Beloved by Architects, Auroville ranks as one of the most serene towns envisioned in the southern peninsula of India. Architects in Auroville have richly shaped the urban fabric through their unconventional methods of approach. The community was founded in 1968 and since then has aided Architects in Auroville to develop their ecological approach towards the practice. Part of Puducherry (one of the 8 Union territories of India), Auroville is an experimental township founded by Mirra Alfassa, a spiritual leader known as “The Mother”, and Sri Aurobindo, an Indian philosopher, and yogi. The town promotes cultural, spiritual, and ecological harmony among its inhabitants, who belong to diverse cultural and economic backgrounds. Often referred to as the “City of Dawn”, the name Auroville has its roots set in the French language: “Aurore”, meaning dawn, and “ville”, meaning village.

The impact on the field of Indian construction by Architects in Auroville commences since its formation. Designed by the french Architect Roger Anger, the town is infused with unique structures at whose heart lies the principles of sustainability and low cost. Since then, Architects around the country have visited and taken inspiration from the Aurovilllian’s visionary approach to construction, design, and way of living. The community offers freedom to push beyond conventional ways of construction, offering alternate building methods, techniques and exposure to unfamiliar materials: phrases that are not often encouraged in the general landscape. By promoting and practicing with locally sourced materials, Architects in Auroville have full-fledged adopted the town’s principles on sustainability and are influencing the ever-evolving nature of the field.

Here are a few notable names of Architects in Auroville whose endeavors have played a pivotal role.

• Anupama Kundoo
• Auroville Design Consultants
• Architecture Interspace
• Wallmakers
• C&M Architects
• Earthweavers
• Functional Forms
• Studio Naqshbandi
• Tapasya Design Studio
• Inscapes
• Pioneering Architects
• PATH Architects & Planners
• Imago Architecture and Design
• Design Collaborative Architects
• Play Design Studio
• MAD Studios
• Samangal
• Early Auroville Architect

Check out The Architect’s Diary’s other exclusive blogs on top Architects and Interior Designers in

–Ahmedabad

–Vadodara

–Surat

–Kerala

-Bangalore

-New Delhi

-Mumbai

-Pune

-Gurgaon

-Jaipur

Anupama Kundoo

My work begins with and remains close to the deep human need to have purpose, refuge, and social engagement. It speaks through details; details that foster intimacy and variety, sensory and spatial. It is where makers engage with hand and mind to produce objects they are proud of, where they transform simple materials with care and intelligence into purposeful structures, and where they are challenged to do more with less.

Firm Name: Anupama Kundoo

Auroville Design Consultants

The Auroville Design Consultants established in 1988 and is functioning under the “Auroville Center for Scientific Research -Auroville Foundation. The team consists of Suhasini Ayer – Principal Architect, supported by associate architects, experts in renewable energy and waste-water management.

Firm Name: Auroville Design Consultants

Architecture Interspace

Designers Neha & Sidharth Sangvi set up “Design Storeys” in Chennai around 2014. The two worked together in a firm in Bangalore before setting out on their own. The main philosophy of this young studio is to design solutions to integrate the interior and the exterior, bearing in mind the cultural and cAIS has always fostered a spirit of innovation and continues to embrace new methods of construction and fabrication.

Firm Name: Architecture Interspace

Firm’s Website Link: Architecture Interspace

Wallmakers

We, at Wallmakers, have devoted ourselves to the cause of using mud and waste as the chief components, to make structures that are both, utilitarian and alluring. Vinu Daniel completed his B. Arch in 2005 from The College of Engineering, Trivandrum, following which he worked with Auroville Earth Institute for the UNDP Post-Tsunami construction.

Firm Name: Wallmakers

Firm’s Website Link: Wallmakers

C&M Architects

Holistic approach towards design involving functionality, aesthetics & resource conservation. Sustainability and climate-responsive design form the basis of our work. Use of alternative, traditional & modern building technology as appropriate to the context and brief. Search for timeless architecture that is beyond ‘trends’ and doesn’t struggle to be ‘new’ or ‘inventive’ for the sake of it.

Firm Name: C&M Architects

Earthweavers

Earthweavers, a design practice umbrella, based in Auroville, came into existence in 2012. Its heart is Architecture, Landscaping, Interiors, Furniture, and Product design along with Material and Structural research.

Firm Name: Earthweavers

Functional Forms

Functional Forms is a architecture and design firm registered under the Auroville foundation with Shama Dalvi and Monica Tobar as executives. Shama is a registered architect with 20 + years experience in building homes & creating landscapes while Monica is a graphic designer with 10 years experience who dabbles repeatedly, successfully in interiors.

