Design Debate - Conversations in Chandigarh and Kolkata

In June, the indomitable Design Debate travelled across the country for its 13th and 14th editions, marking its relevance in the phenomenal architectural fraternity in Chandigarh and Kolkata!

Architects eagerly embraced the task of transforming a challenging linear plot, flanked by neighbouring houses on both the east and west sides, into a home that fosters a sense of connection and invites vibrant landscaping. Located in the middle of an urban area of Vadodara, the architects – Manoj Patel Studio - addressed the challenges by designing the spaces to open into pockets of vertical voids. The dwelling is aligned in the north-south direction with openings facilitating maximum cross ventilation. .

Design Debate is a constructive debate on Tradition vs Technology within the realm of design that strives to be interactive and knowledge-led. Held back-to-back on consecutive weekends, the Chandigarh and Kolkata editions on 9th June and 16th June 2023 respectively saw architects across North and East India engage passionately with the endeavour! It gave a lot of food for thought, inviting interest not only from the panellists but also from the audience.

Design Debate revisited Chandigarh after last year, and the engaging evening kicked off with a warm opening address by Bibhor Srivastava, Managing Director, ITP Media India. After an engaging presentation by Puneet Kalia, Sales Leader-Public North & East, Professional Segment, Signify Innovations India, the Curator and Moderator Sangeet Sharma, Author, Architect, Poet, Singer, TEDx Speaker, Motivator, took to the stage. He set the context for the evening, invigorating the audience with the analogy - “The best example of perfect aesthetic is a spoon, both functionally and visually. While these two things dictate aesthetics, economics plays out on a much larger scale. Today, we will see the global, personal, and local impact of how these two - aesthetics and economics - interact.”