SELF-STUDY REPORT

Ishani Dayal
14bar013
 Content

Introduction

Regional Context

Philosophical Foundation

Genesis

Mirra Alfassa (The mother)

Design and Implementation

The Past

Matrimandir

Construction and Material

Understanding the building techniques practiced in infrastructure features

Live Building Studies

Governing Bodies

Problems Identified

Suggestions
When mind is still, then truth

gets her chance to be heard

in the purity of silence.

-Sri Aurobindo-
 Auroville is located in Vanur Taluk, Villuppuram district, in the state of

Tamil Nadu. The centre of Auroville is located at a distance of 150 km, south of

Chennai, 12km. North of Puducherry, around 7 km, from east coast road and

5km from NH66 (Tindivinam highway).

The Vanur Block is one of 22 blocks in the Villupuram-Ramasamy Padiyachar

District in Tamil Nadu, south. This block, located along the Corromandel Coast

covers 45 000 square kilometres. The Vanur Block is an approximately

contiguous watershed; and this ‘bio region ‘can be defined by the large marsh,

Kaluveli Tank, to the north, the Bay Bengal to the east,

Pondicherry City to the south, and Ousteyri Lake to the west.

The “outlying lands “are located within a 7 km. radius from the

centre Auroville, and include the following village Panchayats.

Population of Auroville consisting of resident - Aurovilians has increased from 320

in 1972 to 676 in 1980; presently it is 2400.

 REGIONAL CONTEXT
Development of the Auroville Township and the growth of its surrounding region

are linked to each other inextricably. Over the last decade, the Puducherry

region (including the districts of Viluppuram and Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu) has

witnessed a significant increase in population, reflected by the growth rate of

nearly 20 percent between 2091 and 2011. Growth challenges relating to

demographic and population shift and increased development pressure on lands

surrounding Auroville is a real threat today. Puducherry and the surrounding districts of
Cuddarole and Viluppuram including Auroville span a total Area of roughly 2,500sqkms., and
constitute an extremely distinct region rich environmental resources, ecological biodiversity
and cultural heritage thus, trivialising the lines that mark the administrative boundaries that
divide them. Within this region are 4 majors urban centres Puducherry, Cuddalore,
Viluppuram and Tindivanam and over 500 villages.

PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATION

In 1954, Mirra Alfassa also known as the mother, published her well-known text ‘A Dream’. In
it she described “a place shares the relations among human beings, usually based almost
exclusively upon competition and strife, would be replaced by relations of emulation for
doing better”, for collaboration relations of real brotherhood. She envisioned Auroville as a
universal township, to give concrete form to Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy of human unity and
evolution. However, just as mind emerged
out of life the ‘super mind’ that the
perfection dreamed of by mankind can
manifest.

Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy provided the

conceptual framework and the interpretation
of his teachings by the mother “furnished
the pragmatic application for the
formation of the Auroville”. In a message to UNESCO the mother wrote “Auroville is meant to
hasten the advent of the supra-mental Reality upon earth.” Her vision of this international
township was a centre for transformation that in time would be an example to the world.

Once the project of Auroville gained support and sponsorship from the Indian government and
UNESCO architects started designing the dream city ln barren and arid land located in Tamil
Nadu, India. Lead notes, “The mother argued that for Auroville to live up to its mandate to find
loving solutions to global problems to locate it in the midst of severe environmental and social
problems was appropriate an opportunity. Locating it in a developed country would leave so much
undone.”

GENESIS
On 28 February 1968, for the inauguration ceremony of Auroville,127 representatives from
124 nations and 23 Indian states placed handfuls of earth from their native lands in an urn
situated at the centre of the township. It symbolized the creation of the city and its goal of
human unity. On this day, the mother read in French the aspiration of the ideal city in the
four-point ‘charter of Auroville’:

• Auroville belongs to nobody

in particular.
• Auroville belongs to
humanity as a whole. But to
love in Auroville one must be
the willing servitor of the
Divine Consciousness.
• Auroville will be the place of
an unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages.
• Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future.
• Taking advantage of all discoveries from without and from within, Auroville will
boldly spring towards future realizations.
 • Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living
embodiment of an actual human unity.

The city is being planned

and designed to house
50,000 inhabitants from
around the world. At
present Auroville is an
emerging township of
over 2400 residents,
representing 49 countries
from all age groups,
social backgrounds and
cultures. 130 (NB: Though established in India, two-third of Aurovilians are non-Indians). The
charter identifies Auroville as a place for endless learning and experimentation (at all levels-
individual, collective, academic, social, economic and spiritual). This gives Aurovilians
abundant freedom and scope to excel internally and externally. The former involves
discovering and fulfilling their individual spiritual goals and ideals in the material existence. The
latter involves building and developing the township and also trying to practice the ideals of
the charter in reality.

