Anupama Kundoo Informed by research into and experimentation with eco-friendly construction methods, the work of Anupama Kundoo adheres to the fundamentals of Indian tectonics in forming its architectural language. In this respect her work is influenced by the experimental environment of Auroville, and the construction innovations of Balkrishna Doshi and Laurie Baker. In 1990 she started her architecture practice in Auroville, a place she describes as an international city in the making in southeast India (see her essay in this issue). From 1992 to 1996 she lived in Berlin and worked in social housing, before returning to Auroville.
Wall House, Auroville, 2000 Kundoo’s own residence embodies her research and experimentation in three primary areas: eco-friendly building materials and technology as alternatives to current building trends, energy efficiency, and a climate-responsive building language. An eco-friendly infrastructure for the management of water, waste and energy was also part of her exploration here. The house, oriented to the southeast for maximum air circulation, is basically a narrow 2.2-metre (7.2-foot) long vaulted space within brick masonry, with the various activities arranged in a row, as in a train. Each activity spills over on the northeast side in the form of alcoves and projections, and on the southwest under the large 4metre (13-foot) overhang provided by the main vaulted roof. The structure is organised by insulated roofs and modular materials: the exposed brick walls revive the use of traditional bricks (achakal) set in lime mortar with raked joints, and catenary vaults using hollow clay tubes have been used for climatic insulation as well as for reducing the unnecessary use of steel in ‘pucca’ (permanent) roofs. Some of the flat roofs have been constructed using hollow burnt-clay trapezoidal extruded modules, specially manufactured locally as a solution for flat-roof insulation, over part-precast beams. In the intermediate floor, terracotta pots were used as fillers to increase the effective depth of concrete while minimising the volume of concrete and steel in the slabs. The house is defined by clear lines and masses, yet the inside and outside spaces are blurred. The southwest facade is a transparent wooden structure with a mesh to allow a full view of the sunset, while the vault overhang provides adequate shade and ensures that the heat and the glare of the direct sun do not reach the cool interiors.
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