CRIPA - Centre for Research in Performing Arts

 It is the first building of a larger planned Performing Arts Centre. The CRIPA project is located within the Cultural Zone of Auroville, and aims to provide a range of performance spaces, including a theatre, a music auditorium, a ballet and contemporary dance space, a classical-Indian dance space and an open-air performance space, for the exploration and development of these art forms within the context and aims of Auroville. CRIPA project wants to offer the ground for a cross-discipline exploration of the performing arts.

Various ancillary facilities are also foreseen, such as workshops for costume, lighting and stage design, rehearsal spaces of varying size, classrooms, a performing arts library and a café, as well as accommodation for guest teachers, artists and residents who are connected with the Cultural Zone.

The project is envisaged as a section of the ‘university campus’ which will be dedicated to researching those aspects of human development centred in the ‘vital’ domain.

The first phase of this project is a large-scale rehearsal space, designed acoustically and practically in such a way so as to be beneficial to all the disciplines. The initial parameters included a timber-floored space with variable acoustic treatment, a piano/music room, storage room, toilets, and both an internal and external entrance lobby.

The final design consists of a rectilinear hall dimensioned to include the required floor area and acoustic considerations, surrounded by a lower 3.5 metre high circular building containing all the support facilities.