Line10 An Urban Hillscape
Line10 is a housing project located in Auroville, amil Nadu, for 1955 inhabitants. Located in Auroville’s residential zone between Sector 2 and 3, this project is a new typology of housing that concentrates urban living in contemporary arrangements taking advantage of new technologies while retaining the intimacy seen in ancient and traditional human settlements. Line10 is a protype for co-existence, not only among the people of diverse cultures, but also between human settlements and the larger universe, an arrangement that keeps the inhabitants in contact with climate, vegetation, resources of water and energy, the earth and the sky. Unlike the ‘tower’ typology, this structure is more like a long horizontal sloping mass, that like a settlement on a hillscape provides much needed interesting vistas in an otherwise almost flat city.
Line10 An Urban Hillscape
Line10 is a housing project located in Auroville, amil Nadu, for 1955 inhabitants. Located in Auroville’s residential zone between Sector 2 and 3, this project is a new typology of housing that concentrates urban living in contemporary arrangements taking advantage of new technologies while retaining the intimacy seen in ancient and traditional human settlements. Line10 is a protype for co-existence, not only among the people of diverse cultures, but also between human settlements and the larger universe, an arrangement that keeps the inhabitants in contact with climate, vegetation, resources of water and energy, the earth and the sky. Unlike the ‘tower’ typology, this structure is more like a long horizontal sloping mass, that like a settlement on a hillscape provides much needed interesting vistas in an otherwise almost flat city.
Line10 Foreword
Te construction of Auroville was initially envisaged within a short time time period of 15 years. Auroville’s Auroville’s history history however took a different different course with developments significantly slowing down during the early three decades during which the inhabitants were scattered across a widespread area mostly outside the limits of the city proper. Tereafter, Tereafter, the city center and the residential zones have developed noticeably and Auroville is clearly now now ready to take its its next logical step in its urban development. In order to enable most of Auroville to be realised through low-rise, low-tech structures, the city plan relies to a great extent on the 10 concentrated lines of high-rise compact housing development, called ‘Ligne de Force’ by Roger Anger, Auroville’s Auroville’s chief architect. architect. In order for the rest of Auroville’s Auroville’s housing to develop flexibly allowing diversity of architectural expressions,
the housing typolology of the ‘Ligne de Force’ structures need much more structure and infrastructure, and along with s ome of Auroville’s other central buildings, will be Auroville’s most defining urban elements. In describing the Ligne de Force structures Roger Anger had pointed out that that A ‘A macrostructure, like a mountain, cannot be changed easily. easily. Te macrostructure is an arrangement of space involving an underworld of sewage pipes, of water and electricity connections, main circulation ways wandering through the surface relief, natural or artificial climatic conditions bathing the whole complex. Once the macrostructure macrostructure is positioned, everything becomes possible. possible. On this structure is laid an outer outer skin, changeable and plastic so that it may be stretched, so that its colour may be altered. altered. Such an approach isis the only one that will allow an evolution of the town in time and within a given space. Te clothing of the town may be changed, renewed without drastic destruction.’
Line10 Why Now?
As Auroville’s residential areas have reached the stage of detailed development plans, it is time to take up the detailed project of one prototype Line10 of ‘Ligne de Force’ structures for the following reasons: 1) Te project will lead to a better understanding of the peculiarities of high density housing envisaged in Auroville, including the extent of public life meant to be contained within it. 2) Tis is necessary to unblock the developments foreseen in lands adjacent to it, particularly in Sector 2. If Sector 2 is developed without taking key elements of the Line10 into consideration, these may remain an impossibility, while instead the clarity about Line10 could lead to more c areful planning of housing, facilities and movement within the western parts of the Sector.
3) Realising Line10 will establish a concrete alternative of the sprawling residential s tructures seen today, and will complement them through representing the complete spectrum of diverse urban living experiments envisaged here. A concentrated urban settlement will provide Auroville will ample housing to receive numbers of new Aurovilians that require to be accomodated, and possibly give the Auroville dream a new boost through receiving people of a new generation. It will concéntrate the needed infrastructure and will be the next large construction for collective work and collective life. Line10 could be taken up as the fitting project to be launched during Auroville’s 50th birthday celebration in 2018, as a project that truly symbolises the collective experiment and one that reflects the dimensión, scale and boldness with which Auroville has been conceived.
