On our trip to Auroville outside of Pondicherry we visited the Auroville Earth Institute. The institute was founded in 1989 by the Housing and Urban Development Corporation and Government of India and its main focus is in researching, developing, promoting and transferring soil based building technologies that are both cost and energy effective. The Earth Institute then uses these technologies and conducts seminars and workshops to educate the public along with creating manuals and documents for distribution. This is all to meet their goal of giving people the opportunity to create and build their own homes using earth techniques based mainly on Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks. Because of all of that they have accomplished in promoting earthen building materials, the Auroville Earth Institute is currently the Asia representative of the UNESCO Chair Earthen Architecture Constructive Cultures and Sustainable Development. They are also a part of the world network of CRATerre (the International Centre for Earth Construction), a few NGO’s and the BASIN South Asia- Regional Knowledge Platform.
The main building materials that the Auroville Earth Institute promotes are Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks. These are blocks that are made with local soil to the area that they will be used in and are not fired, but compressed instead. Through the use of a press that was designed and are now being built at the Earth Institute, the blocks are pressed with a pressure of about 16 tons. Through this process about 1000 blocks can be produced per day, which makes it good for villages and small communities since they can all use the same one, even when building various structures. Because the materials used are local and very available, since it is just soil, this building material is both very cost effective as well as environmentally sustainable. Along with this, since the blocks are all made in a press, they are all the same size which is better for building and the press is mobile so can move throughout an area. The Earth Institute has also developed alternative stabilizers (a mix of milk of lime and alum) and water proofing (different soils, sands, lime, alum and local juices) to cement. Though this would be ideal, there are some cases when cement becomes necessary. In these instances the Earth Institute has developed a type of ferrocement which contains no more than 5% cement for things such as foundations and walls. On our tour of the facilities in Auroville we saw examples of all of the building materials as well as a wall of soils from all over the world. These were samples that had been sent to the Earth Institute by people who wanted them to be tested to see what kind of make up they had to find out what kind of blocks would be created from them if they were pressed into Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks.
The Auroville Earth Institute is involved with many projects, but I think one of the most interesting is the Disaster Resistant Constructions research. Since 1995 they have been developing a system based on the ferrocement blocks with the Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks that are hollow interlocking. For the interlocking blocks two different types have been developed for the disaster resistant constructions, on that is square and hollow which allows for a building to become 2-3 floors high and rectangular hollow blocks to be used only for the ground floors. These blocks are then reinforced at critical points with the reinforced cement concrete.
All of these are new materials and technologies are Auroville’s attempt at sustainable development. Through their integration of alternative building processes, technologies and renewable energy sources they are hoping to promote green and sustainable living and construction. This fits in with the mission of Auroville as a whole to live in harmony with nature and in reaching human unity. Though researching these building materials further Auroville is hoping to further awareness throughout the world so as to increase the use of these techniques in the developing world.
The main building materials that the Auroville Earth Institute promotes are Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks. These are blocks that are made with local soil to the area that they will be used in and are not fired, but compressed instead. Through the use of a press that was designed and are now being built at the Earth Institute, the blocks are pressed with a pressure of about 16 tons. Through this process about 1000 blocks can be produced per day, which makes it good for villages and small communities since they can all use the same one, even when building various structures. Because the materials used are local and very available, since it is just soil, this building material is both very cost effective as well as environmentally sustainable. Along with this, since the blocks are all made in a press, they are all the same size which is better for building and the press is mobile so can move throughout an area. The Earth Institute has also developed alternative stabilizers (a mix of milk of lime and alum) and water proofing (different soils, sands, lime, alum and local juices) to cement. Though this would be ideal, there are some cases when cement becomes necessary. In these instances the Earth Institute has developed a type of ferrocement which contains no more than 5% cement for things such as foundations and walls. On our tour of the facilities in Auroville we saw examples of all of the building materials as well as a wall of soils from all over the world. These were samples that had been sent to the Earth Institute by people who wanted them to be tested to see what kind of make up they had to find out what kind of blocks would be created from them if they were pressed into Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks.
The Auroville Earth Institute is involved with many projects, but I think one of the most interesting is the Disaster Resistant Constructions research. Since 1995 they have been developing a system based on the ferrocement blocks with the Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks that are hollow interlocking. For the interlocking blocks two different types have been developed for the disaster resistant constructions, on that is square and hollow which allows for a building to become 2-3 floors high and rectangular hollow blocks to be used only for the ground floors. These blocks are then reinforced at critical points with the reinforced cement concrete.
All of these are new materials and technologies are Auroville’s attempt at sustainable development. Through their integration of alternative building processes, technologies and renewable energy sources they are hoping to promote green and sustainable living and construction. This fits in with the mission of Auroville as a whole to live in harmony with nature and in reaching human unity. Though researching these building materials further Auroville is hoping to further awareness throughout the world so as to increase the use of these techniques in the developing world.
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