MIRRA ALFASSA (The mother)

The French born Mitra
Alfassa, who found Auroville
in 1968, was among these.
After visiting Sri Aurobindo in
1914, she returned in 1920 to
support Sri Aurobindo in his
vision and practice of
Integral Yoga. Taking on all
of the practical aspects of
managing the people who flocked to be near the increasingly recluse Sri Aurobindo, she
became known as "The Mother," and established Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1927 – a residential,
spiritual homestead for those who wished to devote themselves to a spiritual life of practice.
Following Sri Aurobindo's passing in 1950 (three years after India achieved independence on
his birthday, 15 August) the Mother registered the Sri Aurobindo society under the Societies
Registration Act with the aim of promoting the ideals of Integral Yoga and the "attainment of
a spiritualised society as envisioned by Sri Aurobindo," in 1960.

"There should be somewhere on earth a place which no nation could claim as its own, where all human
beings of goodwill who have a sincere aspiration could live freely as citizens of the world and obey one
single authority, that of the supreme Truth."

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

(THE CITY, PRECINCT, NEIGHBOURHOOD AND IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS)

The Mother appointed Roger Anger, a French architect, to design the city, based on her
original 1965 conception. The city is designed in the shape of the spiral galaxy divided into 4
zones radiating out of the Matrimandir. The International, Cultural, residential and
Industrial.

• The international zone is the nucleus of

global human unity and the site for national
and cultural pavilion of the world. As of now
the Indian and Tibetan pavilions have been
built. Other active pavilion groups include
Africa house, the house of Americas, Asian
Unity, the European Plaza, the Mediterranean
Space, as well as those of Scandinavia, Britain,
Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy,
Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Philippines, Russia, Spain, Slovenia, Switzerland, US and the
pavilion if Chinese culture 133 these 24 pavilion representations aim to help individuals
become aware of the core genius of the respective countries and simultaneously understand
and respect the genius of others.
• The cultural zone serves as a place for continuous education and comprises institutions and
research centre related to education, arts and sports.
• The residential zone consists of the residential community buildings, meeting spaces,
creches, a health centre and the other utility needs.
• Finally, the industrial zine facilities Aurovilleʼs economic development, limited to
manufacturing services and other eco-friendly industries.

Spread across the zones, the Auroville

community currently encompasses over
one hundred settlements(sub-
communities). Around these zones lies
the green belt -the environmental
research and sustainable rural
development area that includes farms,
diaries, forestry, a botanical garden,
medicinal and herbal plantations, water
management stations and bio-reserves.
As for the activities of community
members, they engage in educational research, small scale industries, village development,
community services, healthcare, organic agriculture, water management administration and
cultural activities.

The urban and environmental design of Auroville is reflective of its founding ideology. First
and foremost, that at its centre would exist an area of spiritual contemplation and practice,
the ultimate aim of Auroville being one of spiritual realisation. The Matrimandir was designed
by Roger Anger, the building was recently completed (2008), while work on gardens is still in
progress and the lake is projected. Aurovilians, Newcomers, Guests, Volunteers and Visitors all
have free access to the Matrimandir, at select times, for elective and unprescribed quiet
meditation practice. As per the Mother's directive, to deter from religionism and its distraction
from an inner spirituality, there are no organised collective meditations, rites or objects of rite
(images, incense, flowers, invocations, etc).
 THE PAST

In the late 1960ʼs, the site chosen for Auroville consisted of arid and severally eroded terrain.
“Over two million trees have been planted “since then erosion control measures stabilised
the soil. Current city grounds are no longer dry and arid, but filled with dense vegetation.”

As for the activities of community members, they engage in educational research, small-scale
industries, village development, community services, healthcare, organic agriculture, water
management, administration and cultural activities. They are all volunteers “who either
receive a basic monthly ‘maintenance ‘, in cash or kind, of pay for themselves partly or
entirely from their own resources as a contribution to the project.” Furthermore, Auroville is
a place of research and experimentation for humanity as a whole in diverse field such as
agriculture, energy generation and sustainable practices 140.The Auroville centre for scientific
research (AV-CSR) and the Auroville building centre (AV-BC) continued to gain prominence
global energy. In addition, many of the houses are constructed by residents, made out of either
compressed mud bricks, or recycled or natural materials.