One has to learn to live together as one will not always have enough land to build a house kilometers away from one’s nearest neighbor. One has to take an inventive step, an urbanistic one that is part of Auroville’s message. One should include contemporary life, human relationships, technology and the respect of nature, within a very creative context to show to the world that it is possible. (Of course, for the time being we are simply continuing to perpetuate the hollow, comfortable, and uncreative system that has nothing to do with the future, nor with Mother’s dream.) - Roger Anger, 1988
Line10 Overview | Context
Line10 Overview | Context
Line10 Overview | Site Plan
Line10 | Design
Rather than being monolithic, this high-rise structure is a conglomeration of structures ranging from ground level at the crown area to 12 stories in the peripheral area. Te group of structures avoid the sensation of a dense, opaque mass and the arrangement is perforated, porous and offers many through and through views and penetrations. When seen from the crown it appears to be an inviting walk into an urban hillscape that is gently rising and along which the typology of housing units are progressively changing.
Line10 Design | Orientaon
Line10 is oriented NW to SE, running 500 meters in length from near the existing Solar Kitchen to the periphery of the city. Te cells in the building are oriented at a slight angle to the NS - EW axis.
TropicofCancer
June
July/May
September/March
December
auroville
12N
Equator
TropicofCapricorn
Auroville recieves heat and light from the south for a majority of the year. Te units in Line10 are organized to minimize glare and heat gain while providing natural daylight to the building for the whole course of the day.
Line10 Design | Massing
Te building mass is broken into two distict regions: 1. Earth Mass - Low Tech A wider podium like building mass of 1-3 stories that projects beyond the tower’s outline in fluid and organic geometry, connecting the structure harmoniously to the surrounding low rise structures of the residential area. Tis heavy mass of buildings is built of red earth sourced from the Matrimandir lake excavation. Tese lower structures are free from the column grid outline and can be freely arranged to create the best enclosures according to site adjacencies. On the uppermost level of the Earth Mass is the Plaza level circulation, the elevated walkway connecting public space on the city level. 2. Sky Mass - High Tech A geometrically ordered column-frame structure, this lighter though taller mass appears to be reduce the height visually from 12 to 8 stories. Tis massing strategy helps connect the megastructure to the lower-rise developments adjacent to it in a harmonious continuation.
Line10 Design | Facade
Te facade of the Sky Mass is designed for optimal performance. It allows maximum light and wind into the building unit while keeping the heat gain to a minimum. Tis is accomplished by the orientation of the cells in Line10, and the strategically placed protusions on the face of the structure. Horizontal and roof screen elements for shade will also be seen as a defining element characterising the weather protected movement through the Line10, with sudden expansions of space such as courtyards, and hanging gardens. Te western face is a structure for urban agriculture that gives this face a distinct quality from the eastern face.
Tis element allows for sunlit gardening while protecting the interiors and west facing balconies from the harsh sun.
Line10 Design | Venlaon
Te plan of the Line10 has two strips of housing running along each other, widening from the tallest to the shortest end. Te diffferences in heating of the building mass and cavity create a pressure difference that creates local winds.
Vertical breaks in the facade wall allow air to cut through the mass and pass through the entire structure.
Line10 | Public Spaces & Networks
Line10 defines various networks in the city of Auroville.
Public Spaces - Tere are 3 levels of public space that are interconnected and flow through all the various structures of the Line10 with their distinct characteristics and paths of movement. Tese spaces are not all in the same level necessarily but begin at ground level towards the crown area and climb higher progressively towards the outer limits of the city. Te 1955 apartments of the Line10 are arranged into smaller communities within shared facilities on community level, keeping the intimate character of successful housing developments. Green Network - An extensive net work of green spaces, designed and natural, exist in and around the structure of Line10. Urban Network - Pedestrians and cycles flow all over and through the structure of Line10.
Line10 Public Spaces | Heirarchy
Unlike current housing developments and particularly high-density ones that are often mere ‘dormitory’ spaces where inhabitants return at the end of the day to retire, this development deliberately includes a range of collective facilities and public spaces to create alive neighbourhoods that are not deserted during the day. Tese areas contain activities for the inhabitants while allowing an easy ‘coming together’, just as streets and plazas in the past were convenient meeting places of active contact and dialogue. Tough the built forms are contemporary, the spaces and enclosures will retain the spatial intimacy and hierarchy of small to large spaces as found in old traditional cities. Te project demonstrates that high-density living need not compromise on human scale and intimate human interaction. Most high rise housing involves public space only in the ground level and each floor above this level is accordingly further away from the facilities. In Line10, care has been taken to uniformly distribute the public spaces through out the structure so as to not create dead areas of monotonously stacked apartments, with long distances to the services.
