Office Feng Shui
Issue 24 - Oct 06

Examples of Feng Shui abound in Hong Kong and many companies subscribe to its principles in order to
help maximise business potential. But just how do
designers and Feng Shui consultants work together
to create ‘good’ Feng Shui in workplace design?
Nina Wallace reports.

Surrounded by mountains and water, Hong Kong has always been a very auspicious place, according to macro Feng Shui principles. The mountains, referred to as Dragons, are said to contain and maintain the positive wealth chi (energy) and the water is said to then disperse this energy, so that prosperity fl ows well, in and around Hong Kong, creating a wealthy environment. Feng Shui, literally translated as “wind and water”, is the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony with the environment. And whilst it is not a decorating style, many companies in Hong Kong use the discipline and its guidelines in their offi ce designs to create an environment that is said to have ‘good’ Feng Shui.

Feng Shui masters can give advice about the Feng Shui of offi ces or commercial spaces at any time. However, Feng Shui teacher and consultant Jill Lander, who has lived in Hong Kong for more than 30 years, says it is “absolutely” benefi cial to be brought in at the design stage when working on corporate offi ces. Apart from the fact that it makes the energy “purer and more effi cient”, she says “it is much better to be able to start with a plain board, rather than go in and try to fi x it”. Lynne Poelmann, Managing Director of Hong Kong-based interior design consultancy Poelmann Chan agrees: “We normally always recommend that a Feng Shui consultant becomes involved as soon as
possible”. Some of its clients even bring one in before they confi rm a site, although this is not normally the case.

Initially, many MNCs feel they do not need a Feng Shui consultant but as they receive staff feedback, says Poelmann, they often end up hiring one. Poelmann Chan has Feng Shui consultants involved in varying degrees on around 70 percent of its projects and on numerous occasions has had to change the offi ce designs, whether it be the entire layout or something more specifi c, such as the colour scheme.

Primarily, clients will seek Lander out when their business is not doing particularly well. Poelmann says negative sentiment from staff in terms of Feng Shui could be a catalyst for seeking a redesign. Often, “bringing in a Feng Shui consultant makes people feel psychologically happier”, says Poelmann, and there are many aspects of the practice that make sense under any principles. Lander says some examples of confi gurations that induce bad Feng Shui within the offi ce include:

•• Sitting under a structural beam, which can give you headaches and neck pain,
particularly if your desk is not ergonomically designed for you.
•• Sitting at the end of an offi ce or corridor is considered negative, as by the time
energy reaches here it can become stagnant.
•• Sitting with your back to the door can insight offi ce politics or backstabbing and leaves you very vulnerable.
•• Open bookshelves omit Sha Chi (negative cutting energy).
•• Something sharp pointing towards you, such as a structural column, is also said to cut energy.
•• Sitting with your back to the window leaves a person feeling as though they have no support.
•• Poelmann adds that it is better to have a rectangular shaped office, as opposed to an L-shape, which is said to create bad Feng Shui.

Lander says that “structurally, a lot of people shy away from Feng Shui because they say it’s either too complicated, too expensive or too impractical”. This is something she agrees with and says if a client has a property from which they cannot afford to move, then there are always ways around this.

No one likes to be exposed, says Lander, which is why, for example, “if you have
your back to the door, you automatically want to keep turning”. She adds that the
practice of Feng Shui aims to create an “armchair effect” that leaves a person feeling comfortable. Lander says some ways to alleviate bad Feng Shui include:
•• Installing blinds at the window if you have your back to it, which improves
concentration through added support.
•• Having closed-in furniture, similar to traditional Chinese antiques, or glassed
cabinets, instead of open book shelves.
•• Colour is also important, although this is what Lander refers to as “the Estee
Lauder of Feng Shui”. She says it is more important to get to the basics, as “there’s no use putting make-up on bad skin, it only gets more irritated”.
•• Too much artifi cial light can have signifi cant effects on health. Fluorescent
lighting in Hong Kong offi ces is common and one way to tackle this is simply to
remove one of the three light tubes, leaving adequate light.
•• Poelmann adds that a false wall can be used to hide structural columns, so as to eliminate protruding corners.
•• Popular Feng Shui elements to add to the office include a water feature at
reception. However, a decent one can be diffi cult to install and they are often
expensive and require ongoing maintenance, says Poelmann.
•• She also adds that certain objects positioned for Feng Shui, such as coins, can be placed in the ceiling or under the carpet.

the Feng Shui seating plan
From a designer’s perspective, the direction desks need to face in an offi ce can be challenging in terms of layout. Poelmann says in Hong Kong, people will
often walk into an offi ce and wonder why a desk is in a certain position when, for example, the power points are “all the way over there”. On a couple of Poelmann
Chan’s projects, the Feng Shui consultant required all desks be facing in a certain direction, which she says “is very diffi cult to achieve”. In one instance,
Poelmann’s designers were told desks had to face one direction for that particular year and then for the next year it had to change again.