Matrimandir construction from 1968 to 2006

 MATRIMANDIR
Unlike most cities, the heart of Auroville is not a boisterous

or chaotic centre, but a ‘Peace zone’ and place of quietude

and harmony. In it stands Matrimandir, the ‘soul of the

city’: a large golden sphere - like structure symbolising the

worth of a new consciousness.

Matrimandir means the ‘temple of the mandir ‘.

According to Sri Aurobindo, the ‘mother’ concepts
stand for the great evolutionary, conscious and
intelligent principle of life, the Universal Mother -
which seeks human progress beyond present
limitations into “the next step of it evolutionary adventure, the supramental
consciousness.” 131 in the globe is an inner chamber for meditation, the middle of which is a
crystal ball (of 70cm diameter). Vrekhem describes the crystal as projecting “a ray of light
directly into the core of your being, in a harmonious room of material purity- one can give
all kinds of interpretation to it or simply undergo the unworldly beauty of the place. The
Matrimandir cannot be explained. “

Significance of
these twelve
gardens as a
whole:
Though the
Mother did not
say it explicitly
these gardens as
a whole seem to
represent what
the Mother calls
“the twelve
Powers of the Mother manifested for her work”.
Sri Aurobindo explained that these “12 powers are the vibrations that are necessary for
the complete manifestation”.

It is probably because “the manifestation” is not yet “complete” and all these powers and
vibrations haven’t “manifested” fully as yet that the Mother said that these twelve gardens
must “be an expression of that consciousness which we are trying to bring down”. This
explains also why the architect keeps on stressing that these gardens will evolve with the
consciousness of the Aurovilians.

CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS

"Pondicherry is an old 18th century town one hundred miles south of Madras on the Indian
Ocean, and the seat of Sn Aurobindo Ghosh, one of India's foremost spiritual teachers.

Salt winds blow from the sea, there are typhoons and periods of rainy weather, but mostly
there is a blazing sun and the climate is hot and damp. The problem before the Architect,
Antonio Raymond, was to design a Guest House for the disciples of the Ashram which would
living and sleeping accommodation,
workrooms, and utility rooms and
design it in a way to keep the as cool as
possible, without mechanical aid.

Raymond has solved the problem by

covering the entire wall surface with
operable, horizontal louvres which
afford protection against the sun and
the wind, but allow ventilation. The body of the building is of reinforced concrete, left natural
except for white plaster on the end blank walls. The building achieves architectural distinction
by thorough integration of plan, structure and final design. The fundamental principles of
architecture are simplicity, economy, directness, and closeness to nature were constantly and
consistently observed. "

UNDERSTANDING THE BUILDING TECHNIQUES PRACTICED IN

INFRASTRUCTURE FEATURES:
● Compressed earth blocks

● Ferro cement

● Wattle and Daub with wooden shingles

● Domes and Vaults in brick

● Vaulted roof with terracotta tubes

● Rammed earth walls

● Roofing with terracotta hollow blocks

● Filler slab with terracotta pots

● Precast rafters and tiled roof

i. COMPRESSED EARTH BLOCKS

Compressed earth blocks are
small masonry elements, parallel
piped in shapes, but the common
dimensions of which differ from
those of hand-moulded earth
blocks or of fired bricks and vary
depending on the type of specially
developed presses or moulds
used. Two mains criteria must,
however, be taken into account
when determining a compressed earth blocks and dimensions, which should above all be
suited to the great degree of flexibility in use which is one of the great qualities of this
building material. These are:

● On the one hand the weight of the block bearing in mind that they are solid blocks which

are principally used in masonry,

● On the other hand, the work (or nominal) dimensions of length (l), width (w) and height

(h) which will determine bonding patterns. For this reason, as a rule, compressed earth

block production has mainly used dimensions consistent with a unit weight in the order

of 6 to 8 kg and with the possibility of buildings walls 15, 30 or 45 cm thick.

There are 4 main families of blocks.

● Solid blocks these are mainly prismatic in shape. They fulfil very widely differing function.

● Hollow blocks generally the voids of hollow blocks account for a total of 5 to 10%, and to

30% using sophisticated techniques. Voids can improve the adherence of the mortar and

reduce the weight of the block.

● Certain hollow blocks can be used to build ring-beams.

● Perforated blocks these are light but required fairly sophisticated moulds and greater

compressive force. They are suitable for reinforced masonry (in earthquake areas).

