This PDF file contains a 23 page account of the AVN Programme and its rationale and impact, including illustrations, plans, and charts. Based on our submission for the World Habitat Award (AVN was one of 11 finalists), it marks the 10th anniversary of the Programme. (Click on PDF file icon to download.)

Dec 2006: Conference Paper

This is a case-study of the AVN Earth roofs in the Sahel programme, delivered at the conference Living in Hot Deserts, held in Ghardaia, Algeria, in Dec 2006 (organised by the Schools of Architecture of Alger and Toulouse, with the support of UNDP and UNESCO). The basic principles of the VN concept are described, information on comparative costs is provided, and there is a step-by-step summary of VN construction methods, plus guidelines for builders and clients.

Another AVN case-study, with photos and some building plans, is available on the website of the Auroville Earth Institute, Tamil Nadu, India.

The case-study we prepared for the Ashoka Changemakers’ Competition on Affordable Housing (Autumn 2006), and for which AVN was one of the three prize-winners, is archived here.