Science News and Technology News: Top Stories

Maharishi Vastu construction: Natural materials, superior insulation

At Home in Maharishi Vastu Newsletter Translate This Article
17 July 2012

Two ideal systems for building Maharishi Vastu* homes have been put to work in several recent projects in Europe and the US. One of these systems is still virtually unknown in the US though common in Europe, and the other is gaining fans among homeowners, architects and builders in the US.

Many readers have seen this picture and been following on the Friedenspalast Erfurt page on Facebook^® the story of the construction in progress on the Maharishi Peace Palace in Erfurt, Germany.** The first storey of the building utilizes the ideal building method of the MERU Master Builder system. The second storey is being constructed of large bricks, known commercially as Poroton bricks.

These external wall bricks can measure up to 16 inches in thickness and have superior building and insulating qualities. Similar to the Master Builder system panels, they utilize air to create a super insulation. In this case, the brick material is mixed very precisely with sawdust and then fired to a high temperature. In the heating process, the sawdust is dissolved and air pores remain. These enclosed air ''pores'' provide thermal insulation. The porosity of the clay blocks and a carefully designed geometry intelligently reduce heat losses through exterior walls.

Used as the internal wall system, Poroton blocks help control temperature peaks and troughs. High room temperature reached through solar gain is absorbed and stored in the walls. This heat is slowly released back into the room as the surrounding temperature drops. The dual capacity of the bricks to thermally store and insulate can keep a building cool in summer and warm in winter.

Not only does this provide a high degree of insulation, but also promotes the exchange of humidity between indoor and outdoor environments. The bricks maintain the indoor relative humidity and keep wall surfaces dry and room climate comfortable due to their moisture control properties. Poroton bricks have the lowest natural moisture equilibrium of all building materials and are vapor permeable.

These bricks have been available for some time in Europe but are still not manufactured in the US. Take a look at what can be achieved on the level of beauty and symmetry using these bricks and stucco exterior as shown in this example of a Maharishi Vastu home in Holland:

Global Good News will feature the second part of this article, about a similar technology used in the US, parts of the Middle East, China, India, and Australia, as well as Europe.

For more about Maharishi Vastu* architecture, visit: www.maharishivastu.org/

This post appeared in the July 2012 issue of At Home in Maharishi Vastu^®—The Newsletter of Maharishi Vedic Architecture.

Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc.

© Copyright 2012 Maharishi Vastu^® Architecture

Global Good News comment:

* Vastu refers to Vedic architecture—the complete knowledge of design and building in accord with natural law—brought to light from the Vedic literature by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as Maharishi Sthapatya Veda.

** A photo album of the Erfurt Peace Palace is also featured on the Maharishi Vastu page on Facebook.

Translation software is not perfect; however if you would like to try it, you can translate this page using:

(Google)
(Altavista babelfish)