Chennai, 2nd February 2013: The first student competition on Holistic Sustainability in India, called the Reciprocity Wave was a highly successful start towards a movement seeking a new paradigm for design-inspired solutions that address some of India’s threatening socio-economic problems. The event witnessed innovative ideas and art projects that were created during the day-long competition, addressing socio-economic issues developed by the youth of Chennai and student teams from Germany.
The event saw over 40 teams comprising more than 180 students from 15 colleges who took part energetically, presenting solutions on socio-economically relevant issues such as waste reduction, holistic sustainability, environmental stress, recycling and the Green Revolution, through the creation of sculptures and art installations. The inventive ideas showcased by the students were appreciated by the public who attended. While there were many works of art that were worthy of note, the top three projects won Rs 50,000 for the first place (Government Arts College), Rs 35,000 (Measi Academy of Architecture) for the second place and Rs 15,000 (Satyabama University) for the third place.
One of the participants said, “This competition and the idea behind this has been an incredible opportunity for us to have our work be reviewed by such accomplished judges. I would like to thank the organizers for such a fantastic event and also the public for viewing our work. We are excited about the prize money.”
The Reciprocity Wave was conducted as a CSR initiative of Shilpa Architects Planners Designers Pvt. Ltd. the internationally acclaimed architecture and design firm headquartered in Chennai. The Holistic Sustainability movement is an idea sparked by Ms. Sheila Sri Prakash, Founder & Chief Architect of Shilpa Architects and award-winning global expert at the World Economic Forum’s Council on Design Innovation & the Role of Arts in Society. Ms. Sheila Sri Prakash said “I am delighted and inspired to see the level of enthusiasm that today’s students possess, as well as their ability to imagine solutions in the spirit of unfettered innovation. We aim to turn the Reciprocity Wave in to a platform to showcase innovative problem-solving, while motivating society to think about embracing design-thinking, to solve problems that are threatening the sustainable development of India. We invite and welcome other partners and designers to fuel the ecosystem of Indo-centric Reciprocity in the future. I would like to thank the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Corporation of Chennai for enabling such a path-breaking way to think about our nation’s problems and for allowing us to use such a beautiful public space, such as the Nageswara Park.”
The competition was judged by an eminent panel of jury members including Ms. Latha Menon, (film-maker), Ms. Geetha doctor (noted journalist ), Mr. Kumar (Managing Director of one the city’s most socially conscious property developers – Navin Builder) and Ms. Sheila Sri Prakash (Chief Architect and Founder of Shilpa Architects). The judges were present to advise the students, offer feedback and shared their insights on different types of socio-economic issues in society.
To view the event photographs please visit http://www.facebook.com/ShilpaArch. For questions or further post event information, please contact @ShilpaArch on Twitter or at https://www.shilpaarchitects.com.
