Contemplative Art, Design & Architectural Design
Vivasthu creates meaningful spaces, artworks, objects and experiences that support contemplation, connection and well-being.
Informed by Vaastu Shilpa Shastra and contemporary design inquiry, the work brings enduring principles of silence & light through utility, aesthetics, and inner-delight by honoring the Five Elements into everyday life.
One Practice. Many Expressions.
Vivasthu is a Washington, D.C.-based art, design and architectural design practice founded by Mandira Sareen - an artist, architectural designer and maker.
Working across sacred and everyday spaces, architectural objects, fine art, furniture, exhibitions, installations and participatory experiences, Vivasthu explores how thoughtful creation can deepen our relationship with place, nature and ourselves.
The medium may change, but the intention remains consistent: to create work shaped by profound silence and light, reverence for the Five Elements, and a balance of utility, aesthetics and inner delight.
Sacred Spaces
Spaces for Prayer, Reflection and Inner Stillness
Vivasthu approaches sacred space not only as a dedicated prayer or meditation room, but as a quality that can be cultivated wherever people live, work, gather, travel or move through the world.
Its principles can inform places of many kinds and scales—from homes and workplaces to public buildings, cultural institutions, stadiums, bridges and airports.
Through light, orientation, proportion, material, movement, sound, air, water, artwork and the Five Elements, Vivasthu explores how environments can remain useful and responsive while supporting well-being, connection and inner delight.
This work grows from Mandira Sareen’s longstanding inquiry into contemplative architecture, including her Magi Scholarship proposal, Silence and Light, and her meditation-cabin design, which received an honorable mention in an international architectural competition.
Architectural Objects
Architecture Interpreted Through Paper, Structure and Light
The Paper Architect Hack™ transforms significant buildings, monuments and meaningful places into collectible architectural objects.
Vivasthu also develops bespoke editions, commemorative works, institutional gifts and place-based collections for museums, cultural organizations, corporations, public agencies and private clients.
Each work is approached not simply as a representation of a building, but as an interpretation of structure, memory, material, light and place.
Art and Editions
Contemplative Works Inspired by Nature and the Five Elements
Vivasthu creates original artwork and limited editions intended to bring depth, stillness and renewed connection with the natural world into homes, workplaces and public environments.
The Five Elements series explores earth, water, fire, air and ether through color, atmosphere, material and perception.
Furniture and Contemplative Objects
Objects for Posture, Practice and Meaningful Daily Ritual
Vivasthu develops meditation furniture, seiza stools, altars and contemplative objects through architectural thinking, fabrication, craftsmanship and close attention to the body.
Each object is designed to serve a purpose while bringing beauty, presence and inner delight into daily life.
The seiza stools grew from research into posture, geometry, breathing and inward attention, and were developed through a U.S. provisional patent process.
Workshops and Public Programs
Architecture, Art and Place Through Experience and Making
Vivasthu develops participatory workshops and public programs for museums, schools, corporations, government agencies, cultural organizations and communities.
Programs may explore paper architecture, monuments, sacred art, the Five Elements, sustainability, craftsmanship and the experience of place.
The Five Elements will form the foundation for future sacred-space experiences, exhibitions, installations and workshops through which people can encounter their continuing relevance directly.
Vivasthu collaborates with individuals, institutions, corporations and public organizations to create work rooted in place, purpose and community.
Sacred and reflective environments
The integration of sacred qualities within everyday spaces
Custom architectural editions
Commemorative and donor objects
Commissioned artwork
Museum and retail collections
Furniture and contemplative objects
Public workshops and educational programs
Exhibitions and installations
Cultural and place-based design projects
Selected Work
Across Space, Form and Experience
Vivasthu's work moves between architecture, art, furniture, paper engineering, research and learning. Each project explores how material, light, structure and human experience can come together to create something useful, beautiful and meaningful.
Silence and Light - Magi Scholarship proposal
Meditation Cabin - International architecture competition honorable mention
Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge - Paper Architect Hack™
Five Elements - Ether
V-I Vir and V-II Vajr meditation stools
Workshop, public program or future Five Elements installation
The Meaning of Vivasthu
Vi suggests distinction. Vasthu refers to a site, dwelling, building, ground or place.
