What if architecture and community planning could enhance our health, happiness, and even the development of enlightenment? That’s the topic of the first annual conference on “Developing Enlightened Buildings and Communities: How Vedic Architecture, Community Design, and Green Building Influence Health, Happiness, and Lifestyle,” to be held September 8–10, 2017, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Orlando, Florida.

“The building stock needs to be rebuilt to reflect the needs of a changing world with new priorities,” writes Barry Scherr, author of Enlightened Real Estate and a speaker at the conference. “Architecture and city planning should be vehicles for human evolution, not just shelter and commerce. What if every city, town, and community were redesigned to make everyone’s daily routine effortless and blissful?”

“What if every city, town, and community were redesigned to make everyone’s daily routine effortless and blissful?” —Barry Scherr, Enlightened Real Estate

Cutting-Edge Architectural Trends Plus Ancient Knowledge

The conference will bring together real estate professionals from around the world to explore the most innovative ideas in real estate development and their impact on communities and inhabitants. It will integrate Maharishi Vastu®—the architectural and community planning science of ancient India, also known as Vedic architecture—with recent lifestyle trends such as sustainability, community-building, and wellness.

“This unique, holistic approach to design and development will show how to address all levels of the human experience to create buildings and communities that uplift and enlighten everyone who visits, lives, and works in them,” says the conference website.

Participants will learn how to create environments that foster health, happiness, and even enlightenment. They will advance their knowledge of Vedic architecture, sustainable design, and conscious community planning. In a hands-on design charrette, or collaborative session, they will also learn how to incorporate these elements into their next development project.

Dr. Tony Nader, M.D., Ph.D., will give the keynote address, entitled “Convergence: How Consciousness, Physiology, and the Built Environment Interact.” Dr. Nader’s doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was in brain and cognitive science. He has conducted research on neurochemistry, neuroendocrinology, and the relationship between diet, age, behavior, mood, seasonal influences, and hormonal activity.

Six of his published books correlate each aspect of ancient Vedic literature to a specific area of human physiology. Given Dr. Nader’s expertise in both modern science and Vedic knowledge, TM® Founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi selected him to lead the worldwide Transcendental Meditation® organization.

What Is Maharishi Vastu Architecture?

Renowned Vedic architect Dr. Eike Hartmann, chairman of the board of directors of the Institute of Vedic Architecture and City Planning, and others will explain the principles of Maharishi Vastu architecture at the conference.

Maharishi Vastu architecture ensures that a building or community will have only nourishing influences on its occupants. This results from the use of several key Vedic principles:

1. Right Direction: According to Maharishi Vastu, the orientation of a building influences the quality of life of its occupants, and east-facing buildings bring greater health and success to those who live or work in them.

2. Right Placement of Rooms: The sun has differing qualities of energy over the course of a day, so buildings are designed such that activities for different rooms (kitchen, living room, bedrooms) are aligned with the appropriate quality of the sun.

3. Right Proportion: Proportion is key to successful design in nature, and right proportion and measurement in buildings strengthens the connection of individual intelligence to natural law.

4. Natural, Nontoxic Materials and Solar Energy: Building sustainably with natural, nontoxic materials suitable to the local climate is a central principle of Maharishi Vastu architecture.

5. Site Placement: The slope and shape of the land, light from the rising sun, and nearby water bodies are also important considerations.

Innovative Topics and Award-Winning Speakers

This groundbreaking conference will offer informative talks on subjects such as “The Giant Opportunity for Creating Enlightened Communities: The New Asset Class for the Future,” as well as “Creating Green and Connected Communities” and “Ancient Architecture, Modern Conveniences: Making Vedic Communities work in the 21st Century.”

The international roster of speakers includes prominent Vedic architects and award-winning real estate developers. To name just two, Jeffrey Abramson, a partner in the Tower Companies, developed the first 200,000 square-foot Maharishi Vastu, LEED Platinum office building in the world; and Jonathan Lipman, A.I.A., is North America’s leading practitioner of Maharishi Vastu architecture and urban design and has lectured at Harvard, Stanford, and Yale Universities, as well as the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

“Architecture and city planning should be vehicles for human evolution, not just shelter and commerce.” —Barry Scherr, Enlightened Real Estate

The conference will conclude with sessions on “next steps”: How do architects and developers want to proceed with this innovative combination of Vedic architecture and the latest trends in sustainable, healthy communities?

All are welcome to attend this pioneering conference. To find out more and to register, visit vastuconference.com.