Ashram institutional building and

Tapasya block for sadhaks, Delhi

JUNE 17, 2012

Architecture by: Sanjay Prakash & Associates (now SHiFt: Studio for Habitat
Futures)

Type of building use: Institutional Location: Delhi

Year of completion: 2005 (first phase
occupied since 1989, continuing phases of
occupation till completion)
Built-up area: 1,20,000 sft
Plot size: 7 acre campus
Climatic Zone: Hot and Dry Climate
Actual Occupancy: Above 80% on
an average.

Campus of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Delhi Branch, with health centre, workshops,
library, auditorium, hostel, etc.
Green features:

 Reflective surfaces
  Courtyards
 Vegetation for cooling
 Integrated vertical and inclined passive solar hot water system
 Passive conditioned lifestyle
 Extremely low consumption of energy or water

This ashram complex is expressed as a mandala form inventing the future of our
past, using the present for its realization. It hints at durable materials: not energy
consuming steel and glass, but evolved use of natural materials such as waste
marble and white slate. And it demonstrates a lifestyle that can subsist with a
minimal use of energy, water and other resources.

India’s typical and unique value systems inform the design. The pursuit of
opulence, needing to be maintained by ever-increasing consumption, is replaced by
the creation of abundance. A small ecological footprint rather than wasteful
consumption creates cooperation with nature. The attitude is symbiotic rather than
antibiotic, aiming for fulfillment rather than blind achievement.

Actual Energy Performance Index Architecture by: Sanjay Prakash,

in Awaited : 12.76kWhr/Sq.m/year
Percentage of A/C and non A/C
regularly occupied spaces: Non Air-
conditioned Building
Owner / User Testimony: : Awaited from
clients
Awards / Green Rating / Energy: None
(Never applied as against ashram
philosophy.)
Manoj Joshi, Rakesh Sood
Structural Design by: V. P.
Agarwal & Haku
Services Design by: 1. No one
(same architectural team)
Project management: Various
Ashram members
Contractor: Work done in-house
supervised and coordinated by
Ashram members
Name of the Architectural Practice:Sanjay Prakash & Associates (now SHiFt:
Studio for Habitat Futures)
Photo of the Architect/Partners
Managing Director: Sanjay Prakash
Director: D K Sharma
Director: Rakesh Sood
Director: Nitin Sharma
Address: SHiFt: Studio for Habitat Futures, C-81 B, 8th
Floor,DLFSuper Mart-1, DLF City Phase IV, Gurgaon,
Haryana 122 002, National Capital Region, India
Tel: +91 124 429 0178

Email:

 info@shiftarchitects.in,
 spa@sanjayprakash.co.in

website:

 www.shiftarchitects.in
 http://sanjayprakash.co.in/

Types of services offered.Complete design including engineering services and

energy devices and systems, interiors, project management functions such as
constant supervision and procurement