Firm Name: Functional Forms

Studio Naqshbandi

The studio offers a holistic approach to the science of building by using biologically enhancing and environmentally friendly building technologies which are rooted in the local context of climate and culture. Founded in 1995 and rooted in the essence and philosophy of Auroville, the small studio set up allows one to give the necessary time to research, develop and experiment.

Firm Name: Studio Naqshbandi

Tapasya Design Studio

Tapasya’s core team of architects seek to find innovative and sustainable solutions using design as a tool, outside the confines and boundaries of architectural grammar and languages. In trying to fulfill our vision of effecting a change in the society we exist in, we constantly seek new expressions, languages, and technologies. This journey has taken us through a wide array of projects ranging from Architecture, Interiors, Conservation, and Product Design .

Firm Name: Tapasya Design Studio

Inscapes

Inscapes is founded by Tejaswini Mistri-Kapoor in 2011. Her works from earlier office and present studio ranges from mixed-housing projects, individual houses, medium to small public buildings, community projects, institutional projects, factory, and hospitality projects. These include architecture and interior designs both. For her, work is meaningful when sustainable practices are built into the.

Firm Name: Inscapes

Pioneering Architects

The more the years accumulate and consequently one can see things in a larger perspective, the more we have today the feeling that quality references for architecture are closely related to qualities attributed to human beings. We think here of qualities defined by adjectives like sober, honest, correct, in harmony with nature, simple, sincere, intelligent, amiable, bright, elegant, wise, solid, alive, dynamic. As designers and sadhaks we try to express these attributes through our work.

Firm Name: Pioneering Architects

PATH Architects & Planners

PATH – Planning and Architecture Towards Holistic development – is an architecture and planning studio in Auroville led by Lalit Kishor Bhati and Shailaja Sudhalkar Bhati that endeavours to create sustainable and harmonious designs in planning, architecture and interiors. PATH was formed in Auroville, in 2004 with the intention to manifest creative expressions stemming from the journey of self-discovery and an ever evolving understanding of life.

Firm Name: PATH Architects & Planners

Imago Architecture and Design

Imago Architecture and Design is an Auroville based architecture studio, born in 2014. In Imago, our main goal is a research towards a more conscious and collaborative architecture, that focuses not only on design and beauty in form, but has a deeper social and economic impact on the community.

Firm Name: Imago Architecture and Design

Design Collaborative Architects

The advancement in building technology and complex nature of building programs call for a collaboration of many specialists for beautiful, efficient and cost-effective building design. At Design Collaborative Architects, Structural and MEP engineers, planners, interior & graphic designers, Landscape Architects and other specialists work together from concept ideation to construction.

Firm Name: Design Collaborative Architects

Play Design Studio

Our studio work on an evolutionary ideology to explore the new programmatic approaches to design, which are formulated to be in sync with its context. We believe in being at the forefront of changing this approach to design.

Firm Name: Play Design Studio

MAD Studios

At MAD Studios, We believe success is through the satisfaction of our clients. To do that our team and client should be on a common goal, which is creative, functional, and economical design. We provide that in our firm. We have experienced architects and project managers who provide guidance to our clients in every process and keep them updated in the design and building process. To date, we have won 7 awards and have been recognized as one of the best architects in Puducherry by a famous magazine. Every year we grow and our family increases with satisfied clients. We also have a well-experienced construction team and interior team to get our projects executed in South India.

Firm Name: MAD Studios

Samangal

Dhruv lives in Auroville since 2002 and has been working on a wide variety of roles from Design, to Technology transfer and innovations and Research in Social housing and restoration and conservation works pan India. He earlier partnered in work with Dharmesh Jadeja to create Dustudio in Auroville. He now runs his practice Samangal independently.

Firm Name: Samangal

Early Auroville Architect

Andre worked under the guidance of Roger Anger, Chief Architect of the city of Auroville, the town envisioned by the Mother, in Tamil Nadu, India, and for the past 40 years, he has practiced architecture in and around Auroville creating numerous private residences, apartment buildings and commercial facilities. He is cited and published, most recently, in the journal Architecture + Design.

Firm Name: Early Auroville Architect

Architects in Auroville have been experimental since time immemorial. They have imparted knowledge and questioned the traditional approach widely adopted. By pushing beyond the realm of generalized, mediocre and repeatable architecture, they have in return, rekindled and redefined the field. Architects in Auroville are pioneers in forging a new era of ecological sustainability: a movement that has gained much popularity over the past few years.

For young, blooming, zealous Architects, Auroville is a great place to kickstart your careers. The town passionately welcomes and imparts expertise through various platforms and workshops and is indeed a hub of ever-growing enthusiasts who aim to be in service of society.

Check out The Architect’s Diary’s other exclusive blogs on top Architects and Interior Designers in

–Ahmedabad

–Vadodara

–Surat

–Kerala

-Bangalore

-New Delhi

-Mumbai

-Pune

-Gurgaon

-Jaipur