Striking a proper balance between development and sustainability is crucial in post-flood rebuilding of Kerala to avoid future shocks, said leading architects and designers attending the #Design Kerala Summit 2018 here on Wednesday.
A paradigm shift in building practices demands “unlearning and re-learning” by architects and designers to ensure that future constructions go in tune with the ecosystem, they said.
Bijoy Ramachandran, founder, HundredHands, said disaster-affected communities have rich knowledge of the ecosystem they live in, which can be harnessed when building solutions, while showcasing projects in tsunami-affected Tharangambadi and Chinnangudi in Tamil Nadu, which used local techniques and engineers at low cost for rebuilding.
Social selling, which is the right kind of communication with the public, is crucial when it comes to the introduction of new technology, said Prasanth Nair, Deputy Secretary, Government of India, and founder, Compassionate Keralam. He was participating in a panel discussion on ‘Designing a technology infrastructure for the future’.
“Whenever you come up with a major innovation, unless you don’t bring people on board, it won’t yield the desired result. A bit of imagination makes things happen on a larger scale,” he said.
Saji Gopinath, CEO, Kerala Startup Mission, who was the moderator of the panel discussion, said newer technology created jobs and a new way of thought. “Technology alone is not complete. We require the second aspect of the newer technology which is where we move from a world where conventional systems are actually being changed into newer systems,” he said.
Villages
Bringing back work concentrated in cities to villages is the key to sustainability, and handloom industry is no different, said Rahul Mishra, acclaimed fashion designer. He was speaking on ‘Designing a sustainable model for Kerala handloom’ at the summit.
On why acclaimed international designers are not exploring handloom, especially that of Kerala, Mr. Mishra said: “It is just because they are not aware of the existence of such a rich and opulent fabric. We need to create more awareness.” He suggested that “a directory of weavers, their places and crafts can indeed be of immense help to connect them with designers.”
Kerala is experiencing a surge in technology that can benefit society in the aftermath of the August floods that ravaged the State, going by an exhibition at the summit. A Maker Village display of innovative tools and applications at the Bolgatty Event Centre that is hosting a Kochi Design Week (December 11-16) as part of the summit has 20 stalls that relate to ways people can respond to and overcome a crisis following disasters like the floods and landslips that the State faced.
For a State like Kerala, where houses continue to far outnumber apartments around urban areas, such a facility is of “great futuristic value”, said M. Sivasankar, IT Secretary.
Maker Village CEO Prasad Balakrishnan Nair noted that the exhibition had been curated keeping in mind that “technologies should benefit the common people and go in tune with nature.”