Auroville's Experimental Architecture: From Matrimandir to the Crown Road Dispute
Established in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa, Auroville is situated in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, housing approximately 3,500 residents. The master plan, crafted by French architect Roger Anger, includes the Matrimandir, which was finalized in 2008. The Auroville Visitors' Centre, created by Suhasini Ayer in 1998, was constructed using Compressed Stabilised Earth Blocks. The Town Hall, designed by Anupama Kundoo, was completed in 2003. Other significant buildings include the Solar Kitchen (1997), water tower (1996), Savitri Bhavan (2004), and the Tibetan Pavilion, inaugurated by the Dalai Lama in 1993. Ongoing construction of the Crown ring road has sparked legal issues regarding tree removal and demolitions without the consent of the Residents' Assembly.
Key facts
- Auroville was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa, known as the Mother
- French architect Roger Anger created the spiral master plan centred on the Matrimandir
- The Matrimandir was begun in 1971 and completed in 2008, the year Anger died
- Auroville's population is around 3,500, in Villupuram district across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry
- The Solar Kitchen, completed in 1997, serves about a thousand meals a day using a 15m solar concentrator with roughly 11,000 mirror facets
- The 1996 water tower by Helmut Schmid rises 26m with a 130,000-litre ferrocement tank
- Savitri Bhavan, completed in 2004, holds around 600 paintings made by Huta between 1961 and 1970
- The Crown ring road's construction, with trees felled and houses demolished without Residents' Assembly consent, has been argued in court
Entities
Artists
- Mirra Alfassa
- Sri Aurobindo
- Roger Anger
- Suhasini Ayer
- Anupama Kundoo
- Helmut Schmid
- Huta
- George Nakashima
- Mira Nakashima
- André Hababou
- Satprem Maïni
- Poppo Pingle
- AK Raman
- David Nightingale
- Ganesh Bala
- Aurelio
- Ray Meeker
- Deborah Smith
- Dharmesh Jadeja
- Nipun Prabhakar
- Dalai Lama
Institutions
- Auroville Foundation
- Residents' Assembly
- Auroville Visitors' Centre
- Auroville Building Centre
- Bamboo Centre
- Auroville Earth Institute
- Golden Bridge Pottery
- Dustudio
- EcoService
- Centerfield
- Swaram
- Dhammada Collective
- Wallpaper
- The New York Times
- The Washington Post
- MIT
- Cornell
- IDS
- RIBA
Locations
- Auroville
- India
- Villupuram district
- Tamil Nadu
- Puducherry
- Pondicherry
- Stuttgart
- Germany
- Edayanchavadi
- Kottakarai
- Himalayas