Bengaluru 29thNovember 2016: The Indian Institute of Architects is now a hundred years old. Celebrating this centenary year will be the IIA NATCON 2016 hosted by the IIA Karnataka Chapter in the city of Bengaluru, bringing together architects, urban planners and experts to “Imagine the Indian city”.
Starting from Thursday December 1st to Saturday December 3rd, The Lalit Ashok, venue for the national convention, will see an animated debate on a host of issues that pertain to the Indian city, the state of urbanisation, the future of its urban conglomerations keeping in view the pace of its current growth. IIA NATCON 2016 intends to provoke architects and industry partners to think at a fundamental level on what the Indian city should be, the mode of growth it should adopt and act as an agent of positive change. In essence, the convention will champion on the idea of the Indian City to set the course for the future of our urban conglomerations.
Architect Leena Kumar, Chairperson, IIA Karnataka Chapter, said, “We are privileged to host IIA NATCON in Bengaluru - a city without boundaries which has grown from a fort city to a sprawling metropolis representing a cosmopolitan and multicultural brand. The 2016 edition of NATCON is very special as it commemorates the centenary celebrations of IIA.”
She further added, “IIA NATCON 2016 will bring together over 1000 architects, designers, policymakers, urban planners, community development advocates and academic researchers to discuss how design, policy and practice decisions can help make our cities a celebration of life that is inclusive of all the diversities that we as a Nation come with.”
The three day conference, curated by Architect Prem Chandavarkar will comprise of six sessions on important sub-themes, designed for discussion and audience participation. Each session on a sub-theme is articulated as a set of provocative questions, to encourage thought and discussion, rather than as a statement. The topics for discussion include, Architectural Practice and the City, Rethinking Urban Public Space, Governance and Social Justice in the Indian City, Resilience in the Indian City, “Designing” the Indian City and Unpacking the Smart City.
IIA NATCON 2016 will be inaugurated by well-known environmentalist and theatre personality Suresh Heblikar. The convention will see renowned speakers from the country and overseas sharing their thoughts and participating in the debates.
Architect Rahul Mehrotra,urbanist and educator, Founder Principal of RMA Architects, Professor of Urban Design and Planning, Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, will be the keynote speaker on December 1st, the first day of the convention.
SaskiaSassen, a Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University is the keynote speaker on December 2nd, the second day of the convention. Sassen’sresearch and writing focuses on globalization (including social, economic and political dimensions), immigration, global cities (including cities and terrorism), the new networked technologies and changes within the liberal state that result from current transnational conditions.
The six sessions debating on the sub-themes of the conference and the ensuing panel discussions will see speakers such as Alfredo Brillembourg(ETH Zurich), Architect NeelkanthChhaya(Former Dean of Architecture, CEPT , Ahmedabad, India), Tatjana Schneider (Sheffield University), Architect Dhiru A Thadani(Urbanist and Board Member of Congress for New Urbanism, Washington DC), Sujata Patel (University of Hyderabad), Architect Franz Ziegler (Urban Designer, Rotterdam), ArchitectPankaj Joshi (Director, Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI), Mumbai), Architect Kirtee Shah (Activist on Urbanism and Housing, Ahmedabad), Sheela Patel (SPARC, Mumbai),HariniNagendra(AzimPremji University, Bengaluru), Arun Jain (Urban Designer & Strategist, Seattle), AromarRevi (Director of Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bengaluru), Bimal Patel (President of CEPT, Ahmedabad), Aneerudha Paul(Director of Kamala RahejaVidhyanidhi Institute for Architecture, Mumbai), Swati Chattopadhyay(University of California, Santa Barbara), ParthaMukhopadhyay(Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi), G Sampath(Social Affairs Editor -The Hindu, Delhi)and A N Srivathsan(Academic Director of CEPT University, Ahmedabad).