2. Auroville Green Practices Student Practicum is a comprehensive
learning program for architecture students with a focus on integrated
sustainable solutions for human habitats. Participants will get a rich
and diverse exposure to various design approaches from all over the
world. Our customized programmes offer a good mix of theory and
practice to sustainable building and living practices. Auroville, a
growing international township near Puducherry on the Coromandel
Coast in India, is an inspiring model for sustainable development.
Over the years, Auroville has won international acclaim for its efforts
in social and environmental sustainability. Auroville’s ongoing applied
research in environmentally sound practices and its geographical
compactness make it a perfect learning environment for out-of-the-
box innovations.
www.agpworkshops.com
3. Workshops
DEMOUNTABLE HOUSE BUILDING
The Demountable building workshop includes a
series of hands-on design & build sessions with
the participating students. A building will be built
with a mix of modern and traditional materials
using the Intermediate Technology developed at
the International House by EartHauz-CSR. Stu-
dents will be guided through the conceptual
features behind the design and will work on the
actual construction of the structure. The educa-
tional paradigm of the workshop would be active
exploration, exposure and learning by doing. It
provides an opportunity for collective learning of
design & building techniques.
Facilitator:
EartHauz Architecture & Design was established in
2004 by Manu Gopalan. It is located at the Interna-
tional House in Auroville. The current focus of the firm
is to develop Intermediate Technology in construction
using 100% natural & recycled materials, participatory
design and self-help construction. EartHauz is com-
mitted to the conception and construction of built
environment that is essentially ecological, site specific,
climatically responsive and respecting vernacular
traditions.”
Facilitator:
Auroville Bamboo Research Centre was established in
February 2007, with the aim to merge Indian tradi-
tional craft with contemporary design. It is focused on
production and marketing of Bamboo craft for income
generation and building stronger communities for
sustainable living.
BAMBOO DESIGN
This workshop offers design & build sessions with
bamboo as material for participating students.
The focus of the workshop can either be on
bamboo interior design or working on a small
bamboo structure. Students will come up and
implement their own design concept under the
guidance of facilitators. The take-away is an intro-
duction into bamboo as building material, treat-
ment methods and a training in basic skills of
working with bamboo.
www.agpworkshops.com
WORKSHOPS
4. MINI WIND TURBINE INSTALLATION URBAN FURNITURE DESIGN
This is a hands-on workshop with an organization
called MinVayu. The Wind Turbines produced by
MinVayu are especially designed to operate
efficiently in the lower wind-speed ranges. Partici-
pants will learn how to assemble, install and put in
operation a small wind turbine that can be used
for homes and small businesses to become
energy independent or grid-tied. There is no pre-
vious experience necessary and all you needs is a
willingness to learn about the process.
Facilitator:
Jorge Ayarza is an electrical engineer with 20 years
of experience in design, construction and installation
of small hydro and wind systems. His professional
experience includes rural electrification projects and
small wind turbine distributor development in Latin
America and USA. He has worked as the Technical
Advisor to the American Wind Energy Association,
and worked with the UNDP in the largest rural elec-
trification project in the world based in China. Jorge
has been living in Auroville since 2009 where he has
been working on a set of solutions to crack the small
wind affordability problem.
Facilitator:
Auroville Bamboo Research Centre was estab-
lished in February 2007, with the aim to merge
Indian traditional craft with contemporary design.
It is focused on production and marketing of
Bamboo craft for income generation and building
stronger communities for sustainable living.
This workshop will focus on the design thinking
behind urban furniture and the building of simple
urban furniture such as cycle sheds, bus shelters,
resting places, waste collection stations, sitting
and resting places. The furniture will be built with
a mix of modern and traditional materials such as
bamboo, ferrocement and steel. This workshops
provides an opportunity to explore the impor-
tance of urban furniture for urban spaces and will
expose students to a high degree of team work.
www.agpworkshops.com
WORKSHOPS
5. www.agpworkshops.com
EARTH ARCHITECTURE FOR
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The course contains an introduction session
about earth architecture and the diversity and
universality of its global application. Participants
will learn about particular earth techniques and
building with arches, vaults and domes and will
get hands-on experience in the production of
Compressed Stabilised Earth Blocks (CSEB).
Facilitator:
The Auroville Earth Institute is researching, developing,
promoting and transferring earth-based technologies,
which are cost and energy effective. These technolo-
gies are disseminated through training courses, semi-
nars, workshops, manuals and documents. The most
promoted technology today is CSEB.
