line of force - preliminary design

Anupama Kundoo Architects

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Line10An Urban Hillscape

Line10 is a housing project located in Auroville, Tamil Nadu, for 1955 inhabitants. Located in Auroville’s residential zone between Sector 2 and 3, this project is a new typology of housing that concentrates urban living in contemporary arrangements taking advantage of new technologies while retaining the intimacy seen in ancient and traditional human settlements. Line10 is a protype for co-existence, not only among the people of diverse cultures, but also between human settlements and the larger universe, an arrangement that keeps the inhab-itants in contact with climate, vege-tation, resources of water and energy, the earth and the sky.

Unlike the ‘tower’ typology, this struc-ture is more like a long horizontal sloping mass, that like a settlement on a hillscape provides much needed in-teresting vistas in an otherwise almost flat city.

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Line10Foreword

The construction of Auroville was initially envisaged within a short time period of 15 years.

Auroville’s history however took a different course with developments significantly slowing down during the early three decades during which the inhabitants were scattered across a widespread area mostly outside the limits of the city proper. Thereafter, the city center and the residential zones have developed noticeably and Auroville is clearly now ready to take its next logical step in its urban development. In order to enable most of Auroville to be realised through low-rise, low-tech structures, the city plan relies to a great extent on the 10 concentrated lines of high-rise compact housing development, called ‘Ligne de Force’ by Roger Anger, Auroville’s chief architect.

In order for the rest of Auroville’s housing to develop flexibly allowing diversity of architectural expressions,

the housing typolology of the ‘Ligne de Force’ struc-tures need much more structure and infrastructure, and along with some of Auroville’s other central build-ings, will be Auroville’s most defining urban elements.

In describing the Ligne de Force structures Roger Anger had pointed out that ‘A macrostructure, like a mountain, cannot be changed easily. The macrostructure is an arrangement of space involving an underworld of sewage pipes, of water and electricity connections, main circulation ways wandering through the surface relief, natural or artificial climatic conditions bathing the whole complex. Once the macrostructure is positioned, every-thing becomes possible. On this structure is laid an outer skin, changeable and plastic so that it may be stretched, so that its colour may be altered. Such an approach is the only one that will allow an evolution of the town in time and within a given space. The clothing of the town may be changed, renewed without drastic destruction.’

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Line10Why Now?

As Auroville’s residential areas have reached the stage of detailed development plans, it is time to take up the detailed project of one prototype Line10 of ‘Ligne de Force’ structures for the following reasons:

1) The project will lead to a better understanding of the peculiarities of high density housing envisaged in Auroville, including the extent of public life meant to be contained within it.

2) This is necessary to unblock the developments foreseen in lands adjacent to it, particularly in Sector 2. If Sector 2 is developed without taking key elements of the Line10 into consideration, these may remain an impossibility, while instead the clarity about Line10 could lead to more careful planning of housing, facil-ities and movement within the western parts of the Sector.

3) Realising Line10 will establish a concrete al-ternative of the sprawling residential structures seen today, and will complement them through represent-ing the complete spectrum of diverse urban living experiments envisaged here. A concentrated urban settlement will provide Auroville will ample housing to receive numbers of new Aurovilians that require to be accomodated, and possibly give the Auroville dream a new boost through receiving people of a new gen-eration. It will concéntrate the needed infrastructure and will be the next large construction for collective work and collective life. Line10 could be taken up as the fitting project to be launched during Auroville’s 50th birthday celebration in 2018, as a project that truly symbolises the collective experiment and one that reflects the dimensión, scale and boldness with which Auroville has been conceived.

One has to learn to live together as one will not always have enough land to build a house kilometers away from one’s nearest neighbor. One has to take an inventive step, an urbanistic one that is part of Auroville’s message. One should include contemporary life, human relationships, technology and the respect of nature, within a very creative context to show to the world that it is possible. (Of course, for the time being we are simply continuing to perpetuate the hollow, comfortable, and uncreative system that has nothing to do with the future, nor with Mother’s dream.)

- Roger Anger, 1988


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Line10Overview | Context

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Line10Overview | Site Plan

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Line10 | Design

Rather than being monolithic, this high-rise structure is a conglomeration of structures ranging from ground level at the crown area to 12 stories in the peripheral area.

The group of structures avoid the sensation of a dense, opaque mass and the arrangement is perforated, porous and offers many through and through views and penetrations.

