Golconde Case Study: Plan, Louvres and Concrete (Antonin Raymond and George Nakashima)

Golconde is the dormitory of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Puducherry (Pondicherry), designed in Antonin Raymond's Tokyo office from 1935 and built by Ashram members, with George Nakashima and François Sammer on site. It is one of India's early reinforced concrete buildings: a single row of rooms behind operable louvres, turned to the sea breeze and cooled without machines. This case study covers the brief, plan, section, concrete and louvres, climate, reception and lessons for designers in India.

Golconde: the facts

Architects: Antonin Raymond, whose Tokyo office received the commission in 1935. George Nakashima, from Raymond's office, was project architect on site; François Sammer, a Czech architect, worked with him. Udar Pinto, an engineer and Ashram member, supervised completion. The Ashram's chief engineer was Chandulal.

Client: the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, with the Mother (Mirra Alfassa) directing the work. Funds came through Sir Akbar Hydari of Hyderabad State.

Location: Puducherry, then Pondicherry in French India.

Designed and built: commissioned 1935, schematic design finished early 1936. Work began in October 1937 or October 1938 (the Ashram's own accounts give both). Completed in 1942 according to ArchDaily and Sahapedia, 1945 according to Metropolis; an Ashram account says the main concreting ended in late 1945.

Size: three floors over a semi-basement, 51 rooms of about 22 m², 600 m² built-up per floor on a 2,324 m² plot, per an Ashram archive account. No independent figure was found.

Type: dormitory for Ashram members.

Status: in use by the Ashram. Described as not open to the public (Town Topics, 2022). See Visiting below.

The brief and the client

The client was a spiritual community, not a developer. According to the account of Golconde's construction compiled on the Site of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother (an archive of Ashram members' recollections), the Mother called it "a dormitory (dortoir)", not a guest house, for disciples practising Integral Yoga. Pavitra (Philippe Saint-Hilaire), a French engineer in the Ashram who had known Raymond in Tokyo, suggested the architect. Raymond sent preliminary sketches on 9 October 1935.

Two conditions shaped everything that followed. First, money: the archive says Sir Akbar Hydari, Dewan to the Nizam of Hyderabad, helped secure a donation of one lakh of rupees, budgeted as ₹75,000 for construction and ₹25,000 for salaries and other items, in late 1930s rupees. The name Golconde is the French form of Golconda, the diamond-mining kingdom of the Hyderabad region, which the archive links to Hydari's help. Second, people: Sri Aurobindo did not want hundreds of hired workmen disturbing the Ashram, so it was to be built mainly by the Ashram's own members. Raymond is quoted in the same archive describing a job with "no contract" and no fixed time or money.

Raymond told the Mother in October 1935, as Metropolis reports, "We are laying the foundation of a new kind of architecture." He also wrote that its purpose was "not primarily the housing of the disciples".

Golconde Pondicherry architect: who did what

Credits vary by source. The sources we read give this picture:

Antonin Raymond, a Czech-born architect who had gone to Japan with Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel, ran the Tokyo office that made the design. Metropolis says he stayed in Pondicherry for eight months, then left for the United States.
George Nakashima joined Raymond's Tokyo office in 1934, according to Nakashima Woodworkers' own timeline. The Ashram archive says he surveyed the site in June 1937, came back in November 1937 as project architect, and kept a construction diary for the Mother. Sahapedia's essay by Pankaj Vir Gupta and Christine Mueller calls him co-designer, says he drew the concrete formwork in detail, and dates his departure to October 1939. He became a disciple, named Sundarananda. Nakashima Woodworkers dates his arrival to 1939, which does not match the Ashram's dates.
François Sammer, a Czech architect who had worked for Le Corbusier, supervised construction with Nakashima (Sahapedia). The archive credits him with the garden plan.
Udar Pinto, an aeronautical engineer, took over supervision after Nakashima left and saw the building through (Sahapedia). His workshop made the bolts, fittings and bronze work, per the archive.
Chandulal, the Ashram's chief engineer, and many members did the concreting, carpentry and foundry work (archive).