WORKSHOPS
6. www.agpworkshops.com
SITE VISITS
SOLAR PASSIVE ARCHITECTURE
“Technology based sustainability” as solutions for
the issues and problems that arise out of the fossil
fuel use has serious limitation especially for devel-
oping countries like India with its fast growing
population and depleted ecological services.
“Solar passive” or “passive design” is a “design
based sustainability” that works within the natural
systems of the place. From watershed and
contour-based site planning to intelligent enve-
lope design for climatic comfort saving on the
operational energy inputs. It is also a system of
adaptive design with active participation from the
end user including life style changes to work
towards reducing the negative impact of urban
development on nature.
Facilitator:
Suhasini Ayer-Guigan has over 20 years of experience
in sustainable design, green building practices and
planning. She is the founder and principal architect of
the Auroville Design Consultants. She is co-recipient
of the Hassan Fathy Award for ‘Architecture for the
Poor’ in 1992 and recipient of the Design Share Award
for educational buildings in 2003 and 2005.
CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
LUMINOSITY
Luminosity is a rectangular block containing
twelve apartments and eleven office-studios. It is
a collective project, which incorporates new ideas
and technologies. The acoustic, climatic and
environmental aspects of the project have
strongly influenced its design.
Facilitator:
David Nightingale studied architecture at Newcastle
University (UK) and the TU Darmstadt (Ger- many).
He arrived in Auroville in 1997 and since then has
been involved in various architecture and planning
projects within Auroville including a learning centre,
performing arts centre, a school and an apartment
complex. He is a core group member of The Dream-
catchers, a forum for envisioning and participatory
city planning, and he is in the process of founding
Auroville Architectural Service Unit, a collective for
architects to work together in Auroville.
7. www.agpworkshops.com
SITE VISITS
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE EARTH ARCHITECTURE
Vernacular Architecture uses locally available re-
sources and building traditions that are suited for
the local climate conditions, and are culturally and
environmentally appropriate. Structures rely on
simple and low-tech methods resulting in build-
ings that are perfectly adapted to the building’s
users and the building’s locale.
Facilitator:
Sreevatsa is the founder of Tapasya Design and is
currently engaged in several projects incorporating
green practices. In his architectural projects Sreevatsa
is using locally available materials like earth, clay and
Palmira wood.
The basis for this apartment complex for about
50 people is an extensive use of environmentally
sound materials, appropriate building technolo-
gies, (earth and ferrocement), and ecological
water management (watershed harvesting and
biological wastewater treatment).
Facilitator:
The Auroville Earth Institute is researching, develop-
ing, promoting and transferring earth-based technolo-
gies, which are cost and energy effective. These tech-
nologies are disseminated through training courses,
seminars, workshops, manuals and documents. The
most promoted technology today is CSEB.
8. www.agpworkshops.com
DECENTRALISED WASTE WATER
SYSTEMS
SUSTAINABLE LIVING
VERITE COMMUNITY
Integrated Decentralized Wastewater Treatment
Systems are based on several natural physical
treatment techniques, put together in different
combinations according to the needs and the
financial budgets of users. Natural effluent treat-
ment processes are achieved through methods
that make use of physical principles combined
with biological activities of microorganisms.
These systems do not use any chemical treat-
ment process and can be beautifully integrated
into landscapes.
Vérité Community is an intentional community
within the Auroville project. This is a community
established in 1985 with the aim of integrating
environment and ecology in daily living. As a
result, the whole community of 8 acres is fully
powered by solar energy integrating a windmill,
sustainable building techniques, biological
wastewater treatment, rainwater harvesting and
organic farming.
SITE VISITS
Facilitator:
Centre for Scientific Research (CSR) was founded in
1984 with the aim to explore and develop sustainable
technologies. CSR’s main work areas include renew-
able energy systems, appropriate architecture & build-
ing technologies, water and wastewater management.
9. www.agpworkshops.com
GROWING PEOPLE
SADHANA FOREST
ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION
PICHANDIKULAM FOREST
Sadhana Forest started its ecological revival and
sustainable living work on December 19th 2003.
The vision of its founders, Yorit and Aviram Rozin,
is to transform 70 acres of severely eroded, arid
land on the outskirts of Auroville into a vibrant,
indigenous Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF).
In a spirit of human unity, the community attempts
to introduce a growing number of people to sus-
tainable living. The main aim of this ecological
project is to support the local rural villages. By
retaining water and filling the aquifer, Sadhana
Forest allows the villagers to cultivate their food
and prevents exodus towards nearby city slums.