● Interlocking blocks these can be assembled without mortar, but they require

sophisticated moulds and highly compressive force. They are often used for non-load

bearing structures.
ASPECTS OF UTILISATION

● The position of the compressed earth block relative to other masonry materials can be

established according to aspects of use of the material.

● Technical aspects its mechanical, static, hydrous, physical etc characteristics.

● Economic aspects unit production cost, capital investment, etc.

● Health and safety aspects the emission of dangerous fumes, radioactivity etc.

● Psychological aspects the nature of the material, surface texture, color, shape,

luminosity, etc

● Ecological aspects deforestation, the hollowing out of hillsides as a result of quarrying,

use of water and energy sources, production of pollution and waste material etc.

● Social aspects economic and social spin-off resulting from job creation, socio-cultural

acceptability, etc.

● Institutional aspects legislation, insurance, norms, development policies linked to the

setting up of productive industries, etc.

ii. FERRO CEMENT

Ferro cement is a type of thin wall reinforced concrete, commonly constructed of hydraulic
cement mortar, reinforced with closely spaced layers of continuous and relatively small size
wire mesh may be made of metallic or other suitable materials.

o Cement mortar is reinforced with layers of continuous and small diameter wire mesh
o Mortar provides the mass and wire mesh imparts tensile strength and ductility
o Italian engineer Pier Liugie Nervi is credited with inventing Ferro cement in the
1940' s

MATERIALS USED IN FERRO CEMENT

o Cement mortar mix

o Skeleton steel
o Steel mesh reinforced or Fibre-reinforced polymeric meshes

CEMENT MORTAR MIX

● OPC and fine aggregate matrix is used

● The matrix constitutes 95% of the

composite and governs its behaviour

● FA (sand), occupies 60 to 75% of the volume

of the mortar

● Plasticizers and other admixtures are used

MIX PROPORTIONS

● Sand: cement ratio (by mass) 1.5 to 2.5

● Water: cement ratio (by mass) 0.35 to 0.60

SKELETON STEEL

● Forms the skeleton of the structure

● 3 to 8 mm steel rods are used

● Used in the form of tied reinforcement or welded wire fabric

● Used to impart structural strength in case of boats, barges etc

● Reinforcement should be free from dust, rust and other impurities

STEEL MESH REINFORCEMENT

● Consists of galvanised steel wires of diameter 0.5 to 1.5 mm, spaced at 6 to 20 mm

 centre to centre.

● Available as woven/Interlocking mesh and welded mesh.

● Welded wire mesh has hexagonal or rectangular openings.

● Expanded-metal lath is also used.

● Made from carbon, glass etc.

iii. WATTLE AND DAUB WITH WOODEN SHINGLES

The wattle is made by
weaving thin branches
(either whole, or more
usually spilt) or slat
between upright
stakes. The wattle may
be made in place to
form the whole of a
wall. In different
regions, the material of
wattle can be different.

Daub is usually created form a mixture of ingredients from three categories: binders
aggregates and reinforcement. Binders hold the mix together and can include clay, lime,
chalk dust and limestone dust. Aggregates give the mix it's bulk and dimensional stability
through materials, and helps to hold the mix together as well as to control shrinkage and
provide flexibility.

The daub may be mixed by hand, or by

treading either by number or livestock. It is
then applied to wattle and allowed to dry,
and often then white washed to increase its
resistance to rain. Sometimes there can be
more than one layer of daub.
This process has been replaced in modern architecture by lath and plaster, a common
building material for wall and ceiling surfaces, in which a series of nailed wooden strips are
covered with plaster smoothed into a flat surface. In many regions this building method has
itself been overtaken by drywall construction using plasterboard sheets.

iv. DOMES AND VAULTS IN BRICK

MASONRY VAULTS
In historic masonry building, vaults are used as proof or
floor to enclose space. The strength of a vault depends on
how the units forming the vault are assembled. The
construction of a vault may be of arch assembles, each
arch leaning back against the previous one or enchantment
of masonry units making a continuous vault surface. In
either case, due to their three-dimensional extension, they
have great strength in distributing imposed loads laterally.
Although the vault forms look similar, the surfaces that
constitute a vault may have different characteristics. The
behaviour of each surface is different the form is
cylindrical, comic, torus, conoid or elliptic parabolic.
These are singly or doubly curved surface. Singly curved vault surface, cylindrical and conic
surface are singly curved surfaces where one of the principals is curve, like and arch, and the
other is straight line.
VAULTS- SINGLY CURVED
A cylindrical surface is a
translational surface
where a curve profile,
generated, moves parallel
to itself, along a line,
directrix. It is as if an arch
extended laterally. Such a
surface is masonry
building is called simple
barrel vault. The rising
profile constituting the
surface may be circular,
parabolic, elliptic, pointed
or derived from any other kind of a curve.