The sources disagree on the furniture: the archive credits Sammer, Sahapedia credits Udar Pinto with completing the drawings and furniture, and Gupta, in a 2019 lecture published by matter, credits Nakashima.

Timeline from 1934 to 1946: 1934 Nakashima joins Raymond's Tokyo office; October 1935 Raymond writes to Pavitra with preliminary sketches; 1936 schematic design complete; June and November 1937 Nakashima surveys the site and returns; work starts in October 1937 or October 1938, a shaded band where sources differ; January 1938 Raymond and Sammer in Pondicherry; October 1939 Nakashima leaves India with most concrete done; a shaded band from 1942 to 1945 marks completion dates that differ between sources: 1942 in ArchDaily and Sahapedia, 1945 in Metropolis — Golconde's dates differ between sources, especially for the start of work and completion; the timeline shows who says what. Diagram: MOA

Site and context: a humid coast in French India

Pondicherry sits on the Bay of Bengal and was then part of French India. On a hot, humid coast the task is moving air and shedding rain, not storing coolness in thick walls.

Gupta's lecture places the site near the canal, close to the Tamil quarter of the town. The Ashram archive gives a plot of 2,324 m² inside a compound wall, with the building set at an angle to the street so that it shuts out the western sun. Water tanks and channels run around the building and water the garden.

Concept and design ideas

ArchDaily's 2011 article on Golconde describes it as balancing early modernist principles against the demands of a tropical place, with "radical economy" in its means. Gupta quotes Raymond writing that the building "had to reflect abstract principles dealing with climate and material and structure". Three ideas carry the scheme:

Turn to the breeze. The long faces point north and south, so only the short ends take the low sun (Metropolis). The archive says the building is turned to face south-south-east, about 20° east of south.
Make the skin adjustable. Operable louvres cover both long faces, and residents open or close them with the weather (Metropolis).
Let a garden do the cooling. A shaded south garden faces the rooms and a more open north garden faces the corridors. The archive explains the idea: the sun-warmed air on the north side rises and draws cooler air through from the shaded south.

Golconde Pondicherry plan: one row of rooms

Metropolis describes two long wings hinged at a central stairwell, with single rooms along a corridor running the full length. The archive adds that the two wings are staggered, and that a central section holds the stair, baths and toilets. Sahapedia confirms that every room faces the south garden and is reached by a gallery over the north garden.

The archive counts 17 rooms a floor, 51 in all, on three floors over a semi-basement, and notes that the top-floor rooms in the west wing are doubled. Metropolis says the half basement held utilities and an afternoon tea space;

Schematic zoning diagram of a typical Golconde floor, not a plan: two long wings, staggered and joined by a central core holding the main stair, baths and toilets; a single row of rooms in each wing faces the shaded south garden, with a corridor along the north side; operable louvres on both long faces and sliding teak screens between rooms and corridor; water tanks and channels around the building; red arrows show the breeze crossing from the south garden to the open north garden; a turned north arrow shows the room side faces about 20 degrees east of south — Golconde puts every room on one side of a corridor, facing the shaded south garden, so the breeze can cross the full depth of the building. Diagram: MOA

This is a zoning diagram, not a floor plan. For the original drawings, see the book and archive listed under Visiting below.

Section and structure: louvres both sides, a double roof

From south to north, a section through one wing reads: louvres, the room, a sliding teak screen, the corridor, louvres again. Metropolis describes teak sliding doors with staggered slats on the corridor side, and Gupta adds fluted glass above them, so air passes while the room stays private.

The roof is a double layer. The archive describes a reinforced concrete slab topped by large precast curved tiles with an air space between, waterproofed with five layers of rubberoid felt imported through Parry and Co. Gupta says the tiles are held by iron clips that can be turned to replace them. He also claims that no tile has been replaced in over 70 years; we could not check that.

