What Your Architect Receives From a Feng Shui Planning Brief

Two roles, clearly separated

The simplest way to describe how I work with an architect on a new build is this: I set the Feng Shui planning requirements, the architect designs, and I review and verify.

I do not design houses, produce architectural drawings, or take any responsibility that belongs to an architect or engineer. The architect does not need to become a Feng Shui practitioner. The planning brief is what connects the two pieces of work.

What goes into the brief

The brief comes from the land assessment and the decisions about how the house should sit on the site. Depending on the project and the agreed scope, it typically covers:

• Planning direction: the overall Feng Shui intent for the house on this particular site.
• Building position considerations: where on the site the house should sit, and what to avoid.
• Sitting and facing requirements: the orientation the design should hold.
• Entrance priorities: where the main entrance should be in relation to the facing and the approach.
• Major internal zoning: the broad arrangement of important areas within the plan.
• Room priorities: considerations for bedrooms, kitchen, staircase and the main living spaces.

The aim is that an architect can read it and understand the requirement without needing to follow the classical reasoning behind every point. The reasoning is explained where it helps, and kept out of the way where it does not.

A useful brief also makes clear which points matter most. Every house is a set of trade-offs, and an architect works better knowing where there is room to balance and where there is not.

What is not in the brief

Just as important is what the brief does not do. It does not include:

• Architectural drawings or design solutions
• Structural or engineering advice
• Planning, building code or statutory compliance advice
• Construction methods, specifications or cost

Those remain with the architect, engineer and project team. Keeping that line clear is what allows the two professions to work together without friction.

How the architect uses it

The architect develops the design taking the Feng Shui requirements into account alongside everything else the house must satisfy: the family's brief, the site, regulations, structure and budget. Sometimes a requirement fits naturally. Sometimes it takes a design conversation to find a solution that works for both.

Architects are welcome to join those discussions. Requirements tend to translate into good design more easily when the architect can ask directly what a point is trying to achieve.

Reviewing the first plan

When the first plan is ready, I review it against the brief. The review checks whether the important requirements have been incorporated correctly: the position and facing, the entrance placement, the key room positions and the major zoning relationships.

Where something needs adjusting, the feedback is written down, so the architect has specific comments to work from rather than a general impression passed on second-hand through the client.

Verifying the revised plan

Plans get revised, and that is normal. A planning authority comments, a structural requirement appears, the budget shifts, or the family has a new idea. Each change is reasonable on its own, but any of them can move a door, turn a room or shift the house on the site.

So after the architect revises the plan, I carry out a Revised-Plan Verification. It checks whether:

• The intended sitting and facing remain
• The agreed building position remains
• The entrance follows the intended strategy
• The major room priorities and zoning relationships remain
• The revisions have introduced a new Feng Shui issue

The outcome is a written verification note. To be precise about what it is: this is Feng Shui verification, not architectural certification or building approval. Structural engineering, statutory compliance, building codes, construction methods and cost remain under the appropriate architect, engineer and project professionals.

What the architect may receive, in summary

Depending on the agreed scope, an architect may receive the Feng Shui planning direction, building position considerations, sitting and facing requirements, entrance priorities, major internal zoning considerations, written plan comments, revision notes and a revised-plan verification note.

If you are the homeowner

Three things make this process run smoothly:

1. Tell your architect early that Feng Shui will be part of the brief, ideally before concept design starts.
2. Share the planning brief with the architect directly, rather than summarising it.
3. Allow time in the programme for the first-plan review and the revised-plan verification, so they do not become a last-minute scramble before construction.

For the complete process, from assessing the land to verifying the revised plan, see Feng Shui Before You Build.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Feng Shui consultant replace the architect?

No. The Feng Shui consultant sets the Feng Shui planning requirements and later reviews and verifies the plans. The architect designs the house and remains responsible for the architecture, working with the engineer and project team on structure, compliance, construction and cost.

What is included in a Feng Shui planning brief for an architect?

Depending on scope, a planning brief typically covers the Feng Shui planning direction, building position considerations, sitting and facing requirements, entrance priorities, major internal zoning and priorities for key rooms such as bedrooms, kitchen and staircase. It does not include drawings, engineering or compliance advice.

Is revised-plan verification the same as building approval?

No. Revised-plan verification is a Feng Shui check that the agreed planning direction has been preserved in the revised plan. It is not architectural certification or building approval; engineering, statutory compliance, building codes, construction methods and cost remain with the relevant professionals.