When seen from the crown it appears to be an inviting walk into an urban hillscape that is gently rising and along which the typology of housing units are progressively changing.

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Line10Design | Orientation

Line10 is oriented NW to SE, running 500 meters in length from near the existing Solar Kitchen to the periphery of the city.

The cells in the building are oriented at a slight angle to the NS - EW axis.

Auroville recieves heat and light from the south for a majority of the year. The units in Line10 are organized to minimize glare and heat gain while providing natural daylight to the building for the whole course of the day.

auroville

June Tropic of Cancer

12N

Equator

Tropic of Capricorn

July/May

September/March

December

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Line10Design | Massing

The building mass is broken into two distict regions:

1. Earth Mass - Low Tech A wider podium like building mass of 1-3 stories that projects beyond the tower’s outline in fluid and organic ge-ometry, connecting the structure har-moniously to the surrounding low rise structures of the residential area. This heavy mass of buildings is built of red earth sourced from the Matrimandir lake excavation. These lower structures are free from the column grid outline and can be freely arranged to create the best enclosures according to site adja-cencies. On the uppermost level of the Earth Mass is the Plaza level circula-tion, the elevated walkway connecting public space on the city level.

2. Sky Mass - High TechA geometrically ordered column-frame structure, this lighter though taller mass appears to be reduce the height visually from 12 to 8 stories.

This massing strategy helps connect the megastructure to the lower-rise developments adjacent to it in a har-monious continuation.

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Line10Design | Facade

The facade of the Sky Mass is designed for optimal performance. It allows maximum light and wind into the building unit while keeping the heat gain to a minimum. This is accom-plished by the orientation of the cells in Line10, and the strategically placed protusions on the face of the structure.

Horizontal and roof screen elements for shade will also be seen as a defin-ing element characterising the weath-er protected movement through the Line10, with sudden expansions of space such as courtyards, and hanging gardens.

The western face is a structure for urban agriculture that gives this face a distinct quality from the eastern face.

This element allows for sunlit garden-ing while protecting the interiors and west facing balconies from the harsh sun.

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Line10Design | Ventilation

The plan of the Line10 has two strips of housing running along each other, widening from the tallest to the short-est end.

The diffferences in heating of the building mass and cavity create a pres-sure difference that creates local winds.

Vertical breaks in the facade wall allow air to cut through the mass and pass through the entire structure.

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Line10 | Public Spaces & Networks

Line10 defines various networks in the city of Auroville.

Public Spaces - There are 3 levels of public space that are interconnected and flow through all the various struc-tures of the Line10 with their distinct characteristics and paths of movement. These spaces are not all in the same level necessarily but begin at ground level towards the crown area and climb higher progressively towards the outer limits of the city. The 1955 apartments of the Line10 are arranged into smaller communities within shared facilities on community level, keeping the in-timate character of successful housing developments.

Green Network - An extensive net-work of green spaces, designed and natural, exist in and around the struc-ture of Line10.

Urban Network - Pedestrians and cycles flow all over and through the structure of Line10.

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Line10Public Spaces | Heirarchy

Unlike current housing developments and particularly high-density ones that are often mere ‘dormitory’ spaces where inhabitants return at the end of the day to retire, this development de-liberately includes a range of collective facilities and public spaces to create alive neighbourhoods that are not deserted during the day. These areas contain activities for the inhabitants while allowing an easy ‘coming to-gether’, just as streets and plazas in the past were convenient meeting places of active contact and dialogue. Though the built forms are contemporary, the spaces and enclosures will retain the spatial intimacy and hierarchy of small to large spaces as found in old tradi-tional cities. The project demonstrates that high-density living need not com-promise on human scale and intimate human interaction.

Most high rise housing involves pub-lic space only in the ground level and each floor above this level is accord-ingly further away from the facilities. In Line10, care has been taken to uniformly distribute the public spaces through out the structure so as to not create dead areas of monotonously stacked apartments, with long distanc-es to the services.

Sky Level

Community Level

Plaza Level

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Line10Public Spaces | Plaza Level

City Scale - The public spaces on this level are easily accesible from the ground level although the plaza level itself is a playful arrangement shifting between the ground and two upper levels. This gently rising upper level circulation is arranged over the terraces of the lower mass of buildings which protrude at the base of the high-rise structure. This allows city level move-ment of people through the public areas of the Line10 and intersect the various activities proposed there. Even without climbing the roof level circu-lation of the Line10, the Plaza level walkways with its rising levels convey the same characteristics of a housing settlement on the hill, even though much gentler, and provides an elevated view of the city from the peripheral área towards the centre.

