I had been to this place as a student on a study(?) tour ;-). It amazed me just because I had never been to a place like that before. I couldn’t understand the concept of Matrimandir then. It totally surprised me…shocked me. When we passed the chamber (at that time we were not allowed to enter) that ambience was astonishing. I couldn’t make out what was happening. Where the light is coming from? Why it is reflected so much? and most of all why this place has been made? I even tried to grasp through some books but no use.
Last month I happened to visit the Matrimandir again along with my husband. And we actually meditated in the chamber. The experience was incredible. This time I understood the reason for its existence. It's a place for trying to find one's consciousness. I will not explain my own spiritual experience. You have to feel it yourself. But yes definitely i wish to share the architectural part of it.
Matrimandir’s inner chamber is the conceptualization of Mother’s vision. She actually visualized each and every dimension of this structure. The globe structure as a whole was designed by Architect Roger Anger.
This was the site chosen for the structure. One thing to mention here is that this was the only green creature on that land at that time. Today you can witness dense vegetation as a result of the conscious efforts of Aurovilians.
There was no contractor appointed to construct this gigantic structure. People from all over the world united there were working themselves in the consortium.
T.K. Santhanam, a scientist at Structural Engineering Research Center, Madras calculated its structure.
The Aurovilian architect Piero Cicionesi prepared all working drawings and supervised the project.
The principal load-carrying members of the superstructure are the four pairs of sickle-shaped, 38m high reinforced concrete piers. Every other component is supported by these piers. Each pair of the pier is 2.1m. The thickness is 40cm. above ground level and varies from 40cm. to 70 cm. below.
The four pairs of ribs as an extension of four pillars are joined by ring beams at 1st and 2nd levels, chamber floor level and at the very top.
This section explains the structural ambiguity.
Prefabricated beams each weighing half a ton, altogether formed the space frame which gave the structure that spherical look.
The outer shell consists of ferrocement triangles (with a hole at their centre to install a porthole) which were prefabricated in the workshop, lifted in place and then grouted. A membrane is then applied to the whole surface to waterproof it. But 10 years later it had to be reapplied as it was not adhering to the surface.
To create a translucent inner skin of a colour prescribed by Mother (hibiscus flower peach) a very special white fabric made up of fibreglass woven in a sophisticated manner has been stretched over 756 triangular frames. Coloured foil of a precise colour is placed on the outer shell’s 668 portholes to filter the natural light that enters in through them in the daytime. At night time the coloured light is provided by 1320 electronic modules.
The flattened sphere is covered with some 1400 golden discs to symbolize a radiating golden supra-mental Sun. 1/3rd of the discs are concave and large weighing 210 kg. (dia 2.3m -2.4m), 2/3 rd are convex and smaller (dia 1.3m, 1.4m, 1.5m. and 1.6m). About a 3rd of the total discs are made of glass-reinforced plastic and others are of stainless steel.
One of the two spiral ramps leading up to the chamber
At the centre of the room, there is an object of concentration upon which falls a single vertical beam of sunlight. This object is a crystal globe, 70cm dia, 400 kg., custom made of optically perfect glass made in Germany by “Scott” and later polished by “Zeiss”.
It rests on a cube stand, 35cm side, consisting of 4 upright gilded symbols of Aurobindo that hold each other up by the points of their triangles. This cube stands at the centre of the room with a 3m diameter symbol of the mother which is engraved on a white marble slab. The crystal globe is positioned exactly at the centre of the sphere. The mother stressed that the important thing is the play of the sunbeam in the centre as that becomes the symbol of “Future Realization”.
Heliostat is used to capture the sunbeam. The same sunbeam passes through the crystal and finally reached the lotus pond crystal.
Below the sphere Architect wanted to build a lotus pond but when he realized that lotus will not bloom in the shade, instead of a lotus pond he used 216 petal-shaped marble slabs to create a pond over which water flows from outside towards the centre. There is a crystal globe 17cm dia at the centre of the pond.
There are 12 meditation rooms around the sphere representing 12 human qualities like Sincerity, Humility, Aspiration, Gratitude, Perseverance, Receptivity, Courage, Generosity, Peace, Equality, Progress, and Goodness. All rooms have the same shape as that of Matrimandir -a small flattened sphere. All are in 12 different colours as per the quality.
One sits on a concrete slab clad with marble, which seems to float inside the flattened sphere. The room is air-conditioned and there is one translucent oval disc made up of glass-reinforced plastic for concentration at eye level. This object is placed in front of a small window through which natural light enters in during day time. Auroville artists have designed some geometric patterns on these objects.
The Amphitheater’s inner dia is 75m and the outer is 98m and 2.2 m deep. Rainwater is evacuated by gravity toward the northwest by an underground pipeline. Three times a year a large bonfire is lit at dawn in the middle of the Amphitheatre. Aurovillians and well-wishers gather for collective meditation. Cultural performances rarely take place.
This is a very good example of Symbolism in Architecture. The concept of human unity and one’s consciousness is well executed as Matrimandir. The path to consciousness is through the realization of the inner self and ultimately that supreme power- the Mother. The Mother here doesn’t mean mother as a person. It means the Supreme Power- Shakti. Shri Aurobindo’s concept of the mother also referred to that ultimate power. But over the period of time, it has become person specific as a result of misinterpretation of Aurobindo’s Concept. Whereas it's still the divine eternal source of energy – omnipresent.
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