Ph.D. candidate in sacred architecture with the topic: “Vastu Shastra for Christian Spirituality”. Oxford (UK)
MA (2010) & BA (2006): Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid. Technical University of Madrid (Spain)
I live between Spain, the United Kingdom and India although now I have a base in Galicia. I started my Vastu training in South India, where I’ve been living for long periods since 2013. It was also in India where I started practicing yoga as a philosophy of life, making me reconnect with my Christian faith thanks to the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda.
My story:
When I was in architecture school, I often wondered how architecture affects people’s health and well-being, beyond the tangible physical space and comfort. After working in big architectural studios of international projection, I ended up feeling disappointed with with the way architecture is being practiced. So I decided to leave everything and travel for 6 months to India, alone, backpacking and ready to live the adventure. I gave myself permission to take a sabbatical break in my career to fully dedicate myself in body and soul to my own interior architecture.
That trip changed my life in all aspects. I fully immersed into the path of kriya yoga, discovered within myself healing skills that was not aware of and fell in love at first sight with Vastu Shastra. I immediately knew that Vastu was what I’ve always been looking for. I intuitively knew it had the answers to all the questions I’ve always had about the transcendental side of architecture. And also, it was the perfect bridge to merge my healing skills with my passion for architectural design, to help people like you on deeper levels.
Academic background:
Research:
I’m currently pursuing a PhD in Oxford (UK) on the role of Vastu Shastra in Christian spirituality. After living and studying in India this architectural art of the Vedas, I still travel there every year for my doctoral research. I received my undergraduate and postgraduate in the Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid and it was in this school where I felt encouraged to see the world with an open minded perspective and to think ‘out of the box’. It was precisely in this school where my first existential questions arose about the psychological and emotional impact of architecture on people’s health and well-being.
Personal experience:
Motivations:
My professional career took a radical turn after traveling for the first time to India in 2013 for 6 months, alone, backpacking and ready to live the adventure. There started to practice yoga and meditation as a philosophy of life and discovered a new architectural concept based on the great spiritual teachings of India, awaking in me a greater interest for my Catholic tradition, specially in Christian mysticism. Since then my personal, spiritual, academic and professional career have been nurturing, evolving and combining each other looking beyond what the eye can see with what the heart can feel.
Profesional experience:
Trajectory:
My wanderlust spirit has led me to live, study and work in England, France, Spain, Italy and India. After working for several years in big British architectural practices of international projection such as Foster + Partners and CTE, Dalalba emerged thanks to a project selected by the business creation department of the Technical University of Madrid in 2010. Its inicial technological idea has changed a lot since then, transforming over the time into a more conscious design practice with the aim of contributing to people’s well-being through space with Vastu Shastra consultations.
I’m a member of…
I carry out my research in the field of sacred architecture with Vastu Shastra with the support of the following centers and associations:
My professional integrity:
I highly respect all cultures, religions and belief systems. I’m a strong advocate of inter-religious dialogue and am delighted to work with believers, non-believers, atheists, agnostics and skeptics. The universality of Vastu and Yoga is beneficial for everyone, so I adapt my way to your needs respecting your beliefs and cultural background.
I don’t sell smoke. Honesty and transparency is part of my nature. Nor I’ll try to sell you services that I really don’t think you need.
I keep maximum discretion and professional confidentiality with your privacy.
Curriculum Vitae
Trajectory:
- 2006 – I finished my studies in Interior Architecture at the Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid (ETSAM) in the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) and decided to move to London to learn English.
- 2007 – In London I find my first job as interior designer in the studio of the prestigious architect Norman Foster (Foster & Partners). There I collaborated for 2 years in the following projects: Audiencia Provincial and in the City of Justice (Madrid), The Bow, office tower in Calgary (Canada), Executive Residence in the School of Management at Yale University (USA).
- 2009 – I move to the south of France where I started to develop the branding image for a new company called Nenha, and ended up being co-founder.
- 2010 – I return to Madrid to study a Master in Digital Communication and Multimedia for Architecture in the ETSAM of UPM and one of my projects is selected by the business department of the university. This is how Dalalba was born.
- 2011 – In Madrid I started to collaborate with the British studio of architecture and masterplaning CTE in different international projects while I continued to attend Nenha’s image and communication work.
- 2013 – I give myself permission to fulfill one of my dreams: travel to India for 6 months, backpacking, alone and ready to live the adventure. I decided to make a break in my professional career to fully dedicate myself to my own interior architecture. There I got fascinated by the traditional architectural tradition of the Vedas and also fully immersed myself in the practice of Yoga, allowing me to see life and architecture with greater integrity and awareness.
- 2014 – Back in Spain, I started to work as a creative manager for Nenha combining it with my activity in Dalalba. In the meantime, I searched for a good teacher in India who could introduce me to Vastu Shastra.
- 2015 – I moved to India with a research scholarship to study Vastu Shastra and geobiology. There I start investigating how architecture affects health and well-being from a Hindu-Christian spiritual perspective.
- 2017 – In India arised the opportunity to take my research to the academic field in Oxford (United Kingdom) so returned to Europe to start a doctorate in the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, in collaboration with Middlesex University and with the support of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, a recognise independent centre of the University of Oxford.