Expo on world architectural marvels begins

A two-day exhibition of over 350 architectural marvels from the World Architectural Festival 2014 held in Singapore was inaugurated at the Builders NGV Club, Koramangala on Friday. 

 Greenply Industries Limited, in collaboration with Hyderabad Design Forum, brought the World Architecture Festival to Bengaluru, now on the ninth leg of their 16-city Design Tour. 

The World Architecture Festival is an international platform where projects compete for awards in 31 categories. As it is costly to participate in the festival, the number of Indian architects at the event is restricted to a prominent few. 

“The idea behind the Design Tour is to bring international designs to local architects and architecture students in India who cannot afford to go to the fest. We want to encourage innovation in modern architecture in the country. We need to create better architectural spaces for people and have better planning in our cities,” said Kamal K Mishra, Assistant Vice President of Marketing, Greenply Industries Limited. 

The Design Tour which began its nationwide journey at Jaipur went to Chandigarh, Indore, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Kochi before coming to the City. Designs from 65 countries across the world are on display at the exhibition. The main attraction is the ‘World Building of the Year 2014,’ a Community Centre in Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam, which is supported by a single tree-shaped steel column. Designs from India, both winners and finalists, are also on display. Finalists in the Future Projects category, the honeycomb-like design of SDS School, Delhi, by Sanjay Puri architects is a particularly interesting one. 

“In my opinion, this Design Tour is a wonderful platform for exposure to international artwork and to enhance innovative thinking. It is a celebration of architecture,” said Anup Naik, Director of Architecture of Space Matrix, a leading architecture and design firm. 

“The designs on display are amazing. Everyone can’t make it to the World Architecture Fest. This design tour is helping lots of architects and architectural students. It will be economical for them,” said Nisha, a young architect at the exhibition.

The exhibition will be open for viewing on Saturday as well.