Auroville Language Lab Building
Sustainable, Healthy, and Conscious Architecture at the Auroville Language Lab
We, at the Auroville Language Lab are constantly striving towards an integrated and holistic way of learning as well as living. Our ethos is reflected in our unique building which is an exemplar of architecture that is sustainable as well as healthy and conscious. Our space combines climate-protective design with human comfort & wellbeing. It has features like passive cooling systems, lime & probiotics based construction, EMC lighting, and many other innovations in sustainable design & practices. Summer after summer, we have managed to stay comfortably cool inside our building despite soaring temperatures outside.
We were very lucky to have architects, Parul Zaveri & Nimish Patel of Panika and Abhikram, leaders of the sustainable architecture movement in India, who gave us this beautifully conscious design. Numerous consultants & innovators from Auroville and elsewhere brought their own special wisdom and expertise to the making of this structure. Our building embodies the synthesis of a multitude of ideas & innovations. Our upcoming book Build Holistically: Sustainable, Healthy & Conscious Construction is a consolidation of all this knowledge.
Special Aspects of Our Building
Passive cooling and dehumidification system without air conditioning
Use of lime for mortar and plaster
Use of passive design techniques like maximising natural daylight while reducing heat ingress
Electro-magnetic compliance and reduction of electro-smog
Use of probiotics in the walls for the purest anti-oxidant energy
Use of wood from trees uprooted during the cyclone of 2011
Use of second-hand wood for carpentry
Ground floor fully wheelchair-accessible
Upcycling old computer tables into shelves
Use of eco-friendly paints
Rain water harvesting and re-use of grey water through a vortex system
Vaastu shastra
Integration of telluric energy lines
A solar and wind energy-based renewable energy system.
Help us Finish the Building!
What People Say
What a wonderful project! I was visiting Auroville as part of my sabbatical from my University in the U.S (Bowling Green State University). I stopped by to meet Mita. She and I both graduated from the same undergrad college (Mount Holyoke). But my visit provided so much more. What Mita & Tapas are building is absolutely incredible. The use of materials that are focused towards sustainability is incredible. Lime, Electro-Smog Reduction, Cooling without Air Conditioning, etc. I totally support this effort! I can’t wait to share my visit with MHC.
When I first arrived at the Language Lab, I was struck by the beauty of the inner courtyard and the general sense of high aesthetics. Several times I have heard from new students who notice the spirit of the building: it invites learning, stimulates the brain and brings focus to the task of learning & language acquisition.
This is my very first time visiting. I really enjoyed it, the space is so peaceful that it expanded a lot of new space inside my mind and my heart, which gave me more hope to start my ‘study’ journey. I am very much looking forward to the French lessons here in the near future.
I am a lover of eco-friendly projects, and have seen many such, but this one is fantabulous and has my heart given to it. With the concept of Natural Air-Conditioning (if I may call it that) to the metal support of the structure to the aesthetic use of the simple glass bricks for light– I am SIMPLY FLOORED BY THE FLOOR CONCEPTS. The use of stones with red oxide in hues of blues and yellows creates the warmth that’s meant to be. The wonderful yet simple use of sliding glass and wooden louvres takes me back in time. Thanks AUROVILLE and Vinay for bringing me here.
Energy in Tranquility–that’s how I would describe this beautiful building and its people. As you walk in you can’t help but feel like the simplicity has so many layers of strength and real content. It’s atleast a few degrees cooler here and the sweat evaporates. I am taken by the charm, vivacity and sincerity of the people who work here. I would love to come back as a parent, friend, student, teacher, person. Thank you for the work you do!
Research, Gujarat