So, one of the principle curvatures of this surface will always be a circular. In singly curved
vault surfaces, the principle stresses along the curve will always be compressive and the
inclined thrusts at edge require enough mass of supporting system.

The behaviour of such vault depends upon its supports condition. If the vault is supported
continuously along it's longitudinal axis, it's behaves like a series of independent arches parallel
to one another and principle stresses on the surface will be one directional.

TYPES OF MASONRY DOMICAL VAULTS

To span over rectangular bays, the vault

domes or rotational surfaced domes were
used in historical structures. The vault domes
were obtained with the intersection of
vaults as cloister vault and groin vault or
with ribbed domes.
 CLOISTER VAULT GROIN VAULT RIBBED VAULT

Cloister vault is formed by the intersection of two or more vaults forming a ridge at the
intersection. Composition of a cloister vault may be of one of the vault surfaces or may be
composed of different forms. No matter how it is compressed, each surface carriers its own
characteristics.

Groin vault is obtained by the intersection of the two or more cylindrical of two or more
cylindrical vaults forming diagonal arches over the space to be covered. So, instead of
continuous boundaries, they have widely spaces corner supports. The open periphery of the
groin vault necessitates a stiffener as an arch or a quadrant dome.

Buttressing forces are required to stabilize these diagonal ribs. When they are aligned one
after another, the components of the thrusts are cancelled outs by equals thrusts in adjacent
bays excepts the two ends. The ribbed vaults with webs in between also bring all loads to
separated points. The ribs that stiffen and carry the web vaults act as a free-standing arch. The
vault web between the adjacent ribs behaves as groin vaults. The web vault's form may be of
any vault surface.

v. VAULTED ROOF WITH TERRACOTTA TUBES

Roofing with guns tubes is a variation of the vault and is achieved by substituting the
standard materials used to execute the curve, instead of voussoiring type masonry. This
method is unique since an element called 'guns tube' is used which consists of tapering
 conical, burnt clay pipes adapting
them to come together, socket into
one another and stacked in a
curved form along the centring
formwork. A series of such arches
make a barrel vault capable of
withstanding considerable loads.
The top of the roof is given a later
finish. After joints are filled and
topped with plaster, the roof
becomes rigid and water proof, doing totally without steel or timber. Air inside the hollow-tile
proof protects from heat and old. It is fabricated and ready for use within three days and
requires no maintenance having a life span of more than 50 years. Being light in weight these
variations of the vault roof is safe even in earthquake prone areas.

Due to all these

advantages, this method
has been used, by
various architects in the
Auroville experiment.
This type is also called
'warshaw roof's
incorporating a
centenary arch profile,
obtained via suspension
due to gravitational
forces, which is more effective than a circle segment. also, alternate bows are laid in reverse
directions to each other such that the tapering of the timbers or tubes opposes the adjacent
row, in order to reduce the gaps to the minimum. Having applied 1:4cement plaster the
finishing of this roof can be refined using a china mosaic with broken glazes tile.
Aesthetically and economically the viability of this roofing technique is rather impressive
materials.
GUNA TILES

The most ingenious

feature of the csv
(Centre of Science for
Villages) model is the
timber less roof or the
' Guna ' roof -- ' Guna ' in
Telugu means a burnt
clay tapering pipe.
Splitting this pipe into
two results in semi-
circular pan-like tiles.
These ' Guna s' can be socketed into one another, forming an arch over a suitably curved
shuttering. A series of such arches can make a barrel-shaped vault which is capable of
withstanding considerable loads. After the joints are filled and topped with plaster, it becomes
rigid and waterproof. The entire roof does not incorporate any high tensile material like steel
or timber. Following are the advantages:

• Air inside the hollow-tiled roof protects from heat

and cold. A 10o temperature difference is felt.
• Observed in slab roof and guns vault roof.
• It has no under structure, yet can bear weight of
1000kg/m2.
• It is fabricated and ready for use within 3 days.
• Requires no maintenance and has life span of more
than 50 years.
• It is not affected by rain, hail or wind.
• Being light in weight. The vault roof is safe even in
earthquake.
• Even if the mud walls collapse, the roof remains
intact residing on pillars and beams.
vi. RAMMED EARTH WALLS

Rammed earth is a technique used in the building of the walls using the raw materials of the
earth, chalk, lime and gravel. It is an ancient building method that has seen a revival in recent
years as people seek more sustainable building material and natural
building methods. Rammed earth walls are simple to construct,
incombustible to water damage. Traditional, rammed earth binding
are found in every continent except Antarctica from the temperate
and wet regions of northern Europe to semi-dry deserts, mountains
are and the tropics.