The name reflects Vivasthu's commitment to creating distinct and meaningful relationships between people, objects and the spaces they inhabit.
Space. Form. Life.
Vivasthu is informed by Vaastu Shilpa Shastra, a classical Indian tradition concerned with the relationship between space, form, nature and human life.
Its principles consider site, climate, orientation, light, air, water, proportion, material, function and human experience. These concerns remain deeply relevant to contemporary conversations about sustainability, health, well-being and the creation of places that endure.
Vivasthu does not reproduce tradition as a fixed formula. We study and interpret its underlying principles through contemporary art, fabrication, design and architectural inquiry.
The Five Elements
Earth, water, fire, air and ether form a foundational framework within Vivasthu's work.
They inform how we consider material, weight, light, atmosphere, movement, sound, temperature, orientation and human experience. Their relevance extends across art, interiors, architectural design, furniture and the rituals of daily life.
Vivasthu is developing sacred spaces, exhibitions, workshops and installations through which people can experience the Five Elements directly - not as abstract concepts, but as living forces that shape how we inhabit space and understand ourselves.
Our Approach
Listening and Involvement
Every project begins with close attention to the people, place, purpose and context involved.
Research and Making
We listen, read, write, draw and model, allowing ideas to move between traditional craft, fabrication and digital technology.
Climate and Context
Each project responds to its users, environment, materials and long-term impact.
Integrated Thinking
Art, design, architecture, craft, sustainability and technology are brought together rather than treated as isolated disciplines.
Utility. Aesthetics. Inner Delight.
Vivasthu seeks to create work that serves life well, is thoughtfully beautiful, and offers a sense of joy, stillness, belonging or inward resonance.
Founded by Mandira Sareen
Artist. Architectural Designer. Maker. Founder.
Mandira Sareen is an award-winning multidisciplinary designer and founder of Vivasthu LLC. Her work brings together art, sacred architecture, spatial design, sustainability, digital fabrication and craftsmanship.
She holds a Master of Architecture with a concentration in Sacred Architecture and studies in digital fabrication. Her proposal Silence and Light received the Magi Scholarship. She earned her undergraduate degree in Art and Design summa cum laude.
Her meditation-cabin design received an honorable mention in an international architectural competition, and she developed ergonomically designed meditation stools through a U.S. provisional patent process.
Mandira is a Registered Architect in India and a LEED Accredited Professional in the United States. Her professional background includes contemplative environments, adaptive reuse, historic preservation, institutional work, government and corporate interiors, sustainable design and educational programs.
Her perspective has been shaped by living and working across South Asia, West Africa and North America.
Selected Credentials
Scholarship, Recognition and Professional Standing
Master of Architecture - Sacred Architecture
Magi Scholar - Silence and Light
Undergraduate degree in Art and Design - summa cum laude
Registered Architect - Council of Architecture, India
LEED Accredited Professional - United States
International Architecture Competition Honorable Mention - Meditation Cabin
U.S. Provisional Patent Process - Ergonomic Meditation Stool
Interaction Design Recognition
American Craft Council Member
Made in DC Certified
Who We Work With
Vivasthu works across private, cultural, institutional and public contexts.
Individuals and families
Museums and cultural institutions
Corporate organizations
Government agencies
Airports and transportation environments
Educational organizations
Faith and interfaith communities
Retail and hospitality partners
Collections
Objects for Meaningful Living and Places
Explore current and developing collections across architectural paper art, contemplative artwork, furniture and limited editions.
Paper Architect Hack™
Collectible architectural interpretations of significant places.
Five Elements
Original contemplative artwork and limited editions.
Furniture and Objects
Seiza stools, altars and objects for practice and reflection.
Begin a Conversation
Whether you are considering a prayer room, the sacred transformation of an everyday space, a contemplative environment for an institution, a commissioned artwork, a custom architectural object, an exhibition, installation or workshop, the process begins with a conversation.