ETSAM PROJECTS

Auroville is a city located in the southeast of India in the region of Tamil Nadu. It was founded 50 years ago by the couple: Aurobindo and Mirra Alfassa in search of a universal city where men and women from all countries would live in peace and harmony. It is a unique city distinguished by its lack of money, religion or politics, demolishing this way, the main pillars of the western city. Nowadays, it is inhabited by citizens who live according to a range of very clear values. However, here is no place specifically designed to teach and train the future inhabitants of Auroville following these values. Welcoming City is a qualitative research on the nature of living and space.

The project is approached from two fundamental pillars: one of structuralist character and another one of phenomenological one, reconciling these apparently contrary approximations. The structural part is represented through a megastructure understood as a primary element, fixed and non-negotiable. The phenomenological part, associated to what happens inside of this enormous piece, is related with a training trip that can be understood as a succession of flexible elements of phenomenological character.

This last part is approached from three different scales. First, attending to a more individual scale, a series of mobile and fixed installations are proposed. In a second level, the so-called training spaces are defined. These are understood as architectural elements that allow the learning of the intrinsic values of the citizens of Auroville. Finally, at a community level, we find the inhabiting spaces. These can be described as places of sensations that the user will use according to its mood, needs, and concerns in each moment. It is a nomadic community whose inhabitants are grouped according to certain sensitive needs that vary depending on the time.

The main goal of this research is to experiment and to rethink about the stablished rules regarding the conventional housing. The proposal offers the tools of a delocalized habitat that breaks the concept of housing as it is understood.

Proyectos 8, ETSAM.
Professors: Luis Basabe, Luis Palacios and Anupama Kundoo.

Equipo: Paula López Gomez