2 March 2012

SCHOLARSHIPS

The six proud

awardees of the
scholarships Deepali Mishra,
Aakriti Verma,
Aakash Kedia
(represented by
Prof.Jaydip
Barman),
Shantanu
Subramaniam,
Kankana
Narayan Dev and
Joy Mondal

The first edition of The Saint-Gobain

Scholarships conceptualized by Ethos
120 genuine and impressive statements
of purpose. An opportunity for them to
realize their dreams . 12 bright young
architects and to-be-architects reaching
the interview round! An interview panel
whose faith was reinstated in the oftrepeated cliche, Our future is in safe
hands.
The Saint-Gobain scholarships
proved to be all this and more. The
ideas that got picked covered a whole
gamut. Some of them were - the need
for communication to those removed
from the field of architecture about the
field via a graphic novel, a play and a
short movie; working out ways to
resolve urban traffic problems through
effective planning; creating an online
platform for young students and
professionals from across the world to
share their work, ideas and concerns;

propagating the cost-effective and

environmental-friendly work being
done at Auroville in Northern parts of
India through webinars; evolving a
prototype for a slum in Kolkata and
The Study of the thermal performance
of buildings in Ahmedabad and
thereby help in formulation of
guidelines for green buildings.
The six ideas that were selected for
the scholarship awards worth Rs.1 lakh
each were as follows:
1. Aakriti Verma from NIT Raipur who proposed to build a prototype of a
house with a floating foundation in the
flood-prone areas of Bihar.
2. Kankana Narayan Dev, alumni of
Vidyavardhini School of Architecture,
Goa - wished to purchase machines to
cut and shape bamboo for her unit in
Assam where she trains locals in

bamboo craft.
3. Joy Mondal of Jadavpur University who is working on the Development of
a Software for Climate Optimised
Synthesis of Architectural Forms.
4. Deepali Mishra from NIT Raipur to study undamaged traditional houses
and post-disaster reconstructions in
Orissa through an involved system of
space syntax analysis; document any
changes and evolutions made to the.
5. Shantanu Subramniam, PICA
Panvel - documenting and analyzing
varied approaches at conservation and
evolution of cultural forms including
architectural expression in Anegundi,
Hampi in the last 30 years.
6. Akash Kedia. IIT Kgp - Reviving a
vertical design competition at his
college and through that building a
low-cost house prototype on campus.