The compressive strength of rammed earth can be up to 4.3 Mpa.

This is less than that is a similar thickness of concrete, but more than
strong enough for use in domestic buildings. Indeed, properly built rammed earth can with
stand loads for thousands of years, a many still-standing ancient structures around the world
attest. Rammed earth using re-bar, wood or bamboo reinforcements can prevent failure
caused by earthquake or heavy storms.
vii. ROOFING WITH TERRACOTTA HOLLOW BLOCKS
Since the heat gain
from the roof is the
highest, if the filler
slab could be done
using hollow
materials, we get
multiple advantages -
passive solar cooling
where the voids
reduce the heat
transfer, lesser roof weights thanks to the hollowness, different looks when seen from
the room below, reduced sound transmission between the floors thanks to the voids in
between and reduction of steel consumption considering greater distances between
them. Once the roof centring in complete, it is levelled by a layer of stabilized mud or
very weak cement mortar. First the roof centring is complete, it is levelled by a layer of
stabilized mud or very weak cement mortar. First the roof blocks are placed end to end
as per the structural engineer design, placing them closely and compactly. The minor
gaps in between are sealed with the same lean mortar to reduce curing water flowing
down after the roof casting. These blocks come with specific space to run the steel
rods, in both the direction as required by room spans. A layered of thin steel rods is
placed onto top, electric conduits are tied and the roof is concreted as usual. The
Hourdi block is also
used as the hollow
material, which is
produced by the
Auram press 3000 is
used to create
floors and roofs
(available locally).
viii. FILLER SLAB WITH TERRACOTTA POTS
Filler slabs are the one cost-effective
roofing system which is based on the
concrete portions and instead placing
filler material there.
The filler slab is based on the principle
that for roofs which are simply
supported, the upper part of the slab is
subjected to compressive forces and the
lower
part of
the slab

experience tensile forces.

Concrete is very good in withstanding compressive
forces and steel bears the load due to tensile forces.
Thus, the lower tensile region of the slab does not need
any concrete except for holding steel reinforcements
together. The filler slabs result in fewer loads getting
transferred to the load-bearing walls and the foundations. The air gap in between the
tiles makes it a good heat insulator and the ceiling looks attractive as well. Moreover,
the filler slab also provides insulation (Compared to conventional RCC slab) from the
hot climate outside the building, providing thermal comfort to the user.

Materials used: Bricks,

tiles, cellular concrete
blocks, pots, waste bottles
 The following points to be kept in mind for filler
material selection:

• Filler material should be inert in nature, shouldn’t

react with concrete or steel in RCC slab
constructed.
• Filler material water absorption should be
checked for as it will soak the hydatic water from
concrete.
• Filler material should be of a size and cross-
section, which can be accommodate within the
spacing of the reinforcement and also thickness
wise could be accommodated within cross-section
of the slab.
• Filler material texture should match with the
desired ceiling finish requirements so as not to
provide an ugly ceiling pattern.

Insulating the roof top with inverted earthen pot is an easy and cost-effective method to reduce solar gain. The roof is covered by
inverted earthen pots, the top of earthen pot can be covered with a layer of earth or lime mortar finish or can be left uncovered also.
Earthen pots painted with white paints further reduce the heat load.

Promoting sustainability Better Aesthetics

and green concept CO2 Reduction

Advantages

Promoting reuse of Considerable cost saving

materials Embodied energy
Better insulation reduction
LIVE BUILDING STUDIES

GOLCONDA HOUSE (The First Modernist Building in India)

It’s a block of high, obscure concrete walls. No name, no signage, just a wooden door with a
tiny lotus symbol engraved on it. We walked in, left my shoes at a rack, felt the soles of my
feet on the cool stone floors, and looked upon Golconde. The first reinforced concrete
construction in India, beautifully aligned to the tropical climate, built not just to house the
disciples of a spiritual guru but also to enhance their meditative experience. It was the
Mother who envisioned Golconde as a home for members of the community, and contacted
Tokyo-based Czech architect Antonin Raymond to design it.

