34th National Convention of the Indian Institute of Architects inaugurated

BHUBANESWAR: Noted architect of Sudan Hayder Ahmed Ali asserted that the city planners should keep in mind historical and religious aspects of cities instead of following western styles of building high-rises and designing streets for vehicles.

Inaugurating the 34th National Convention of the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) - NATCON 2017 organised by Odisha Chapter of the apex body of architects on Thursday, he said architecture is a responsibility as architects shape the society.

“It is important how the professionals take the responsibility and present it to the society. An architect is an artist, a scientist and a socio-economist. They need to help create the harmony of living by doing the unimaginable imaginable and real,” he said.

Since a well planned and aesthetically designed city attracts people from various places around it, the former vice president of International Union of Architects (UIA) said, the architects have responsibility to be accurate in putting their footprints so that it would have a great effect on the city’s social fabric.
With the UN habitat projection indicating that more than 50 per cent of people are expected to live in cities by 2020 and it would cross 80 per cent by 2050, Ali said how it is a challenge for architects to plan or design the cities which can accommodate so many people.

Industries Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said, people may have idealistic view of villages and fantasise of country life, the fact remains that it is cities which generate wealth and it is created when diverse people come together and interact, he added.

“But surprisingly we have not  been able to build cities which are people friendly. There is no public space and many areas are covered by concrete jungle. Building good quality public space is another important task for urban planners. Design aesthetic is an integral part of any city,” Chopra pointed out.

Chairman of IIA Odisha Chapter Sagarendra Mohapatra, vice-chairman Mousami Nanda, Junior vice-president of IIA Amogh Gupta, convener of NATCON Sugata Mohanty, Sudeep Paudyal from Nepal and Raghunath Mohapatra spoke.

The three-day national convention attended by around 800 architects from different places of the country and Nepal, took off in a grand way. A souvenir on ‘Architectural foot prints - Impact on Cities’ was released while an MOU was signed between IIA and Society of Nepal Architects (SONA) on bilateral exchange of technical support and knowledge. Vice-president of SONA Anjumala Pradhan was present.
Veteran and senior architects KK Sur, KB Mohapatra and Adikanta Biswal were facilitated.