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BIOGRAPHYAnupama Kundoo (born 1967) is
an Indian architect who after her
scholastic studies in architecturestarted working at Auroville starting in
199! where she created several
innovations in the pro"ects she
designed adopting #sustainable building
technologies and infrastructural
s$stems#% &er architectural designs are
aesthetic and region specific or
#vernacular# that cater to the needs
of modern living blending with
traditional building designs% 'he has a doctoral degree for her dissertation on the
sub"ect of #baked mudinsitu houses of India#% As a practicing architect since 199! she
has more than 1!! pro"ects to her credit% 'he has also eperimented with design of high
rise buildings for urban environment%
Kundoo was born in *une in 1967% &er high school education was from +ar$
Immaculate ,irls- &igh 'chool% 'he studied for architecture from the 'ir .% .% /ollege of
Architecture 0niversit$ of omba$ and received her degree in architecture in 1929% 'he
was awarded the 3astu 'hilpa 4oundation 4ellowship in 1996 for her thesis on #0rban
5co/ommunit$ esign and Anal$sis for 'ustainabilit$#% 'he got her doctoral degree
from 8echnical 0niversit$ of erlin in !!2%
Kundoo established herself as
an architect in the Auroville where
she designed and built man$
economicall$ innovative buildings
with #energ$ and water efficient
infrastructure# adaptations% 'he
worked here from middle of 199! till
!!% &er approach to building
design is based on material research
that minimi:es environmental
effects% &er basic design approach is
to use #waste materials unskilled
labour and local communities#% &er
work culture is a #researchoriented practice and practiceoriented teaching%#
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'he epresses her design
approach clearl$ b$ stating #+$
designs are not driven b$ the worr$
that the world will end but b$ finding
wa$s to make the most with what one
has%# A full si:ed replica of her ;all
&ouse was made b$ hand and
ehibited at the 3enice iennale of
Architecture% pen
4oundation in %
Another interesting theme brought out in her architectural creation is titled
#@ibert$# which presents a reading place as a free book free librar$ where individuals
can #sit and read whatever the$ wish to#% 8his creation is built with three t$pes of trees
fied in the centre of a suare space% 8he trees- #trunks and branches# are made from
steel and the leaves made of salvaged books with the floor made of concrete% 'itting
under the shade of this tree people could indulge in conversation or read a book with
the gentle wind blowing through the leaves% 8his was ehibited at the *laca de 'alvador
'egui in arcelona during .uneB'eptember !1C%
Kundoo taught at the 8echnical 0niversit$erlin and armstadt in &esse during
!!D% 'he worked as Assistant *rofessor at *arsons 8he
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PROJECTSRESIDENCES
PAUL AND CLAUDINES RESIDENCE
AUROVILLE
8he inhabitants wanted a simple and
compact little house in Auroville to address
their simple needs a living dining and
kitchen area on the ground floor% A
bedroom with an attached bath and
dressing area on one side a little terrace
with a mini pool on the other on the first
floor%
8he living area is raised and is
surrounded b$ three alcoves with rough
granite cills% 8here is a direct contact with
the open kitchen and the living area with the entrance and dining areas between them%
;arm earth colours define the mood of the house the walls being built with cement
stabilised rammed earth from the site and a similar shade of pigment used as the I*'
floor finish%
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A staircase without handrails in the
same finish takes one to the upper floor% 8he
bedroom is on a raised platform and tucked
partl$ into the bed alcove% 'torage space is
claimed below the platform% 8he bed overlooksa little opento sk$ terrace with a reall$ tin$
pool a little bigger than a bathtub primaril$ for
chilling out in the hot weather% 8he garden is
watered out of this pool dail$% Gough granite
that is used as coping slabs contributes to the
outdoor feeling%
8he bathroom and dressing area are
also ver$ simple the surfaces finished with
stucco plaster containing marble dust% 8heupper floor is characterised b$ the warmth lent
to its white walls b$ the terracotta under
surface of the insulated vault roof as well as
the earth coloured I*' floor finish%
4urniture is more or less avoided
deliberatel$ and most of the needs are met