Raymond wrote, “the purpose of the dormitory was not

primarily the housing of the disciples; it was the creating
of an activity, the materialization of an idea, by which the
disciples might learn, might experience, might develop,
through contact with
the erection of a fine
building.”
SPACES

3 Floors with a semi-basement

Number of rooms: 51

Room Area: 22m^2

Total Built up Area: 600m^2 on each floor

Plot Area: 2324m^2

FAR: 0.774

Orientation: Longer side facing 20°E of South

Provisions of filtered water and hot water

LAYOUT

Long side facing ESE at an angle to the street.

Western sun is shut off.

Gardens are attractively laid out and being enclosed,

become cloistered with cool and green ambience free from
noise and dust.

STRUCTURE

Independent column footing in high strength R.C.C. with all concrete surfaces left from
finished without plaster.

Vertical are correct within 3 mm off the

plumb giving perfect but joints.

Roof and stabs are laid on brick partition

walls and cantilevered for corridors.
 R.C.C roof with pre-cast curved tiles on the top with a
ventilated air space over the deck.

DOORS

Rooms are separated from the corridor by sliding doors that

allow air to circulate freely when open. They have staggered
slats which allow vents even the doors are closed.

Topmost part of all doors is a skylight with sliding glass panes

which also allow for the wind movement.

WALLS

East and west walls are plastered with a highly reflective lime
plaster and have no openings except at the end of the
corridors. Partition walls are made of the bricks with special
chettinad plaster (carefully mixing eggs with sea shell lime in
adequate proportions depending upon the requirements, also,
used at the final stage in the extensive process of wall
finishing)

WATERPROOFING

Five layers of Ruberoid waterproofing felt and sealants were

used. They were imported by the Parry and Co. of Chennai.

First layer of the felt was kept loose over the deck and
anchored only at the perimeter to provide for thermal
expansion.

An essential idea in Sri

Aurobindo’s philosophy of
Integral Yoga is that we all have the capacity to create a spiritually
conscious life within the limitations of an earthly human existence. In its
ascetic simplicity, unity of materials, removal of anything that is not
essential to the life within, harmony of the interior and exterior,
Golconde emerges as an example of an architecture that makes you more
aware of your body, your movements, and thoughts. In the body of a
building, it is possible to experience a spiritual moment.
VISITORS CENTER, AUROILE

• Type of building use: Institutional building for visitors to Auroville.

• Year of completion: 1988- on going.
• Built-up area: Presently about 5000 m2 but constantly developing due to growing
demand.
• Plot size: 3 acres.
• Location: Auroville International zone Auroville.
• Climate zone: Hot Humid coastal zone.
• Actual Occupancy: Normal days 2,000 visitors/day and over 10000 visitors during
holidays and weekends

It is a popular and pleasant complex

specifically designed for visitors
from all over the world, with the local
climate, materials and building skills
influencing the design. Special
emphasis has been placed on natural
lighting and ventilation in the
building, as renewable energy
sources were to be used. From the outset, the plan for the building was to limit the use of
concrete and steel. Prefabricated ferro cement elements were for all doors and overhangs,
thereby doing away with the use of wood. A 4n grid using load-bearing pillars and arched or
corbelled openings was made with stabilized compressed earth blocks to reduce costs.
Stabilized earth blocks for domes and prefabricated ferro cement channels were considered as
the best solution for roofing.
Back yard area of Visitor Centre

(Multi usage)
SALIENT FEATURES

• Integrated site planning for effective management of surface and roof runoff to
recharge the aquifer.
• Landscaping with indigenous "tropical deciduous evergreen forest "-reduced water
needs.
• Decentralized recycling of all waste water including black o urban agriculture to grow
fruits. Solid waste management with segregation/recycling/compositing.
• Wind mill for water pumping.
• Use of appropriate building materials and technology like CSEB/ferro cement/rammed
earth/light roofing/natural stone floors/ minimum wood use.
• Solar passive design; natural ventilation/lighting/solar chimneys.
• Energy efficient fixtures for lighting appliances.
• Reclamation and
afforestation.
 GOVERNING BODY
The Governing Board consists of seven members to be nominated by the Central
Government from amongst persons who have,
• rendered valuable service to Auroville;
• dedicated themselves to the ideals of life-long education synthesis of material and spiritual
researches or human unity;
• contributed significantly in activities that are being pursued or are envisaged to be
promoted in Auroville, including activities relating to the environment, afforestation, arts
and crafts, industry, agriculture, humanities, sciences and integral yoga;
and of two representatives of the Central Government itself.
The members, who do not live in Auroville, hold office for a period of 4 years. The
Governing Board meets at least twice a year in Auroville.

