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construction of a second Pavilion (after the Bharat Nivas) has started.
It was more than twenty-five years ago that the first Pavilion began. The
second Pavilion in the International zone of Auroville, the Pavilion of
Tibetan Culture, will try to embody the words of the Mother: "…the cultures
of the different regions of the earth will be represented here in such
a way as to be accessible to all, not merely intellectually, in ideas,
theories, principles and languages, but also vitally, in habits and customs,
in art under all forms—painting, sculpture, music, architecture, decoration—and
physically too through natural scenery, dress, games, sport, industries
and food. It is perhaps symbolic that it is a nation without a country
but with a deep and ancient culture which has accepted to build in the
International Zone what will, we hope, be the sign of her inner quest.
Though His Holiness the Dalai Lama laid the Foundation Stone of the Pavilion on the eve of Christmas 1993, the actual construction has been delayed for different reasons, in particular by the accident of one of the architects who fell from a windmill and took several months to recover. The choice of the architecture of the building was an Aurovillian adventure and as often happens in Auroville, ended in a consensus/compromise between the technical and esthetic requirements and ultimately a far better result than the original plan. In March the final model was presented to His Holiness the Dalai Lama who made some comments for improvement of the inner courtyard and blessed the project.
One first task was to install a Solar System of twenty-five photo-voltaic cells, to provide water for the site during the time of the construction, specially for the curing of the mud bricks and the ferro-cement elements. On June 20th, we had a small function for the casting of the first pillar, led by two young Rimpoches from Mundgod. A group of Aurovilians and Tibetans from Pondicherry prayed for a smooth construction and completion of the building. Seeds blessed by the Nechung State Oracle were put in the foundation of each pillar. We are presently mainly working on the concreting of the pillars which will form the main structure of the building. The bases of all pillars have now been concreted and we are working on the tie beam. It is not the most spectacular phase of the construction, but it one of the most important ones as structurally the entire Pavilion will sit on these pillars. We should also remember that the grid of pillars has been placed according to the sketch of a traditional Tibetan Mandala. Even traditionally in Tibet, the numbers, position and design of the pillars were the most important factor in Tibetan architecture. Though the phase is a bit tedious and time consuming, we feel it is an important phase.
One worry remains the finances. We have now decided to complete as far as we could the first phase corresponding to the ground floor of the building. Nevertheless, the money available today will not be enough to complete this first phase. So we appeal to all the friends of Auroville and the Tibetans to help us contributing to the project or by putting us in contact with friends who could help us. Contributions for Auroville projects can be sent to the Sri
Aurobindo Association or to AVI-USA.
See the Center Listings section
of the Integral Yoga Website for addresses.
Claude Arpi, Pavilion of
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the plans were slightly modified, an extra plot of land on the western
side of the Pavilion was allocated by the Planning Office in Auroville.
On the eastern side, the tree planted by His Holiness the Dalai Lama will
not be disturbed by the new plans, but the Foundation Stone laid by His
Holiness is now outside the building. It will not be a technical problem
at a later stage to move the foundation wall and the brick around it to
the new entrance of the Pavilion. We decided to give the responsibility
of building the Pavilion to the Auroville Building Centre, a unit of the
CSR which has specialized in appropriate building technology. The main
idea is that this building could be used as a technical resource center
for the Tibetans living in exile and that the technologies developed in
Auroville could be replicated in the different settlements and perhaps
one day in Tibet. The detailed plans are being done by Auromode Architects
under the supervision of Andre Hababou the Architect in charge of the construction.
The technical aspects suggested by our other architect Aurosatprem have
been incorporated. The engineering drawings for the size of the foundations
and the pillars have already been calculated in Madras.