Schematic cross-section through one wing of Golconde: three floors of rooms over a semi-basement that sits partly below ground; on the south face operable louvres, then the room, a sliding teak screen, the corridor and louvres again on the north face; red arrows show air entering from the shaded south garden with its tree, crossing the floor and rising on the north side over the open north garden; the roof is a concrete slab with a ventilated air space under precast curved tiles, with arrows showing air moving through the gap — The section principle behind Golconde: louvres on both faces, a screen instead of a solid wall to the corridor, and a double roof with moving air between slab and tiles. Diagram: MOA

The structure is reinforced concrete throughout. The archive describes foundations of rammed sand in 10 to 15 cm layers, then granite rubble and mortar, with column footings at 1.7 m. Udar Pinto's account calls the building "earthquake proof"; treat that as his claim.

Materials and construction: how Golconde was built

The building is often called "the first reinforced, cast-in-place concrete building in India" (Sahapedia, ArchDaily), and Nakashima Woodworkers calls it the first reinforced concrete structure built in India. We could not verify that, so we call it one of the early ones. What is well documented is how hard it was to build:

A prototype first. The archive says a one-room working model and a full-scale prototype were built before the main block.
Formwork drawn in detail. With no experienced concrete crew, Nakashima drew the formwork (Sahapedia). Gupta says mango-wood formwork kept failing, and the Mother's answer was teak.
Imported materials. Pondicherry was a free port. Metropolis says steel came from France and machines from Japan; Gupta says cement from France and steel from Japan. With no wharf, steel came ashore from a freighter; Gupta quotes Nakashima's journal saying it arrived "like spaghetti" and was straightened by hand.
A foundry on site. Wartime shortages led the team to cast their own hardware. Members gave brass utensils, which were melted into bolts, hinges and door handles (Sahapedia, Metropolis).
Finishes left honest. The archive says the concrete was left natural, the end walls finished in Chettinad lime plaster made with sea-shell lime, milk, curds and jaggery, and the floors laid in polished Cuddapah stone. Sammer chose to leave defects in concrete and wood visible. Doors and furniture are Burma teak, with red cedar drawers.

Raymond expected about six months. The archive says the concreting took about six years. Nakashima later called it "something of a do-it-yourself project" (Metropolis).

Light, climate and services

There is no mechanical cooling. The archive calls Golconde "the most comfortable building in Pondicherry", and Gupta reports staying in comfortable rooms in May to July with no fans. These are users' accounts, not measurements; we found no published temperature study.

The cooling comes from the parts already described: orientation, one room depth, louvres on both faces, screened corridors, the double roof and a shaded garden. Sahapedia says the asbestos-cement louvres, in brass hardware, and the screens admit "a breeze and light".

Reception: what critics, users and the Ashram said

Golconde became widely known outside the Ashram through Gupta and Mueller, whose practice, vir.mueller architects, began studying it in 2003. Their exhibition was shown at the Graham Foundation in Chicago in 2006 (Archidose), where they called it "one of the earliest works of sustainable modern architecture in the world". Town Topics reports it later toured the US and reached the Nakashima Foundation in Pennsylvania in June 2022. Metropolis headlined it "the first modernist building in India" (2017).

The problems on record concern the build: an inexperienced crew, wartime shortages, a six-month job that took years, and architects who left before the end. In use, it has been closely cared for. The archive's maintenance account describes Mona Pinto, Udar's wife, put in charge by the Mother, keeping a notebook of daily, weekly and monthly tasks. Sources differ on its use today: the archive calls it "today a guest house of the Ashram", while Metropolis says it is a residence for members, not a guest house, though some short-stay requests are granted.

What designers in India can take from it today

This section is our reading, not a claim from the sources.

Single-loaded plans still work for hostels and staff housing on humid coasts. One room deep, turned to the breeze, with the corridor as a buffer: it suits Chennai, Puducherry or the Konkan. Our guides to building materials in Chennai and building near the sea cover the material side of those climates.
Make the inner wall breathe too. Golconde's slatted teak doors let air cross the corridor. A jaali or slatted screen between room and passage does the same job in a flat or a hostel today. Choose a louvre material you can source and maintain now, not the asbestos cement used then.
A ventilated double roof is cheap insurance. A slab with an air gap under tiles keeps sun off the structure. Our post on roofing materials by climate compares the options.
Prototype before you repeat. Golconde built one room, then a full-size prototype, before 51 rooms. On any repetitive building, a mock-up room and drawn formwork pay for themselves, especially with an inexperienced crew.

