Auroville visitors centre

Auroville visitors centre

• 1.
  AUROVILLE - VISITORSCENTRE Designed by Auroville Design Consultants & by Auroville Earth Institute ATHIRA SURESH 5TH YR B-ARCH.
• 3.
  Auroville attempts tolink the ancestral tradition of raw earth building with the modern technologies of stabilised earth. Earth, as a building material, can be used for creating a modern, progressive and eco- friendly habitat. Compressed Stabilised Earth Blocks (CSEB) is today the technology used the most in Auroville. Type of building use: Institutionalbuilding 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 InternationalZone, Auroville Climatic Zone: Hot Humid coastalzone Actual Occupancy: Normaldays 2,000 visitors /day and over 10,000 visitors during holidays and weekend.
• 4.
  The concept ofthe Visitors Centre had been initially designed by Suhasini Iyer, but she had absolutely no knowledge and experience about earth architecture and site management. Satprem Maïni joined Auroville to design fully and build this centre, and at the same time create the former Auroville Building Centre / Earth Unit. Satprem trained Suhasini, gave a technical design to the concept and mostly managed the construction site. SALIENT FEATURES o Integrated site planning for effective management of surface and roof run-off to recharge the aquifer. o Landscaping with indigenous “tropical deciduous evergreen forest” – reduced water needs o Decentralised recycling of all waste water including black o Urban agriculture to grow fruits o Solid waste management with segregation / recycling / composting o Wind mill for Water pumping o Use of appropriate building materials and technology like CSEB / Ferro cement / rammed earth / light roofing / natural stone floors / minimum wood use o Solar passive design; natural ventilation / lighting / solar chimneys o Energy efficient fixtures for lighting and appliances o Reclamation and afforestation
• 9.
  o It isa popular and pleasant complex specifically designed for visitors from all over the world, with the local climate, materials and building skills influencing the design. o Special emphasis has been placed on natural lighting and ventilation in the building, as renewable energy sources were to be used. o From the outset, the plan for the building was to limit the use of concrete and steel. o Prefabricated Ferro cement elements were used for all doors and overhangs, thereby doing away with the use of wood. o A 4m grid using load-bearing pillars and arched or corbelled openings was made with stabilised compressed earth blocks to reduce costs. o Stabilised earth blocks for domes and prefabricated Ferro cement channels were considered as the best solution for roofing.
• 10.
  AUROVILLE EARTH INSTITUTEMISSION STATEMENT To revive traditional skills, and to link ancestral and vernacular traditions of raw earth construction with the modern technologies of stabilised earth. To enable and empower people to build their own dwellings using earthen techniques. To develop cost effective technologies, affordable to all. To respect our Mother Earth, while using its natural resources to build a sustainable future. To demonstrate that earth, as a building material, can be used for creating a modern, progressive, eco-friendly and safe habitat PHILOSOPHY ON SUSTAINABILITY The Auroville Earth Institute lays emphasis on the proper management of both human and natural resources to build a sustainable future. Human resource management: To offer awareness, training and education to people, to enable and empower people to develop a skill and a livelihood. Natural resource management: To manage natural resources appropriately, with sensitivity to the ecological balance of a place. It is possible to sustainably use local resources with respect for nature and for people!
• 15.
  Granite block foundationsand earth blockstructures A composite type of foundation in stabilised mud mortar was used because of its advantages. The material to be used had to essentially have a greater load bearing capacity than the stabilised blocks. Thus the use of fired bricks was eliminated and locally mined rough granite blocks were used instead. This foundation was cheaper and less time consuming than the conventional fired brick foundation, and most of it could be done using unskilled labour.
• 16.
  Building with earthhas a great past, but also a promising future, especially in Auroville. It is definitely an appropriate, cost and energy-efficient, and eco-friendly technology which can promote a sustainable future. Obviously, one has to master the material the techniques so as to obtain the optimum possibilities for a harmonious, durable, agreeable and efficient architecture. One can note these advantages of earth as a building material: • The earth is a local material, contributing to sustainable development. • The production of the building components demands a lot of semi-skilled manpower. • The technology is easily adaptable and transferable. • The monetary and environmental costs are much lower than that of most other materials. • The thermal comfort and quality of space are in general better than conventional materials. One has also to master the disadvantages of the material which, normally, are variations in the soil quality, and hence the block quality and the production of blocks on site. These reductive aspects can be underlined: • Mechanical qualities are less regular. • Sensible building details are required. • The constraints of organizing and managing the production of one’s own building material on site. COST EFFECTIVENESS Earthen buildings have the advantage of using local resources and being labour intensive. Therefore, most of the time, they cost less than conventional materials and technologies. The final cost of a building will depend mainly on the design, the type of finishes and the project management. In all cases, the technologies implemented are cost effective. The Challenge in front of us: How to realize architecture full of light, suppleness, simplicity, imagination and beauty with a heavy and formless mud? This is what we are trying to achieve in Auroville and what we are proposing to the World. “Auroville, the city the earth needs" … and the earth the city needs …
• 19.
  Bibliography: http://www.earth-auroville.com/earth_in_auroville_introduction_en.php http://www.earth-auroville.com/visitors_center_en.php https://www.aurovilledesign.com/pdfs/visitors-centre-auroville/ http://www.agpworkshops.com/atach_ments/Visitors%20Centre.pdf http://www.earth-auroville.com/maintenance/uploaded_pics/visitorscentre.pdf http://www.green.aurovilleportal.org/wdownloads/pdf_seminar/30_habitat_Satprem_v_p ublish.pdf http://municipalika.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/Presentations/CS08-Satprem-Maini- Presentation.pdf