Sky Level
Community Level
Plaza Level
Line10 Public Spaces | Plaza Level
City Scale - Te public spaces on this level are easily accesible from the ground level although the plaza level itself is a playful arrangement shifting between the ground and two upper levels. Tis gently rising upper level circulation is arranged over the terraces of the lower mass of buildings which protrude at the base of the high-rise structure. Tis allows city level movement of people through the public areas of the Line10 and intersect the various activities proposed there. Even without climbing the roof level circulation of the Line10, the Plaza level walkways with its rising levels convey the same characteristics of a housing settlement on the hill, even though much gentler, and provides an elevated view of the city from the peripheral área towards the centre.
Line10 Public Spaces | Community Level
Building Scale - within the various structures of the Line10 there is a community level route connecting community level. Tese spaces are welcome to the guests of residents but not automatically obvious to the other inhabitants, keeping a smaller scale and intimate quality than the other two levels of common space. Community kitchens, common guest accomodation, children common room etc are some of the public spaces that are linked to this route of public movement.
Line10 Public Spaces | Sky Level
Neighbourhood Scale - the sky level circulation allows inhabitants of the Line10 to take the ‘uphill’ path to their homes connecting neighbourhood scale public spaces located at the various terraces through an open-to-sky path starting at the Crown and arriving finally at the highest point of the structure which houses a café/common meeting room with a spectacular view. Tis path meanders through urban agricultura and semi-covered terraces where people can stay and meet.
Line10 Public Spaces | Green Network
Te entire site and context is scattered with different scales and types of green spaces - all interconnected to each other by multiple corridors.
Line10 | Housing Units
As the housing development ranges from ground storey structures to twelve storey ones, the apartment units themselves allow a range of possibilities to suit the diversity of Auroville’s inhabitants. Te ground floor apartments are a unique opportunity to live in the city centre in a courtyard house typology with individual roof terraces for example. Te broad density calculations follow the guidelines set for the city, with an average of 30sqm per person. Cells refer to single or couple units of 30 sqm each. Flats refer to approximately 75 sqm to be occupied by 4 people. Tere is additionally the provision of other apartment sizes as well as collective living clusters of larger groupings such as for students and youth, as well as senior citizens.
Line10 Housing Units | Overview
Line10 Overview:
Total Populaon: 1955 Adult Populaon: 1469 Children: 486 In Cells: 983 In Flats: 972
Site Area: 19000 m2 Built Area: 49400 m2 Voids and Green Spaces: 26600 m2
No. of Floors: 12
Total Number of Cells: 819 Total Number of Flats: 243
- Roger Anger’s Calculaons for the 11 Lines of Force, 1980
FLAT
CELL
75m2
30m2
2/3/4 occupants
1/2 occupants
Line10 Housing Units | Construcon System
Wall Panels Fit between mullions and stacked
Prefabricated elements will accelerate construction and reduce the cost and time involved significantly. Hybrid systems will be involved including ferrocement prefab elements and RCC structures. Te construction will generate employment and be inclusive in its approach. Te project is not be limited to being realised by the existing capacities within Auroville, though the local skills will be valued and incorporated. In line with what was initially conceived for Aurovilles development, the project will be materialised through a balance between ‘those who will live in Auroville and those who will create it.’
Mullions At the juncon of two slab modules.
Slabs 180 x 180 cm precast ferrocement slabs.
Structural Frame RCC skeleton running under and above units
Line10 Housing Units | Modules & Flexibility
1. Sky Mass Slab modules of 180 cm come together to form the floor of the apartments. A catalog of modules are available for the owner to choose from - each optimized to perform a set of functions. Te slab modules are the support system for the wall panels and mullions, both of which also come in a variety of materials and finishes that can be selected and modified by the occupant.
2. Earth Mass Further flexibility is provided in the housing of the Earth Mass. Mud construction and the lack of a rigid structural grid allow the form and the plan to be morphed to suit any needs.
Line10 | Intervenon
Te proposal strengthens the existing developments adjacent to the site, takes into consideration existing natural features and peramboke land intersections while announcing the quality envisaged in the city as a whole.
Line10 Perambooke Land & Water Channels
Line10 Ground Floor Plan
Line10 Perambooke Land & Water Channels
Line10 Second Floor Plan
Line10 Secon
Line10 Detailed Secon