Documenting a building for studio or thesis? Use our field checklist for architecture case studies.

Visiting Golconde and seeing the drawings

Golconde is a residence of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, not a museum. Town Topics (2022) describes it as not open to the public. The Ashram's official visitors page does not mention Golconde. It says some sections of the Ashram need a pass, and that the Bureau Central provides information and any pass you might need, so ask there first. We found no published policy on photography at Golconde: ask before you take any, and respect a refusal.

For the real drawings, look for Gupta, Mueller and Cyrus Samii's book Golconde: The Introduction of Modernism in India (first edition New Delhi, 2010; a second edition followed in 2021 to 2022). Town Topics reports that the authors were given access to the Ashram archives and reproduced the original drawings. Raymond's papers and drawings are held in the Antonin and Noémi Raymond collection at the University of Pennsylvania's Architectural Archives; its online description does not list Golconde, so ask the archive. Archive photographs are on the Golconde photos page.

Designing for a hot, humid site in Puducherry or Auroville? See our list of architects and interior designers in Auroville and Pondicherry, or find an architect on MOA.

FAQ

Who designed Golconde in Pondicherry?

Antonin Raymond's office in Tokyo designed it from 1935. George Nakashima was project architect on site, with François Sammer, and Udar Pinto supervised completion. Sahapedia calls Nakashima a co-designer.

When was Golconde built?

It was commissioned in 1935 and design was finished in early 1936. Work began in October 1937 or October 1938. ArchDaily and Sahapedia give 1942 for completion; Metropolis gives 1945, and an Ashram account says the main concreting ended in late 1945.

Why is it called Golconde?

Golconde is the French form of Golconda, the diamond-mining kingdom of the Hyderabad region. Ashram accounts link the name to Sir Akbar Hydari of Hyderabad State, who helped secure the funds.

Is Golconde the first reinforced concrete building in India?

Sahapedia, ArchDaily and Nakashima Woodworkers describe it that way. We could not verify the claim independently, so we call it one of India's early reinforced concrete buildings, and an early cast-in-place modernist one.

Can you visit Golconde Ashram in Pondicherry?

It is an Ashram residence, described as not open to the public. Ask at the Ashram's Bureau Central, which the Ashram says can provide information and passes for sections that need one.

Sources

Site of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother: Construction of Golconde, compiled accounts by Udar Pinto, Mrityunjoy and others: roles, letters of 1935, funding and budget, dates, plan, rooms and areas, orientation, louvres, roof, foundations, finishes, Raymond's words (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
Site of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother: Maintenance of Golconde: Mona Pinto, upkeep, teak and cedar, current use (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
Site of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother: Golconde photos (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
Sahapedia, Pankaj Vir Gupta and Christine Mueller: Solace by the Sea: The Architecture of Golconde: roles, 1935 and 1936 dates, Nakashima's departure, construction by members, foundry, materials, plan (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
Metropolis, Komal Sharma: Golconde: The First Modernist Building in India, 14 Feb 2017: Raymond's and Nakashima's quotes, plan, orientation, louvres, imports, current use (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
ArchDaily, Andrew Rosenberg: Golconde: The Introduction of Modernism in India, 10 Jun 2011: completion 1942, concrete claim, design approach (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
matter: The Architecture of Golconde, Pankaj Vir Gupta, FRAME Conclave 2019 lecture, published 15 Apr 2025: site, formwork, imports, screens, roof tiles, comfort, Raymond's letter (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
Nakashima Woodworkers: History and timeline: 1934 joining Raymond's office, Golconde role, the name Sundarananda (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
Town Topics: Nakashima Foundation Hosts "Golconde" Exhibit, Reception, 8 Jun 2022: public access, the exhibition tour, the book and archive drawings (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
Archidose, John Hill: Golconde, 15 Mar 2006: Graham Foundation exhibition, Gupta and Mueller's quote, completion 1945 (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
Sri Aurobindo Ashram: Visitors: passes and the Bureau Central (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
University of Pennsylvania, Weitzman School of Design, Architectural Archives: Raymond, Antonin and Noémi Pernessin collection (accessed 4 Nov 2026)