with b$ builtin solutions% Alcoves cills
platforms and parapet heights take seating into account and one can sit comfortabl$ in
man$ places%
0ncluttered spaces have been created devoid of furniture so that in spite of
being small the space itself could be eperienced as the essential ualit$ rather than
the numerous ob"ects that one possesses and gathers in the course of living% 8his gives
the house a timeless ualit$% And gives the narrow spaces of the house the ualit$ of a
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Figure 5 : www.anupamakundoo.com
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much more generous space that is
flowing into each other in continuit$ which
is flowing freel$ between inside and
outside% 8his gives the inhabitants the
feeling of having space for their future
instead of the feeling that their space is
alread$ occupied with the things of their
past%
8he result is an elegance of beaut$
in simplicit$ revealing the underl$ing
nature of things rather than the superficial
details of their manifestation%
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THE WALL HOUSE
AUROMODELE, AUROVILLE
8he ke$ concept is that of the house asetending right into the landscape with no ph$sical
boundaries% Anupama conceived of the Hwall house? as
a line drawn in nature% 8he entrance is a dramatic
doubleheight soaring vaulted space% A narrow linear
block to one side of the entrance contains all the private
spaces% >n the first floor one sees the same linear
form used to house a bedroom dressing room and
terrace with a magical opentosk$ bathroom% Its narrow
dimensions are accented b$ a light air$ etension
framed in glass and metal (punched into the brick wall)that accommodates the bed%
8he design of the house ensures that the private
activities are
cocooned into
secluded secure spaces while
the public living areas are large
and open to nature% It is a
house contemporar$ in st$le
that could fit as well in a ruralor urban contet% 8he design is
the result of etensive research
and eperimentation b$
Anupama Kundoo in three main areas ecofriendl$ building materials and alternative
technologies that provide an imaginative option to current building trends energ$
efficienc$ and a climaticall$ responsive vocabular$% In addition Anupama also created
an infrastructure for the management of water waste and energ$% H>ur uest includes
making these techniues replicable in urban as well as rural areas? she sa$s%
ANUPAMA KUNDOO : VERNACULARARCHITECTURE
Figure 8 : www.architectureau.com
Figure : www.dezeen.com
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HANDLING SPACE AND LIGHT
;ith the architecture of this house
Anupama has eplored alternative definitions of
space and a lifest$le that embodies
contemporar$ values within a rural setting% It is asimple house with clearl$ defined lines and
masses $et with a pla$ in volumes that makes it
hard to distinguish where the inside ends and the
outside begins% @ong steps which continue from
the inside onto the garden outside on both sides
create a further demarcation of spaces%
A dramatic soaring vaulted space
more than two store$s high marks the
entr$ point% 8his is a transition spaceetending into the landscape a living
space with no ph$sical boundaries% 8o the
right a narrow linear concrete block in
eposed brick runs from north to south%
.ust % m wide inside this block contains
all the private space in the house% >n the
ground floor are a storeroom kitchen and
dining area while at the rear is another
room with a direct eternal access%
A freestanding H:ig:ag? flight of polished
green painted concrete stairs leads to the first floor where the same linear form
embraces a stud$ a bedroom a dressing room and an eternal terrace with a magical
opentosk$ bathroom% It is almost like a corridor indeed so narrow that to
accommodate the bed and the dining space a light glass and metal framed etension is
plugged into the eternal wall to the east of the brick tube% 8he bedroom with glass
louvres on three sides completel$ opens out under the canop$ of an old tree while the
private side of the wall (to the west) opens out into a Cmwide doubleheight verandah
which is protected b$ thin steel mesh on a wooden structure% 8hus this area is full of
natural glarefree light and allows one to en"o$ the sunsets from here% 'a$s Anupama
H8he design of the house ensures that the private activities are cocooned into secluded
secure spaces while the public living areas are large and open to nature%?
