Ancient principles, modern practices
Having launched our first overseas residential project in London, I have had the opportunity to broaden my horizons and look into overseas property markets in a more critical way.
Prior to working on this project, I usually followed movements in global property markets at a macro level: house prices in relation to monetary policies in major markets, and so on. I rarely had time to concentrate on micro issues like consumer trends and successful marketing strategies employed by leading developers.
However, one of the issues I have found very interesting - after spending some time flying back and forth between Bangkok and London - is how significantly overseas buyers are influencing the property market in the UK, especially the high end of the market.
Based on recent news reports, about 40 per cent of the world's most expensive homes are bought by Asian buyers. And to make it much clearer, according to a survey by one real estate agent, more than 60 per cent of residential units worth 10 million (Bt477.8 million) or more that were sold in London over the past 12 months went to foreign buyers - mostly Chinese and Middle Eastern. This has shown developers in those countries, who are trying to attract foreign buyers, that they now need to pay attention to Eastern design philosophies, beliefs and cultural prerequisites.
I would not say that I am a superstitious kind of person. But neither would I say that I object to the idea of following instructions and recommendations from those who are into ideologies related to architecture and wellbeing - as long as it makes me and people working with me feel comfortable. Superstition is a very sensitive and personal issue, and how deeply it runs depends on a person's religious and cultural background. I am quite sure that Eastern cultures are where we would find very strong ideas of this kind - even taboos.
Based on my time in the local real-estate industry, feng shui - the Chinese system of laws considered to govern spatial arrangement and orientation - has been with us for a long time and is a key decision-making tool taken into account by Thai people when they buy a home. Some of them might simply make sure their selected plot or unit doesn't conflict with the rules of feng shui, while others go as far as bringing along their own feng shui disciple when first visiting the site.
The art and science of feng shui is becoming more and more important in overseas markets, as well as popular, to the extent that some Western architects who used to ridicule feng shui have become avid followers and offer feng shui consultancy as part of their services. It is clear that over the years since the Western architectural community first encountered feng shui, its practice has made some interior designers very rich indeed. Finally, this Chinese art of spatial arrangement makes sense to them, commercially.
The next wave of Eastern superstition and ancient principle that is gaining momentum in the West embraces the Hindu principles of vastu shastra. For many, it is the "new feng shui". A recent column in one newspaper told how modern architectural and construction firms were embracing this ancient philosophy in the same way as they did feng shui over the past decade. But vastu shastra is being adopted much more rapidly, especially in the UK, where most expensive properties are being snapped up by foreign buyers, mostly from India and the Middle East - where the practice of vastu shastra is rooted in the culture.
According to one source, Indians now make up 10 per cent of buyers in prime central London, so there is no reason why famous UK architectural firms should not adopt these ancient principles, involving the "balance" between five elements: earth, water, air, fire and space, into their design.
The same also goes for property consultants. They are beginning to recognise vastu shastra because they have many Indian clients, so they have had to learn the principles behind it to help them with property searches. They also have to make recommendations to landlords regarding compliance with the vastu shastra principles, in some cases creating lots of water features in their properties.
For me, it is very interesting to see how modern thinking, based on scientific facts and figures, as well as the art of architects, can not only be influenced, but also forced to adopt these ancient principles. It is even more interesting how these different things can be put together - in whatever way - so that it all makes sense.