On another project the consultant said all desks had to be positioned in the middle of the room. This is alright for a big managing director’s offi ce where you have a few hundred sqf to play with, says Poelmann, however, the general manager’s offi ce might be just 100 to 120 sqf, which means there are limited places to put that desk. Lander says that birth-data of staff is very
important in determining seating arrangements, as from their year of birth a Feng Shui consultant can give them four main directions that will enhance them in regard to their potential, health and relationships. There are also
areas that should be avoided altogether.

The landlord of a newly renovated building can charge higher rents
because Feng Shui principles have been applied. Lander identifi es IFC 2 as one of the most auspicious buildings in Hong Kong for Feng
Shui principals and the way that it is built.

Feng Shui and site selection
The location of an offi ce within a building is also important and Feng Shui consultants will conduct an audit to determine any vulnerable
areas. For example, says Lander, if you are occupying the Western
sector of any building this year, you are vulnerable to sickness.
She says depending on “personal destiny”, some people may only
be affected by head-colds, fevers, lack of productivity and days off sick, whilst those people who are very vulnerable may have more severe cases of sickness. This has to do with certain energies that enter a building each year at the turn of Chinese New Year.

starting from the construction phase
Most buildings in Hong Kong are built to Feng Shui principles, says Lander, and at the time of construction, there is a particularly auspicious direction that will suit
that building for the next 20 years. In 2004, a new 20-year cycle of Feng Shui began that will last until 2023, which is why many places were under renovation in 2003. Lander says: “Depending on the maintenance and renovation,
a building can hold its energy but it can never be as potent as within the 20 years it was built.” She adds that the landlord of a newly renovated building can
charge higher rents because Feng Shui principles have been applied. Lander identifi es IFC 2 as one of the most auspicious buildings in Hong Kong for Feng
Shui principals and the way that it is built.

black spots
There are also certain buildings that are always considered ‘bad’ in terms of Feng Shui, says Poelmann. However, she adds that “in the current market, there’s not much of a choice for companies to stay away from these”. She knows of a particular building in Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan District, which has always been said to have bad Feng Shui. One client, located there, employed a Feng Shui consultant, who found a number of ‘black spots’, where the consultant determined people should not be working. Avoiding these so-called black spots, caused another of Poelmann Chan’s clients to reposition its trading fl oor; supposedly it was bad Feng Shui to be facing the satellite dish on the podium level below. Poelmann says designers need to fi nd alternative uses
for these spaces, such as a machine room, fi ling space or meeting room. However, she adds that a Feng Shui consultant would always advise you never to sign important documents in a meeting room located in a ‘black spot’.

Feng Shui consultants also look at dates for starting on site or commencing operations, says Poelmann. However, these dates do not always suit the client and in order to get around this, one client, a big bank, simply made sure it switched on a computer and was able to use a phone on that day, which “met the needs for having started operations on that day”.



getting the benefi t of the consultant’s advice
Lander says there is nothing that she would suggest that did not have a
value and adds it is up to the client as to whether they want to take this
advice. However, she adds that if a client chooses not to go with
her suggestions, then “I can’t say my job is complete… You’ll get a
result but it may not be as quick or as long lasting”. Lander says that
“structurally, a lot of people shy away from Feng Shui because they say it’s either too complicated, too expensive or too impractical”. This is something she agrees with and says if a client has a property from which they cannot afford to move, then there are always ways around this.

Poelmann says a positive aspect of working with a Feng Shui consultant is giving people peace of mind but adds that “it’s not nice when you go back in and
you see something has been added that is actually quite gruesome looking”. Feng Shui can also make a designer’s job more challenging, says Poelmann. “You can’t fi ght it, you just have to work with it and not make an issue out of it.” She adds that many people in Hong Kong have a strong belief in Feng Shui and even Poelmann Chan uses it “extensively” throughout its own office. RFP

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