Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad
1958-63

This memorial is erected in the Sabarmati Ashram where Mahatma Gandhi resided from 1917 to 1930, and from which the started on this historic Salt March to Dandi. Built in homage to the Mahatma, and to propagate his ideas, it houses letters, photographs and other documents which trace the freedom movement launched by Gandhiji.

The materials used in the construction are similar to the other buildings in the ashram: tiled roofs, brick walls, stone floors and wooden doors. The only additions are the RCC channels which act as beams and as rainfall conduits – and which permit additional construction to be added in the future. No glass windows are used anywhere un the building; light and ventilation being provided by openable wooden louvres.

These elements combine to form a pattern of tiled roofs, in a typology analogous to the villages so central to Gandhiji’s thinking. They are grouped in a casual meandering pattern, creating a pathway along which the visitor progresses towards the centrality of the water court.