AN EXCHANGE OF IDEAS

THINK TURF'S CHANDIGARH EDITION WITNESSED A DEEP DISCUSSION ON SUSTAINABLE AND EFFICIENT DESIGN

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Architect & Interiors India magazine in collaboration with Voltas India brings together maestros from the architecture and design fraternity to discuss the dynamic trends, evolving technology and innovations in enabling smarter, secure and future-bound spaces in a knowledge-sharing platform, “Think Turf” Smart Living Forum. Within the forum, they share their insights and experiences regarding the key challenges and opportunities faced within the architecture and design community. Following Surat, Chennai, Kochi and Pune, among other cities, the latest edition of the forum was held at Chandigarh.

The event commenced with a welcome address given by Bibhor Srivastava, group publishing director at ITP Media (India). He acknowledged the support of the partnering airconditioning brand Voltas in successfully setting up the forum and then introduced and invited keynote speaker Akshay Kaul, principal ecological planner, landscape architect and founder at Akshay Kaul and Associates, onto the stage to deliver the keynote address.

Kaul began by sharing his concept, saying, “Every project we do, starts with a drop of water which falls onto the site. We want to put that one drop of water back into the soil and that journey of water is our journey of the landscape.” He then went on to share snapshots of the various projects from his portfolio, among which were, Raas Kangra at Kangra, Himachal Pradesh; Aru Village in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir; ongoing project South Asian University in the heart of New Delhi, which was India’s commitment to the UN; and Govardhan Eco Village in Maharashtra.

Kaul talked about ecological restoration through water, soil erosion, creating green spaces and the need for avian life in our ecosystem. “Our whole aim is to reconnect fragmented systems of water and recharge into the ground in many different ways,” he said.