Humanscapes Habitat

The contractors hired by the AVFO and its Auroville Town Development Council began two new major road works immediately before the monsoon, leading again to difficult and potentially dangerous conditions for road users, in particular cyclists.

In the News in Brief section of the May issue of Auroville Today it was mentioned under “Awards for Auroville architects” that Suhasini Laxman Iyer had won the Indian Institute of Architects IIA National Award 2022 in the category Residential Projects for the Humanscapes Habitat buildings.

In March 2024 it was announced that Suhasini Laxman Iyer had won the Indian Institute of Architects IIA National Awards 2022 in the category Residential Projects for the Humanscapes Habitat buildings.

Three Auroville architects received awards in the Indian Institute of Architects awards for excellence in architecture 2022. Mona Doctor-Pingel won in the categories ‘Mercantile Retail category for Cottage Showroom’ and ‘Women Architects to the forefront’; Ganesh Bala won in the ‘Adaptive reuse and conservation category’ for an Auromodѐle House; and Suhasini Ayer received a commendation in the ‘Residential’ category for Humanscapes.

Auroville from Above had a similar impact on some of the viewers. “What a change of perspective!” wrote one, “It feels like helping us to realize the amazing place/gift we are living in.”

Lack of available housing threatens the growth of Auroville. The reasons for this are lack of planning, bureaucratization, ‘not in my backyard’ attitudes, over-dependence on government grants and bad economic policies.

Suhasini has won the Green Architecture Award organised by J. K. Cement Limited for architects from eleven countries. It was awarded for the Humanscapes Habitat youth housing project. [see AVToday # 340 of November 2017].

The Humanscapes project is designed to accommodate Aurovilians and interns between the ages of 20 - 40 years. The first phase, which is approaching completion, will provide 36 beds in apartments varying from studio size to shared groupings and larger family apartments.

The Sacred Groves project is an experiment in sustainable construction that is gaining recognition in the larger India. However, it has become the focus of controversy in the Auroville community as some feel that it has cost too much and delivered too little.

Two of the major challenges facing the community at present are a fragile economy and a severe lack of low-priced accommodation. Clearly, the two are interlinked.

Hemant Lamba, a member of the Working Committee, has for many years been concerned about transforming our housing situation, particularly to meet the needs of youth.

YouthLink is a new youth group that aims to engage the youth in Auroville and the surrounding area and to work towards providing Auroville youth with, among other things, better opportunities in housing, higher education and employment.