POPPO PINGEL : Auroville Architects Monograph Series

Contents: Foreword Balkrishna V. Doshi. The Context: Auroville-Unfolding of a Vision. I. From Germany to India: 1. Cacatum non est aedificatum. 2. Formative years and early influences. 3. As a carpenter apprentice. 4. Studying and working. 5. Coming to India. 6. Architect-artisan. 7. Archaeology. II Selected Works: 1. Village Houses in Rammed Earth. 2. Fraternity Workshops and Kindergarten. 3. Miraonevi Nivas. 4. Mukuduvidu and Studio Naqshbandi Durganand Balsavar. 5. Udavi School Durganand Balsavar. 6. Quiet Healing Centre and Apartments. 7. Afsanah Guest House Poonam Verma Mascerenhas. 8. Suryamandalam: Tamil Heritage Centre and Museum. III. Personal Perspectives: 1. Poppo: The development worker by Franz-Joseph Vollmer. 2. From part to the whole by Preeti Chopra. 3. Poppo: The anecdotal man by Suhasini Ayer–Guigan. 4. My Material Guru: Poppo and Hugo Kuekelhaus by Elmar Schenkel. 5. Unfamiliar messages-Architecture between Intuition and. 6. Craftsmanship by Brigitte Jacob and Wolfgang Schaeche. Chronology of Works. Contributing Writers. Image Credits. Bibliography. Acknowledgements.

Every year several hundred architects visit Auroville, in southeast India, searching for inspiration. This unique international township founded in 1968 based on the integral yoga of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother aims to be a living embodiment of an actual Human Unity.

Part of a series on the pioneering architects of Auroville, this monograph is a comprehensive documentation of the work of Poppo Pingel (b.1942), an architect of German origin, who arrived in India in the 1960’s and stayed. Highly personal in his approach, his architecture challenges the senses with its rustic quality while responding to the climate, landscape and culture of the place. His architecture lies between the plastic and the elemental, the sensorial and the rational. His background in carpentry gives him a strong base in the materiality and at the same time his aspirations and nature lead him to go beyond the purely rational processes. There is a sense of playfulness, poetry and an element of surprise. His work is an amalgam of two cultures.

The monograph provides a bio-sketch of the architect and profiles select projects. Personal perspectives from former students and associates give insight into the multiple layers that define his characteristic architecture. The book contains archival photographs, contemporary images and architectural drawings.

The foreword by B.V. Doshi highlights the importance of Poppo Pingel’s architectural work in our times.

The book contains contributions by well knwon architects: Suhasini Ayer-Guigan, Durganand Balsavar, Preeti Chopra, Dr. Brigitte Jacob, Dr. Wolfgang Schäche, Dr. Elmar Schenkel, Poonam Verma Mascarenhas, and Dr. Franz-Josef Vollmer.