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Line10Public Spaces | Community Level

Building Scale - within the various structures of the Line10 there is a com-munity level route connecting commu-nity level. These spaces are welcome to the guests of residents but not auto-matically obvious to the other inhabi-tants, keeping a smaller scale and inti-mate quality than the other two levels of common space. Community kitch-ens, common guest accomodation, children common room etc are some of the public spaces that are linked to this route of public movement.

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Line10Public Spaces | Sky Level

Neighbourhood Scale - the sky level circulation allows inhabitants of the Line10 to take the ‘uphill’ path to their homes connecting neighbourhood scale public spaces located at the var-ious terraces through an open-to-sky path starting at the Crown and arriv-ing finally at the highest point of the structure which houses a café/common meeting room with a spectacular view. This path meanders through urban agricultura and semi-covered terraces where people can stay and meet.

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Line10Public Spaces | Green Network

The entire site and context is scattered with different scales and types of green spaces - all interconnected to each oth-er by multiple corridors.

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Line10 | Housing Units

As the housing development rang-es from ground storey structures to twelve storey ones, the apartment units themselves allow a range of possibili-ties to suit the diversity of Auroville’s inhabitants.

The ground floor apartments are a unique opportunity to live in the city centre in a courtyard house typology with individual roof terraces for ex-ample. The broad density calculations follow the guidelines set for the city, with an average of 30sqm per person.

Cells refer to single or couple units of 30 sqm each.

Flats refer to approximately 75 sqm to be occupied by 4 people.

There is additionally the provision of other apartment sizes as well as collec-tive living clusters of larger groupings such as for students and youth, as well as senior citizens.

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Line10 Overview:

Total Population: 1955

Adult Population: 1469Children: 486

In Cells: 983In Flats: 972

Site Area: 19000 m2Built Area: 49400 m2

Voids and Green Spaces: 26600 m2

No. of Floors: 12

Total Number of Cells: 819Total Number of Flats: 243


Line10Housing Units | Overview

- Roger Anger’s Calculations for the 11 Lines of Force, 1980

FLAT

75m2

2/3/4 occupants

CELL

30m2

1/2 occu-pants

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Line10Housing Units | Construction System

Prefabricated elements will accelerate construction and reduce the cost and time involved significantly. Hybrid systems will be involved including ferrocement prefab elements and RCC structures. The construction will gen-erate employment and be inclusive in its approach.

The project is not be limited to being realised by the existing capacities with-in Auroville, though the local skills will be valued and incorporated.

In line with what was initially con-ceived for Aurovilles development, the project will be materialised through a balance between ‘those who will live in Auroville and those who will create it.’

Wall PanelsFit between mullions

and stacked

MullionsAt the junction of two

slab modules.

Slabs180 x 180 cm precast

ferrocement slabs.

Structural FrameRCC skeleton running

under and above units

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Line10Housing Units | Modules & Flexibility

1. Sky Mass

Slab modules of 180 cm come together to form the floor of the apartments. A catalog of modules are available for the owner to choose from - each optimized to perform a set of functions.

The slab modules are the support sys-tem for the wall panels and mullions, both of which also come in a variety of materials and finishes that can be selected and modified by the occupant.

2. Earth Mass

Further flexibility is provided in the housing of the Earth Mass. Mud con-struction and the lack of a rigid struc-tural grid allow the form and the plan to be morphed to suit any needs.

Plans - Flats in Sky Mass Plans - Cells in Sky Mass Ferrocement Modules

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Line10 | Intervention

The proposal strengthens the existing developments adjacent to the site, takes into consideration existing natu-ral features and peramboke land inter-sections while announcing the quality envisaged in the city as a whole.

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Line10Perambooke Land & Water Channels

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Line10Ground Floor Plan

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Line10Perambooke Land & Water Channels

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Line10Second Floor Plan

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Line10Section

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Line10Detailed Section

line of force - preliminary design

Documents

housing project

rest of aurovilles housing

aurovilles history

aurovilles residential

aurovilles residential

urban development

housing typolology

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