. It really is an old set of building codes much like our local National Building Code. The only difference is that feng shui has evolved over millennia while our Building Code is less than a hundred years old. This is not to say that everything that feng shui says works. It’s a matter of interpretation. That’s why you now have feng shui consultants.
In Asia today it is normal to have a feng shui consultant as a key member of any design team for a real estate development. Of course, most real estate development firms are ethnic Chinese-run and managed. Almost everyone’s heritage is Chinese anyway, or at least Chinese-influenced. You will find architects, interior designers, landscape architects and even hard-nosed engineers coordinating with feng shui masters to find the most auspicious approach to designing a building, garden or even a city. Examples abound in places like Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. It is catching on in Manila – though we have been practicing a local variety of it (according to the architect/writer Ernie Zarate) for centuries – and who’s to say that it was not Chinese-derived anyway.
In Hong Kong, the most famous examples are the two large bank headquarters on the main island: the Bank of China by I.M. Pei and the Hong Kong-Shanghai Bank building by Sir Norman Foster. The HSBC tower has good feng shui. It is located in a so-called "dragon’s vein" that emanates from Victoria Peak. The design of its façade also suggests, say some, a smiling Buddha. The Bank of China building, on the other hand, had many things going against it – the pointy tower, the use of sharp-edged triangles as its main geometry and its not-so-right orientation vis-à-vis the city and Victoria harbor. The defects of the Bank of China building were corrected also with feng shui – in the placement of running fountains and urban design at the ground level.
The elements in feng shui can be used with and to counter one another. For example, the Hopewell Center building in Hong Kong was originally shaped and looked like a white candle, which represents death to the Chinese. The architect was advised to counter the "flame" at the top by placing a swimming pool. This "doused" the fire and negated the bad feng shui of the building.
On Repulse Bay around the other side of Hong Kong island, there is a colorful building with a large square hole in its middle. The feng shui advice was to place the hole because the structure was built too close to the mountainside. Dragons reside in the mountain and need to drink. If prevented, this can lead to bad fortune; hence the hole.
Smaller correctives in feng shui also work. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong has a small unicorn in its lobby to chase away bad fortune. In Singapore, the Hyatt Hotel on Scotts Road had suffered declining business in the early 1980s. It was renovated with feng shui principles. Fortune was ensured by a fountain placed at the entry driveway (water in front) and the hotel has had profitable occupancies ever since.
In Los Angeles, the spanking new Getty Center by American architect Richard Meier uses feng shui to take advantage of its hillside setting. Visitors have constantly poured into the complex since it opened. The reverse was true of a commercial building at the fringe of Kuala Lumpur’s central business district. The orientation was all wrong, according to the masters. It was slightly tumbuk, meaning facing a main thoroughfare. No amount of discount in rental rates could bring in tenants and word of mouth spread instantly. The building stands barely occupied to this day.
In Manila, most new building projects now consult feng shui masters. Local architects, interior designers and landspcape architects are used to designing with feng shui principles. Tumbuk is avoided. Building lots with wider front dimensions than its back are favored. Water features in front are almost always a feng shui winner. No dagger-like structures are allowed (to challenge the heavens). No direct entry into house or office is tolerated. Coffin-like paving stones or stair steps are introduced. If there are two towers in a complex, one has to be lower than the other.
Feng shui is now touted as a de facto requirement for the salability of a project. Dragons are constantly introduced in advertising or references made to "proper orientation," "good fortune" and health.
Of course, all this just points to proper planning and common-sense design. Orientation is always important to catch breezes and avoid glare from the sun. Offset entrances ensure better security. Building on higher ground ensures protection against floods that still plague the city. De-cluttering our surroundings (as advised in most feng shui readings) leads to visual and psychological ordering, an important aid in relieving the stresses of modern city life.
Feng shui is really a system of proper design and planning. Like all systems, this has to be upgraded to accommodate changing lifestyles and urban growth. The rationality of the original codes have to be re-worked constantly to adapt to local environmental conditions, cultural practices and evolving urban aesthetics. Planning is a conscious and rational process. Frankly, most of Manila has evaded that process and hence the bad feng shui we’ve had to suffer.