Monsoon Architecture Festival

The necessity to foster dialogue among architects of nations having tropical monsoon and rainforest regions on sustainable practices, adapt climate-responsive designs and respect local culture amid rising threats to the environment, including global warming, are the need of the hour amid rapid urbanization everywhere, said experts attending the prestigious biannual Monsoon Architecture Festival (MAF) that got underway at the Grand Hyatt in Bolgatty, Kochi, on March 28.

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The two-day event hosted by the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) Cochin Centre is nothing short of an extravaganza of architecture, urbanism, art, and local traditions featuring almost 600 architects from Kerala and other states apart from 25 speakers from India and other countries having tropical monsoon and rainforest regions. This conclave is part of a series of events hosted under the Living Monsoon initiative of IIA Cochin Centre that began in 2015.

In his inaugural address, N S K Umesh, District Collector of Ernakulam, reminded the delegates that such an event was the need of the hour to discuss and deliberate on architecture that is in harmony with nature. He reminded the gathering about the disastrous floods that rocked Kerala in 2018 and pointed to the need to have future-centric architectural solutions that are in harmony with the environment to mitigate the impact of such disasters. "I am sure that MAF will stimulate minds and there will be a dialogue between young and veteran architects that will transform the way we look at architecture in Kerala," he opined.

He hoped the discussion would lead to a better Kerala and to a better tomorrow.