This document summarizes the design of the Tapasya Block, a residential building for the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in New Delhi. The building uses passive solar design principles like deep window recesses, selective cross ventilation, courtyards, and a vegetated landscape to provide thermal and visual comfort with no mechanical systems. It also has an innovative building integrated solar water heating system using four thermosiphon collectors to provide hot water to the building without electrical backup. The passive design has proven effective while the solar hot water system works well though the large glass covers occasionally break due to thermal expansion.
This document summarizes the design of the Tapasya Block, a residential building for the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in New Delhi. The building uses passive solar design principles like deep window recesses, selective cross ventilation, courtyards, and a vegetated landscape to provide thermal and visual comfort with no mechanical systems. It also has an innovative building integrated solar water heating system using four thermosiphon collectors to provide hot water to the building without electrical backup. The passive design has proven effective while the solar hot water system works well though the large glass covers occasionally break due to thermal expansion.
This document summarizes the design of the Tapasya Block, a residential building for the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in New Delhi. The building uses passive solar design principles like deep window recesses, selective cross ventilation, courtyards, and a vegetated landscape to provide thermal and visual comfort with no mechanical systems. It also has an innovative building integrated solar water heating system using four thermosiphon collectors to provide hot water to the building without electrical backup. The passive design has proven effective while the solar hot water system works well though the large glass covers occasionally break due to thermal expansion.
This document summarizes the design of the Tapasya Block, a residential building for the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in New Delhi. The building uses passive solar design principles like deep window recesses, selective cross ventilation, courtyards, and a vegetated landscape to provide thermal and visual comfort with no mechanical systems. It also has an innovative building integrated solar water heating system using four thermosiphon collectors to provide hot water to the building without electrical backup. The passive design has proven effective while the solar hot water system works well though the large glass covers occasionally break due to thermal expansion.
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Architect : Sanjay Prakash
Tapasya Block (Phase 1), Sri Aurobindo Ashram, New Delhi
Introduction • The Aurobindo Ashram Trust (Delhi branch) is a charitable society doing pioneering work in various fields, notably education, philosophy,and culture. • 'Tapasya', the residential building in Sri Aurobindo Ashram-Delhi Branch offers accommodation for the guests who seek a spiritual life and wish to imbibe the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. • This hostel building for the ashramites, requiring medium level equilibrium in terms of thermal and visual comfort, uses simple but effective passive solar architectural interventions. • Use of building-integrated solar water heating system is an innovative feature. • The use of non-conventional energy techniques for various purposes is both economically and spiritually important for the philosophy of the Ashram. • There was a large degree of participation by the ashramites for the construction. • This is the first phase of an unusual building complex which shall grow to form offices, Swimming pool, library, dining, meditation, and residential facilities. • In the first phase, it is planned to house around 80 people( students, visitors, and ashramites )in a hostel like block. PLAN • The rooms are laid out around 3 hexagonal courtyards. • The building as it grows will enclose one large courtyard around which there will be 12 such small dodecagonal blocks. • The planning grid is a space-filling grid com posed of squares and equilateral triangles. Materials, techniques and methods • Rough white finish The building is finished in a permanent white slate, which is rough and, therefore, has good emissivity. Being light in colour,the absorptivity is poor. • Deep recesses Though the building is not orien ted because of its multifaceted geometry, it has been provided with deeply recessed large openings On each room towards the outside. • Selective cross-ventilation Each room is provided with an operable ventilator above the door on the 'inside' and large operable glazed and opaque shutters on the outside. Both have fixed insect-netting with inward opening glazing. • Vegetation Lowering of temperatures is also made possible by the densely vegetated surroundings of the campus in which this building is located. • Courtyards The inside courtyards are small and interlinked to encourage both cross ventilation in rooms as well as ventilation between them. • Daylight All rooms have an upper fo<ed glazing to encournge 'daylight-only' usage during the day. Small table-level windows are provided on study desks. Architecturally integrated hot water system • Four thermos phonic flat-plate solar collector systems for hot water are provided. • There is no electrical back-up. • Two systems, feeding the north-side rooms, are optimally tilted at 45 degrees. • The other rwo systems, feeding the south-side room. • All systems are masonry integrated and mounted on walls or RCC. • All tanks are neatly placed over toilet pipe shafts within room-like structures. • This reduces balance-of-system costs while providing better aesthetics in comparison to retrofit systems. Therefore, integra ted collectors
Performance • The solar hot water system has worked extremely well. There is no back-up electrical use for heating water. • However, the large glass covers do break occasionally due to thermal expansion . Therefore, integrated collectors should also be made in small packs and further have a ledge in the front for ease of repair in case of problems. • Both these changes are being incorporated in the next building of the Ashram. • The thermal behavior of rooms is satisfactory for the lifestyle of the Ashram dwellers and the building uses no devices other chan ceiling fans.