Ecological restoration is the process of assisting
the recovery of an ecosystem that has been de-
graded, damaged, or destroyed. It includes a
wide scope of projects including erosion control,
reforestation, the uses of local native species and
re-vegetation of disturbed areas. Pichandikulam
is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of
the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest. It was estab-
lished in 1973 as one of the pioneering Auroville
green belt communities engaged in the initial
reforestation work that was necessary on the bare
eroded township site. Since then the 70 acre site
has been transformed into a complete ecosystem
with more than 800 species of plants.
Facilitator:
Aviram Rozin; After arriving from Israel, Aviram
together with his wife Yorit and daughter Osher
initiated the Sadhana Forest project in 2003 and
settled on the land to build a community dedicated to
planting of trees. In a short period, Sadhana has devel-
oped into a bustling eco-friendly settlement with
thatched houses, wind pumps, solar powered LED
lighting, compost toilets and vegan kitchen with
energy efficient stoves.
Facilitator:
Joss grew up in the Australian state of Tasmania, a
place full of wild natural beauty. He came to Auroville
in 1970 after living in Europe and Africa. He joined the
early pioneering efforts in land restoration at Auroville
and founded the Pichandikulam community. He also
founded Pichandikulam Forest Consultants, a busi-
ness unit to provide environmental restoration
services and is currently directing the restoration bio-
diversity at Adayar Ponga in Chennai.
SITE VISITS
10. www.agpworkshops.com
Monday
08:30 - 09:00
09:30 - 10:30
10:30 - 12:00
12:30 - 13:30
14:00 - 15:00
15:30 - 16:30
17:00 - 20:00
Wednesday
08:00 - 08:30
09:00 – 12:00
12:30 – 1:30
14:00 – 17:30
19:00
Tuesday
7:30 - 8:15
08:30 - 12:00
12:30 - 13:30
14:00 - 17:00
19:00
Thursday
7:30 - 8:15
08:30 - 12:00
12:30 - 13:30
14:00 - 17:00
19:00
Breakfast
Introduction to Auroville
Presentation: Auroville Building
Technologies
Lunch
Site Visit: Center for Scientific
Research
Site Visit: Verite Community
Site visit and Dinner: Sadhana
Forest – Ecological Restoration
Breakfast
Group A
Introduction to
Earth Architecture
Lunch
Introduction to
Earth Architecture
Dinner
Breakfast
Group A
Demountable
House workshop
Lunch
Demountable
House workshop
Dinner
Group B
Workshop: Urban
Furniture Design
Workshop: Urban
Furniture Design
SCHEDULE
Group B
Workshop: Urban
Furniture Design
Workshop: Urban
Furniture Design
Breakfast
Group A
Demountable
House workshop
Lunch
Demountable
House workshop
Dinner
Group B
Workshop: Urban
Furniture Design
Workshop: Urban
Furniture Design
Friday
08:00 - 08:30
09:00 – 12:00
12:30 – 1:30
14:00 – 17:30
18:00 – 19:00
19:00
Breakfast
Group A
Demountable
House workshop
Lunch
Demountable
House workshop
Closing Session
Dinner
Group B
Introduction to
Earth architecture
Introduction to
Earth architecture
CONTACT
Martin Scherfler,
Auroville Green Practices/Auroville Consulting
SaraCon Campus, Kottakarai Plaza,
Irumbai Post, Auroville 605111,
Tamil Nadu.
Tel: 0413 2622571
Programmes will be designed and priced according to
duration and learning objectives of the group. We
recommend a tentative 5-day programme which will
include: boarding and lodging, transport within
Auroville, workshops, site visits, presentations and
facilitation for all activities, and all taxes. All meals are
vegetarian. Alcohol is not permitted in Auroville guest
houses.
BOOKING A PROGRAMME
11. Workshops
www.agpworkshops.com
“Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are
able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all
nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity.”
Auroville is an international community with over 2000 people from around 40
different countries. Founded in 1968, Auroville is based on the vision of The
Mother and is endorsed by UNESCO and the Government of India as an ongoing
experiment in human unity.
Aurovillians are constantly experimenting with new ideas and solutions in areas of
education, arts & crafts, community building, new economy and sustainability.
One of the unique aspects of research in Auroville is the fact that many ideas are
put into practice. Over the years, Auroville has won international acclaim for its
efforts in social and environmental sustainability.
Auroville is located 8km from Pondicherry, 3 hours drive from Chennai city/airport
(150km) along the scenic East Coast Road (ECR) and 8 hours by an AC sleeper
bus from Bangalore (350km).
ABOUT AUROVILLE
For more details visit: www.auroville.org
