The brochure
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Concept of the German Pavilion
July 2002
On August 15, 2001, an inauguration
ceremony for German Aurovilians and their friends marked the
beginning of the real planning and construction phase of the German
Pavilion in Auroville. Since then, the Pavilion group of Auroville International
(AVI) Germany published a brochure describing certain aspects of the
'German soul' and showing the design of the future building. As
nothing as yet is finalised or 'frozen', the text of the write-up
may continue to evolve.. You find some excerpts here below.
First concept of the design
The idea to start work on Auroville's German
Pavilion first emerged in 1992, after which a group of interested
people have met regularly for intense workshop sessions during
weekends. Support for this group and the Pavilion Initiative in
Auroville is from AV International
(AVI) Germany e.V. - a recognised
public association.
Combining aspects of the German
culture
The remarks of Sri Aurobindo about Germany that are found in his
book 'The Human Cycle' have served as a reference with
regard to the contents of the German Pavilion. According to these
insights, the fulfillment and future task of the German soul lies in the happy realisation of both the idealistic and
pragmatic aspects of its nature. Pre-eminent aspects of the German
culture may be on one hand philosophy/vision and music, and on the
other hand a dispassionate and rational attitude towards research
and production. Hence the need for a Pavilion model that will
fulfill the full spectrum of these qualities. The Pavilion is not to
embody only the German soul aspects in a symbolic way, but should
also be of practical benefit to a vital and essential aspect of
Auroville.
Need for an integral guiding idea
The German Pavilion is to adapt itself, of
course, to the existing concept of the International Zone with its
campus character, and has to fit into it in a way that it makes
sense at each stage of its development. This demands that the
concept not only be modular and adaptable, but should also be easy
to extend. Herein lies the challenge that the pavilion does not grow
in a piecemeal fashion, but should have worked out its overall and
central themes from the very beginning.
With respect to the aspects of the German soul described above, and
the resulting synthesis to be derived from these, the aim is to
create a building that is based on an integral guiding idea, which
would also be suitable as the core for further development.
'Water' as central theme
 Members of the German Pavilion Group defined
'water' as a possible guiding idea. It was chosen, on the one hand,
for its qualities as the creator of life, and its expression of the
joy of life and beauty, - and on the other hand as a medium that
carries an energy whose possibilities to date have hardly been
explored. This guiding idea of water should find its expression in
or on the building in an artistic/creative way, as a combination of
light, water and sound.
Today, more than ever, a careful handling of
this precious resource is crucial and many new insights into its
secrets may emerge. Space and equipment dedicated to different kinds
of water research is required. Besides for instance development of alternative
(appropriate) technologies for the desalination of sea water, it
could also include leading edge scientific research of specially
processed water to potentially carry information.
Music Hall
A further part of the building would
provide an acoustically highly adaptable hall, which would be
suitable for concert performances and for use by music schools or
study groups. Here, a 'concert' would not only mean a performance of
work by German composers, but of Indian and other composers as well, always
with its focus on more classical music styles. The quality of the
technical specification of this hall can be anywhere from its basic
structural acoustic function up to, and including, sophisticated
high tech equipment. An additional workshop for the production and
maintenance of musical instruments is also foreseen. (see
Impression)
German vision & philosophy
Finally, a separate area should represent the
vision/philosophy of Germany in an adequate manner. In this space
both exhibitions and lectures should be made possible.
Miscellaneous
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Additional space requirements: two to
three single- room guest apartments; caretakers flat; reception
area and a small Café
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Ornamental gardens around the building,
possibly in connection with a fountain
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No free-standing building, but integrated
into a 'European plaza', with possible links to neighbouring
buildings (e.g. French or Russian pavilions)
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