|
The
ultimate recognition for the "architects of
tomorrow", the Birla White Yuva Ratna Awards
has scaled great heights since its inception in
2004. The award has been a catalyst in providing
aspiring talented architects and designers an opportunity
to unleash their potential.
Like
the year before, this year too, the awards witnessed
a flurry of entries. This year 1446 students from
69 colleges across 19 states submitted 1991 entries.
Due to the overwhelming response, Birla White
introduced regional rounds of the contest. Five
zones were demarcated and as expected each zone
had something distinctive to offer. The regional
winners were felicitated at a function held in
the region. The regional award functions were
held at Lucknow, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
In
the first two years, design entries were invited
in two categories — designer flooring and GRC
(Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete). In the third
year the categories were creative innovative designs
with Textura and decorative items with Levelplast.
This
year the contest was far more challenging and interesting.
A major shift was to allow the students to design
the space without restrictions on the shape. The
themes were designing a tourist information kiosk
using GRC, Textura and Levelplast, and designing
a signage using GRC.
The
jury for the national round of the contest comprised
of four eminent architects namely Shakti Parmar,
Rahul Kadri, Ravi Sarangan and Kapil Bhalla. The
winners of the national round were felicitated at
a grand function in Mumbai.
The
function was held on 21 January 2008 at Leela Kempinski,
Mumbai. Trophies, certificates and cash rewards
were presented to the winners.
The chief guest of the evening was Smt. Rajashree
Birla, Director, Aditya Birla Group. Apart from
the judges, the audience comprised of leading architects,
consultants and builders of Mumbai. The principals
and faculty members of some participating colleges
were also present. A musical evening was also organised
to entertain the audience.
In
the GRC signage design category, the first, second
and the third prizes were awarded to Neha Prakash
Korde, Sir J.J.School of Architecture, Mumbai, Mohd.
Imran Uddin, C.S.I Institute of Technology, Secundrabad
and Napoleon Ferdinando, LS Raheja School of Architecture,
Mumbai, respectively. This year the first two slots
of awards were not there in the tourist information
kiosk category. But a third prize was won by Pandurang
Supada Wadhe, Sir J.J School of Architecture and
two Jury Special Awards were conferred to Lipi Khemuka,
Priyadarshini Institute of Architecture & Design
Studies, Nagpur and Nishant Nathani, Indian Institute
of Technology, Roorkee.
Birla
White is a product of Grasim Industries Ltd (White
Cement Division), a unit of the Aditya Birla Group.
From a division that manufactured the whitest white
cement in India, the company now manufactures a
range of surface finishing products like Birla White
Wallcare Putty (a protective base for wall paints),
Textura — a ready mix texture plaster material,
Kool N Seal — an elastomeric coating that cools
surfaces and seals cracks, Levelplast — a superior
substitute for POP and GRC (Glass Fibre Reinforced
Concrete) — a versatile product with high flexibility
and mouldability available in precast form.
|