The present members

The Central Government, vide Ministry of Human Resource Development’s dated 29 June
2017, nominated new members of the Governing Board including its Chairman for a fourth
term of four years with the following members:

CHAIRMAN
Dr. Karan Singh
Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) & former President, Indian Council for Cultural
Relations

MEMBERS
Dr. Prema Nandkumar, a famous independent researcher, translator, critic and authoress
who writes in Tamil and English

Prof. Sachidanand Mohanty, Former Vice Chancellor Central University of

Orissa and Former Professor and Head, Department of English, University of Hyderabad.
Dr. Anirban Ganguly, Director Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, New
Delhi
Dr. Nirima Oza, Professor, Mahatma Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Dental Sciences,
Pondicherry.
Dr. K. Parameswaran, Associate Professor of Law & Former Dean of Academic Affairs,
Gujarat National Law University has been appointed as member of the Governing Board of
the Auroville Foundation.
Sri. M. Madan Gopal, IAS (Retd.), former Additional Chief Secretary Department of
Forests, Environment and Ecology, Government of Karnataka.
PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED
As every other system, Auroville has its own downsides and defects along with the pros:

• Becoming an Aurovilians requires you to donate all your assets to Ashram (I have
heard from the local peoples that, if you don’t give something, they ain’t going to
take you in)
• If you sever your ties with Ashram, you won’t be given anything including your
assets. You will be left a pauper.
• They will give you three things “FOOD, JOB and SHELTER”, you must adjust
with what you get.
• You can’t question the system or the authority.
• You will lose your CIVIL RIGHTS.
• They are a closed community.
• Even if you die inside, none will come to know about it.
• Auroville says that it’s a community run by volunteers. But even if you stay there
for two days, you will notice that all the real work is being done by working class
Indians. From serving, to housekeeping, to cleaning and so on who are drawing
salaries for their service.
• A lot of Auroville is really to attract Europeans. And most come loaded. They
spend leisure time away from 1st world problems. And really believe/have bought
into the life of leisure, and ‘self - sustenance’ in a way.
• There are very few ‘Indian’ Aurovilians. But a lot of employed Aurovilians, which
is really questionable!
• Although the idea of ‘self-sustenance’ is quite noble. I have found it to be lacking
in several contexts in the present day Auroville. Case in point: There are almost
no roads. But then, they allow people to hire bikes, and two wheelers that run on
diesel and kerosene, which causes a lot of pollution. Some of these moppets and
bikes are run on Kerosene and diesel. And of course, the fuel is not broken down in
an efficient way. Thereby creating a lot of pollution. Also, these bikes which are
hired and driven within the Auroville campus - are not regulated or checked for
pollution. So, it’s one of the things you question about the place!
• Hospitals, with so many people coming in and out. It’s a matter of wonder though
how a place can sustain itself, without really having a good-fully equipped
hospital in vicinity. There is a health centre, but I really wonder what do people do
when in emergency?
• Last note, this place really sends a message of being hidden - in plain sight. It
really takes a long time to decipher and really understand what is really ‘hidden-
hidden’ and what is intentionally there for you to see. All said and done, Auroville
and Aurovilians - are quite cautious if you go around asking too many questions.
But they are open to volunteers. “Volunteers are people who pay Auroville - to
allow them to ‘serve’ in Auroville.”
SUGGESTIONS
• The system of becoming an Aurovilians and their procedure of taking up the
individuals’ assets should not be practiced anymore,
• Anyone who so ever is coming to Aurovilians needs some asset for future purposes and
a person can not practically sustain only on FOOD, JOB AND SHELTER.
• Individuals civil right shouldn’t be disregarded.
• Equal number of Indians and foreigners should be given chance of becoming an
Aurovilians.
• There should be at least a proper well-equipped hospital in the vicinity of Auroville,
for the Aurovilians and the people residing in nearby villages.
• Aurovilians should encourage the people from the nearby village to develop with them
regarding any field of work.
• Personally I think, there was huge amount of superstitious belief of “the mother” in the
mind of most of the Aurovilians!
• There are many minutes yet delicate points which were fishy in Auroville, but there is
no one who can come up with proper explanation of why and how Auroville is working
and sustaining in this current economy.

• Lastly, if you go looking for ‘what’s hidden’ in Auroville, or what’s ‘bad’ about
the place – I assure you there is plenty – just like any other place. And yet, I do
feel that it’s a unique space – away from the usual urbanisation (although not
completely) yet, it’s an effort. And its flawed – as anything human. If you do
visit it, do make the most of it. There is a lot of good there too. I hope you find
it…

Thank you