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Figure 11 : www.dezeen.com
Figure 1! : www.anupamakundu.com
Figure 12 : www.dezeen.com
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CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS
Anupama has scaled down the eposed
brick facades b$ using local achakal bricks of
the same 12 cm 1! cm %D cm dimensions used
in ancient times instead of the standard 5nglish si:e%
Geviving the use of these bricks she hasset them with
raked "oints in lime mortar to which 1!J cement has
been added for initial setting strength% 8he thickness of
the walls varies between ! ! and 1! cm with speciall$ designed bonds as the$ do
not follow the usual 1 proportions% 8he foundations are of cementstabili:ed rammed
earth B the earth having been procured from the same foundation pits% It comes as no
surprise that Anupama has also eperimented with different roofing s$stems% /atenar$
vaults of hollow cla$ tubes have been used for climatic insulation which also eliminates
the need for structural steel that one sees in roofs toda$% 8here are vaults in the ground
floor where achakal bricks are used as structural supports% 8he flat terraced roof overthe guest room has been built b$ using hollow burnt cla$ trape:oidal etruded modules
over partl$ precast beams as in the "ack arch B these modules were speciall$
manufactured locall$ for the purpose of finding insulated roofing solutions to flat roofs%
4or the intermediate floor Anupama used terracotta pots as fillers to increase the
effective depth of concrete while minimi:ing the volume of concrete and steel in the
slabs that did reuire to be insulated% H>ne of our aims was to demonstrate that
structural materials can also be used as finishing materials%?
CLIMATIC RESPONSE
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Figure 13 :
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8he plan of the house
with its narrow spaces responds
to the hot and humid climate of
the region as it allows maimum
crossventilation% Aligned along
a southeast northwest ais the
house has small openings in
front and large openings at the
rear to create effective air
channels which optimi:e
ventilation% 8he doubleheight volume enhances the air stack movement and increases
the upward drafts of the ventilation% 8he hot air rising inside the covered spaces is
forced out through openings in the vault and as the roofs are also designed to be
insulating heat radiation is minimi:ed%
#LOW O# SPACE
8he interior blends with and
enhances the architecture and the
landscape% In fact the whole house is
planned in such a wa$ that there is no
segregation between the interior the
eterior the built form and the landscape%
'a$s Anupama H8he interiors are not
perceived as furnished areas with LuntrueM
decorative ob"ects but as spaces with a
distinct ualit$%? In the entrance to the dining
area stands a table rec$cled out of a single
old rosewood column% 8he natural teture and surface of the wood is left as it is and the
table can be reassembled back again to the form of the original log% Another stud$ table
is built out of a rec$cled teak beam inserted into the wall it uietl$ blends into the
architecture%
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CONTE%T AND APPROPRIATENESS
@ocated in a reforested Auroville
communit$ the house is tucked awa$ in a corner
and manages to create for itself a private open
space on one side to which it opens out% 8heHwall? is like a line drawn in nature which
separates the private and public spaces%
Anupama sums it up H8his eperimental house
continues Auroville?s legac$ as a laborator$ for
eperiments in space form engineering and
living%
HUT IN PETITE #ERME
AUROVILLE
8hese houses is the most basic
simple dwelling consisting of a thatch roof
(woven coconut leaves) supported on
untreated casuarina members that are tied
together in place with coconut ropes%
8he structure stands on rough granite
stilts that prevent the termites from reaching
the wood% 8he upper floor is made of splitsupari or pakamaram stems that are also
tied on with rope%
,ranite pillars are further used to create graded transition between the inside and
the outside to include court$ards in the living or private opentosk$ spaces in the bath
areas%8his is a house that has a low impact on the environment harmoniousl$ blending
into the nature and totall$ dependant on the sun for its electrification and water heating
