Things are moving in the International Zone

Without doubt, the main mover behind the International Zone development is Professor Andrea Cammarata from Italy. Andrea is a “Friend of Auroville” and a volunteer. Six months a year he works as a Professor at the Polytechnic University of Milan, the largest technical university in Italy; the other six months he works in Auroville, helping to develop the International Zone.

“It started about five years ago,” says Andrea. “I had read a few books on Sri Aurobindo, The Mother and Satprem and then decided to visit Auroville. I was drawn to the town planning work and, in particular, to conceptualizing the International Zone”. In collaboration with the International Zone Coordination Team (IZCT), the Pavilion Groups, L’avenir d’Auroville and Auroville International, he gave form to what so far had just been a vague concept.

The work started studying the “huge collection of materials” on the Zone, in particular what The Mother had said about it. Then the area was analyzed in detail, and possible strategies for the future were defined. These included the water management; the Zone’s overall landscape and a definition of how much green and blue space it should contain; the relationship with the village of Bharathipuram that has developed within the Zone; a full infrastructure plan; and the buffer needed to protect the Zone from the outside.

Water recycling has been given a primary place. Today, an estimated 7,000 people are visiting the Visitors’ Centre, located on the outer border of the International Zone. This number is expected to increase dramatically. In the middle of the Zone is the village of Bharatipuram, which has an estimated 1,000 residents; nearby there is the village of Kottakarai where an estimated 5,000 people are living. The IZCT plans to treat and reuse part of the black water from these sources. In this way a blue environment in the form of ponds and streams can come into existence. The water will also allow for a green environment. “50% of this zone will be blue and green,” says Andrea.

The presence of the villages is both a challenge and an opportunity. The International Zone will provide work opportunities and so benefit those living in the villages. Some specific shared services will be provided to allow the village to become more sustainable, which would be an advantage for all of us.

The challenge will be to stop the further development of the village into Auroville, and grow harmoniously together, although some areas in the village may need to be bought as and when the need for the Zone’s development calls for it.

There are also two farms inside the Zone: Ayyapaddi and Solitude. The IZCT considers their presence a blessing, as they are crucial in terms of water use and water recycling. Moreover, their location near Edaiyanchavadi and the Kottakarai tar road is a buffer for the buildings inside the Zone.

Clusters and nations

When The Mother spoke about the International Zone, she talked about national pavilions, each expressing what a nation had contributed to the evolution of mankind. This concept has partially evolved. Instead of large pavilions, the focus is now on clusters, each with one or more large buildings at its core with facilities that can be used by all, and the pavilions of individual nations as satellites around it.

“You find the seed of the ‘cluster’ idea in The Mother’s approval of the winning model of the competition for Bharat Nivas, the Pavilion of India,” says Andrea. “The central buildings (we can also call it a cluster) housed the auditorium, a restaurant, and other facilities. Around it were the pavilions of the states of India.”

The cluster idea has been followed in subsequent designs of the Zone: by Roger, by Piero, by Helmut in his ‘agora’ concept for the European pavilions, and by Pino. The nation concept of which The Mother spoke is still fully alive, but it is now part of a continental-based clusters system.

Andrea points at the changing world. “If you compare the present world situation with 30 years ago, you see immense changes. Since 1990, 34 new countries have come into existence. International integration is happening more than ever before. Entire populations have moved from one area to another. Europe consists today of 50 countries, Asia 48, Africa 54, Oceania 14 and the Americas 35. To imagine that all of them would have their own individual pavilion is very difficult. To bring together common functions in a central building, with smaller nation buildings around it, makes much more sense – also from the point of view of human unity.” He mentions that each satellite can be different in size and adds that the nation's soul does not necessarily have to be expressed through a building. “It can also be expressed through an artistic installation, or a particular garden, or by a monument. The Canadian Inukshuk is an example.”

The cluster idea has now been enthusiastically accepted. Today, there is a European pavilion group, a North East Asia pavilion group (for China, Taiwan, Mongolia, Japan, and the Koreas); an African pavilion group (for the entire African continent); the Bratstvo or Brotherhood pavilion group (primarily for Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Caucasus countries); and an American pavilion group (for all the countries in the Americas). The pavilion groups for South East Asia, Oceania and the Middle East still need to be formed. At the centre of the International Zone is Bharat Nivas, the Pavilion of India, which, says Andrea, could also serve as the focal point for the pavilions of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

But the composition of each cluster has not yet been finalized and is bound to remain flexible in the years to come. The Bratstvo cluster, for example, could also have satellites from the former Eastern Bloc countries, but some of these might prefer to find a place in the European cluster.

The economics of the Zone

While the construction of the central buildings and the satellites will have to be funded from donations, each cluster will need to be self-sustaining for its maintenance. How this is to be done is under discussion and needs further study. One possible source of income is tourism. The International Zone is envisaged as a place of interaction and continuous exchange between Auroville and the outside world and many day-tourists visiting the clusters and their eateries can be expected. But the Zone will also need cheap student and volunteer accommodation. “We learned that from the Africans, who insisted on having a place for exchange students. They started with safari camping, now they are going further. This is in accordance with The Mother’s views on the Zone. Both in The Mother’s vision, and in the 1968 and 2001 Master Plans, the International Zone is expected to host exchange and research between Auroville and the rest of the world. To fulfill this mission one needs a supporting infrastructure.”

Towards a Detailed Development Plan.

Asked if Auroville is ready for making the Detailed Development Plan (DDP) of the International Zone, Andrea briefly hesitates before answering, “Yes, absolutely”. His hesitation, he says, is because some parameters are still to be fixed, such as the exact location of the focal points of each cluster. “There are some deviations from the earlier designs of Roger as the area has changed and the landscape is different. But there is nothing dramatic. So we can start the DDP. In the last three months I did intensive team-building work. The IZ Tech team already includes eight or nine Aurovilian architects, seven international professionals, three planners, two landscapers and a green/blue planning unit. This is promising, though we may need to hire some outside experts. We also hope that the cluster teams will provide other professionals who can be included in the team”.

But he stresses that the DDP cannot be made by experts alone. “We have to work with the people. The strategies, the ideas, the perspective, the possibilities of the area, all have to be worked out together and shared with the people who are interested. Only a joint effort has any chance of success.”

But even before the DDP is finalized, work on the ground can start. Some of the Zone’s infrastructure, such as the loop road, can be built now. Bratstvo can be given permission to start building the core of their cluster, and the African Pavilion group to build their dormitory and caretaker spaces.

Andrea warns that the DDP will have to be flexible. “Theoretically, the DDP will outline the order of the needs, such as fencing the area and making the loop road, but in practical terms it never works out like that. If suddenly someone comes with enough money to start this or that project, then things will happen in parallel. So perhaps a few cluster cores or pavilions will start to be constructed while the general infrastructure of the Zone is still in process. Of course, all that on the basis of a DDP which has been accepted by the community.”

Is getting community approval a concern? Andrea doesn’t believe so. “The DDP of the International Zone might be more readily accepted by the community as they are participating in the process of its making. Participation is open to all those who want to be involved. In fact, we are asking more people to participate. They could be part of the Pavilion Group or of the IZCT and if they also have technical skill, they can join the IZ Tech Team.”