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Satprem Maini
Gallery
DATE OF JOINING AUROVILLE:
End of August 1989
BACKGROUND:
- 1985: Architect DPLG graduation at the School of Architecture of Lyon, France.
- 1988: Postgraduate diploma in Earth architecture at the school of Architecture
of Grenoble, France.
DESCRIPTION OF THE NATURE OF
MY WORK:
- Management of the Auroville Building Centre (AVBC) / Earth Unit.
- Research and development of stabilised earth-based technologies and equipment
for earth construction.
- Dissemination of these technologies through publishing manuals and documents.
- Conducting training courses on earth technologies and arches, vaults and
domes.
- Giving consultancy within India and abroad.
WHAT I TRY TO SEEK OR
EXPRESS THROUGH MY WORK:
- In general: to be a willing servitor of the Divine consciousness.
- In particular: to honour our Mother Earth by using its resources with a lot of
respect and gratitude and to help convey this message to the world; to get in
touch with the Earth consciousness through its matter.
BEST WORKS WHICH EXPRESS MY
VISION:
- Mirramukhi School, Auroville.
- Vikas Community, Auroville.
- The dome of the Dhyanalingam Temple for Lord Shiva, near Coimbatore.
OVERVIEW OF THE EVOLUTION OF
MY WORK:
- During my study of architecture I became interested in alternative building
materials (such as second-hand wood) and also in the direct participation of
people in the design and construction process.
- 1986: Participating in the construction of the 'House of 24 hours', which was
built at Grenoble, France. Working one month with Sister Emmanuelle in the slums
of Cairo, Egypt.
- 1987: Conducting a two-month training course and building a school in Somalia
for UNESCO. Conducting a one-month training course and building a demonstration
house at the Ivory Coast.
- 1988: Building the exhibition Centre of the Royal Commission of Jubail and
Yambu in Saudi Arabia. Following a two-month training in working with rammed
earth in Australia.
- 1989: Conducting a one-month training course on compressed earth blocks in New
Delhi. This was my first contact with India, during which I decided to join
Auroville a few months later.
- 1991-1997: Creating and developing Vikas Community, Auroville.
- 1994-1995: Building Mirramukhi School, Auroville.
- 1996: Building a demonstration project for UNCHS/Habitat at the 1996 City
Summit in Istanbul in two weeks time.
- 1997: Lecturing, on invitation, in earth and appropriate building technologies
in Brazil for three months.
- 1998: Building with an 18-men team a disaster-resistant house at New Delhi in
66 hours.
- 1998-1999: Building the 22.16 meters dome of the Dhyanalingam temple of Lord
Shiva, near Coimbatore.
- 1998-2000: Building several domes and vaults of various shapes and spans in
Auroville.
ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTS IN
AUROVILLE
The Auroville project I appreciate most is the Matrimandir. Projects done
by Helmut and Anupama are also worthwhile mentioning for the integrity
and quality of their work.
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