demands%
HEMANT AND DIVYAS RESIDENCE
AUROVILLE
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Figure 16 : www.upcommons.upc.edu
Figure 17 : www.anupamakunda.com
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'ince he had first come to Auroville
&emant had lived for several $ears in a
ver$ simple thatch hut on granite pillars
simpl$ tied together with coconut rope "ust
like man$ others do in their earl$ $ears in
Auroville% &owever after those initial $ears
the$ looked forward to living in a house that
offered more permanance and comfort%
>utdoor areas freel$ penetrate the indoors
and there are two court$ards enclosed
within the ground floor b$ arranging simple
rough granite pillars in a series one as an
etension to the bathroom to provide it with
a patch of earth and sk$ and the other
ad"oining the living room incorporating a
small water tank that can be use in
summers to dip in before the water is taken
to sustain the garden% 8he "oists were cut out of reall$ old (around D! $ears old)
casuarina trees and are far stronger than people epect at that age% /asuarina as it is
mostl$ known for its use as scaffolding and for temporar$ building works is usuall$
harvested at three to seven $ears%
8he transition spaces between the house and the garden are naturall$
landscaped in an unnoticeable wa$ mainl$ consisting of the same repetitive elements
brick paving granite benches and pillar screens boulders and pebbles%
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HOUSING PROJECTS
VOLONTARIAT HOME #OR HOMELESS CHILDREN
PONDICHERRY
8hese homes are planned to
accommodate 1D children and D foster
parents% 8his pro"ect was built using a rare
technolog$ pioneered b$ Ga$ +eeker of
,olden ridge *otter$ which consists of
baking a mud house insitu after constructing
it% A fired house or a fireestablished mud
house is in principle a mud house built with
mud bricks and mud mortar that is cookedafter building as a whole to achieve the
strength of brick%
8he interior space of the structure is
stuffed with further mud bricks or other
ceramic products such as tiles and fired as
if it were a kiln% 8$picall$ kiln walls absorb
about C!J of the heat generated% In this
technolog$ the house is the kiln and the
Hheat loss? is directed towards firing thehouse and stabili:ing it from water damage%
8he fuel cost is largel$
accountable to the products inside%
8he strength of brick in principle would be achieved for the piece of mud% 4urther the
cement in the mortar mi would become
unnecessar$% 8his technolog$ involves almost
onl$ labour with ver$ little spent of
Hpurchased? materials% 8hus the mone$ spent
remains in the local econom$ and it enrichesit% 8he house becomes a producer of
sustainable building materials instead of
being a consumer%
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Figure 2! : www.anupamakunda.com
Figure 21 : www.anupamakunda.com
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8he house takes B C da$s to burn% /atenar$ shaped domes are used to get the
best structural stabilit$ before firing when it
functions as an earth building during firing
which is an unstable stage of vitrification process and after firing as a brick load bearing
structure% 8he domes are various si:es according to the cluster program which includes
one foster parent per C children% A social pro"ect with cost as a ma"or aspect that
informed design the pro"ect uses man$ unconventional materials as well as absorbs
urban waste% ic$cles wheel frames were used as formwork for windows and later as
window grills% ,lass bottles were used as structural units for masonr$ in toilet areas%
,lass chai cups were used to finish the openings at the top of the dome% 8his highl$
eperimental pro"ect is an eample of radical thinking that is being eplored to approach
the problem of affordabilit$ of housing for all and more over integrall$ sustainable in all
its aspects%
SANGAMAM COST E##ICIENT HABITAT
AUROVILLE
'angamam is situated at the outskirts
of Auroville in an area affected b$
environmental and social problems
including water scarcit$ saline water
intrusion soil erosion and declining soil
fertilit$ unemplo$ment and inadeuate
housing educational and medical facilities%
'oil from the site has been
laborator$tested and found to
be suitable for the construction
of load bearing walls% 8he ageold rammed earth building techniue is introduced in a
