Under the Banyan

Book review — Authored by Alan

Under the Banyan: Principles of sustainable habitats in the tropics

Under the Banyan is a sketchbook designed to introduce readers to essential principles of sustainable architecture in tropical climates, using examples drawn from Auroville. It does not go into details, there are no architectural drawings, for example, and it emphasises that it does not offer any universal recipes for sustainable construction. “Each structure is different and should be analysed individually, depending on climate, landscape, people’s needs, social environment, cultural history and available materials.”

Under the Banyan is a sketchbook designed to introduce readers to essential principles of sustainable architecture in tropical climates, using examples drawn from Auroville. It does not go into details – there are no architectural drawings, for example – and it emphasises that it does not offer any universal recipes for sustainable construction. “Each structure is different and should be analysed individually, depending on climate, landscape, people’s needs, social environment, cultural history and available materials.”

The format is an architect’s graphic diary of a week exploring sustainable experiments in Auroville. Each day it focuses on a different theme – biodiversity, water management, ventilation, solar protection, waste management – and draws out the most important learnings from Auroville’s response to these challenges.

The principles are clearly and entertainingly presented: the witty and informative sketches reminded me of those early Auroville cyclostyled newsletters. Much of it may be a matter of commonsense but I have never seen the principles of how to enhance natural ventilation both inside and outside buildings, for example, so clearly and so simply described.

I have a few reservations. Speaking as a layperson, I’m not convinced that “preserving the natural ground level” should be taken as a basic principle of sustainable architecture, as I can conceive of many cases where sensitively reshaping a given landscape may lead to enhanced water catchment possibilities. I think respecting the “natural flow” of water may also be problematic in certain cases for the same reason. No doubt, this is where the warning against seeing these as “universal recipes” comes in.

I also wonder if urban architects will find enough guidance here for materialising these principles in environments very different from that of Auroville, but I understand this is not the purpose of this publication.

Lastly, I regret that the text has not received the attention of a first-rate English-speaking editor. While it is perfectly readable, Mother did not conceive of Auroville, for example, as a place for the “evolution of conscience”!

But all these are no more than niggles. This is a handsomely presented and beautifully illustrated handbook, useful for both the layperson and professional in that it clarifies important principles of sustainable design. The authors should be congratulated for this entertaining and informative introduction, as should Auroville Consulting for its valuable assistance in design and publication.