NASA
1999
The 1999
awards The NASA Millennium Convention was hosted by Dayananda Sagar
College of Engineering, Bangalore between the 28th and 31st of December
1999.
The theme of this convention- "Millennium".
All the trophies were keyed into the words- change, society, people-
technology was relegated to the background. Sensitive choice- because
they recognised the underlying need for social issues to surface-
from design for the disabled to finding solutions to urban chaos to
housing for the underprivileged.
The Le Corbusier's award for best overall performance went to
SPA, Delhi.
Hudco Design Trophy
The endeavor: Analysis of a traditional settlement and a group-housing
scheme in a climatic zone where the physical environment is a strong
determiner of form. The two had to be compared in terms of the interaction
of man and his environment. The latter had to be redesigned so as
to optimise on energy and climatic responsiveness. The housing scheme
had to have a minimum of hundred living units for middle and lower
income groups or the economically weaker sections. The criteria of
judgment were the architectural character with respect to context
and functionality.
The jury: Ar. Zachariah, Ar. Venkat, Ar. Jaisim, Col. Das, Ar. RK.
Saffaya
The winners: PCEA, Nagpur Sir JJ, Mumbai MITS, Gwalior SPA, Delhi
The general thrust: The colleges made obvious choices in terms of
places with extreme climate. They ignored the tougher problem of providing
for non-extreme climatic urban systems. PCEA and MITS both had a detailed
demographic analysis while SPA and Sir JJ had a detailed climatic
analysis. Cluster plans seemed to be their solutions while Sir JJ
for Marathwada, came up with a proposal which was true to the intrinsic
settlements. Burning current issues were addressed commendably by
COET, Bhubhaneshwar when they tackled housing in cyclone-torn Orissa.
NARI Gandhi Trophy
The endeavor: Analysis of a planned and permanent commercial space
dealing successfully with increasing pressures of population, competition
and urban choking. It included a study of the history of the space
and how it copes with change in terms of functionality, aesthetics
and philosophy.
The jury: Ar. Jaisim, Ar. Manjula, Ar. Patrick Monteiro
The winners: GCA, Lucknow VRCE, Nagpur SAP, Chennai
The general thrust: Recognising the various components of an urban
market place is a complex task. GCA analysed South Extension, New
Delhi, emphasizing urban scale and movement while VRCE which did Gandhi
Market, Nagpur detailed land use and examined urban spaces as a variant
to built form.
Reuben's Trophy
The endeavor: Selection of the best academic work in the year 1999-2000
in all years. It covered all the subjects of the five years.
The jury: Dr. Ananthakrishna, Ar. Uttam Jain, Prof. HD Chhaya
The winners: SAP,Chennai CEPT, Ahmedabad
The general thrust: Academic work often produces interesting solutions
to interesting problems. However, one good sheet does not make a good
panel, which was often the case.
G.Sen Trophy
The endeavor: Redesign of an industrial building to better the working
environment and to enhance functionality after a thorough analysis
of the structure. The existing structure could be entirely demolished
or partially remodeled. Environmental consideration was given added
credit.
The jury: Ar. Milind Telang, Prof. Akhtar Chauhan, Ar. Tunga Rai,
Ar. Choudhary
The winners: BVBCE, Hubli CCA, Chandigarh IED, Vallabh Vidyanagar
The general thrust: To most colleges a good work environment seemed
to be free circulation and good ventilation. However, CCA in its analysis
of Om Glass works delved in-depth into interior conditions of temperature
and humidity and redesigned its spaces completely. BVBCE, on the other
hand, had detailed service layouts of Yeshwanth Co-operative Spinning
Mills, recognising the backbone of any industry.
Louis-I-Kahn Trophy
The endeavor: Analysis of a building of the pre-independence era exhibiting
two distinct architectural styles- one of which had to be totally
new. The resulting fusion had to be studied both in terms of building
material and construction.
The jury: Prof. Satish Grover, Ar. Kirti Damanda, Ar. AK Prashant
The winners: BNCA, Pune SPA, Delhi Rizvi College of Architecture,
Mumbai
The general thrust: This trophy normally is given to a college which
shows a lot of work on the sheets- dotting, detailed rendering, you-name-it!
This time the choice of building provided the twist. SPA documented
the Govindadeva temple at Vrindavan which was part Mughal while BNCA
came up with an interesting shrine with a tunnel. Strange that no
contemporary building was presented as there are plenty of 'bhel-puri'
buildings to be seen!
Emotions: Photography competition
The endeavor: To capture and entrap the fleeting feelings felt by
us as humans.
The jury: Prof. Pitkar, Prof. Madhuchand
The winners: MMCA, Pune TCE, Madurai COET, Bhubhaneshwar
The general thrust: A first time competition with few entries and
fewer interesting ones.
Phantasmagoria: Graphics
The endeavor: A framing of the subconscious where images and thoughts
blend into each other in a dreamlike sequence.
The jury: Prof. Pitkar, Prof. Madhuchand
The winners: SPSMBH, Kolhapur CCA, Chandigarh MIT, Gondia
ANDC: The On The Spot Design Trophy
The endeavor: The narrow and deep void between MG road and Church
street had to be treated as the conditions were perceived in terms
of the city context and the understanding of the site. The two-day
design problem included a formulation of programme and design.
The jury: A R. VK Giridhar, Ar. Nagaraj Vastarey, Ar. Kiran Venkatesh,
Ar. Soumitro Ghosh
The winners: VRCE, Nagpur RVCE, Bangalore COE, Trivandrum
The general thrust: Since the choice of land-use was left to the participants,
they came out with a variety of solutions. Most had an extension of
the commercial spine, some had recreational areas, parking zones and
lung areas.
Maximum number of on the spots went to: SAP, Chennai.