more sophisticated form with cement stabilisation to achieve better standard of finish
more strength and waterresistance and enabling a uicker modular method of building%
4ive per cent of cement is added in the sieved earth to make the mass waterresistant
thereb$ significantl$ adding to the wet compressive strength of the material%
Goofs are constructed using terracotta filler slabs bricks as "ack arches and
conical hollow vault elements designed specificall$ to achieve an affordable solution
with low environmental impact that is beneficial to generate local emplo$ment% 8he low
cost housing scheme is provided with ecofriendl$ building infrastructure for rain water
harvesting%
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Figure 22 : www.architects"india.org
Figure 23 : www.inside"outside.com
Figure 24 : www.insideoutside.com
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PUBLIC BUILDINGS
SRI AUROBINDO WORLD
CENTRE #OR HUMAN UNITY
AUROVILLE
5fficient structural design can lead with
substantial savings in steel and cement the two most
commonl$ used high energ$ materials% A circular open pavilion of 16 meters diameter is
supported b$ some additional service rooms% After several iterations the concept chosen
for eecution was the one that used 7D cubic meters of G// instead of 1D cubic
meters amounting to substantial savings% 8he structural s$stem has a ma"or influence
on the architectural form and space%
Inspired b$ the work of *ier @uigi
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glass covered opening in the center in the roof allows da$light to enter at the centre of
the space emphasi:ing the vertical central unif$ing force% 8he sunra$s strike the lines of
inlaid stainless steel that make the pattern on the stone floor%
8he circle is chosen to contain
the shape of the hall to emphasi:eunit$% 'itting around a circle ever$one
is focused on the center where the
point of unit$ lies% 8he amphitheater
steps ripple outwards and tend to
change its shape from circle towards a
suare% 8he last step is a suare with
rounded corners to impl$ that the
ripples ma$ etend even be$ond the
ph$sical centre of unit$%
IMPORTANT #EATURES
N 8he structural members being important
elements of the design contribute to the
overall aesthetics of the building% 8he
structure is an interesting combination of bold
curves of the roof and floor which are linked
b$ sharp and angular columns with
Haerod$namic? beams% 8he circular roof slabbeing a strong element of the building has a
ver$ d$namic look emphasi:ed b$ its lighting
pattern of lights like an illuminated disc at
night% 8he meeting hall epands on three
sides onto open to sk$ amphitheaters% 8hese are linked to the main structure b$
concrete bridges on the peripheral water channel% 8hese outside spaces allow the
meeting activities to spill over onto the surrounding landscape with earth berms on all
the sides acting as transition spaces%
N ;ater bod$ water bodies around the hall maintaining the uiet and calm atmosphere
of the building% 8he waterspouts of the roof slab deliver the natural water to the water
bod$ on four sides%
TECHNOLOGY
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'loping and eposed concrete columns reduce the span of the roof slab B
forming an individual member of the structure%
'hape of the radial beams supporting
the slab is based on design efficienc$ thus
using ver$ "udiciousl$ onl$ the minimumuantit$ of concrete% 8he shape also adds to
the aesthetical ualit$ b$ softening harsh
edges%
0se of 4errocement mould as Hlost
shuttering? for the beams giving an even
finish and reducing the cost of shuttering%
/orner of slabs are reinforced using
diagonal steel bars for stiffening thus shifting the point of support inside for reducing thespan without increasing the effective depth and corresponding volume of concrete%
Inverted circular beams at inner and outer rings of the disc further stress the
lightness of the structure as seen from below and give the impression that each of the
radial beams are stand alone connected onl$ b$ the slab% 8he effect is even more
d$namic%
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEBSITES
httpOOwww%indianarchitects%comOenOanupama
kundooOsourceindePupdatedPnew httpOOwww%slideshare%netOssleleCD6Oaurovillearchitecture
httpOOwww%italcementigroup%comO
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