Final year students of architecture from MARG Institute of Design & Architecture, Swarnabhoomi (MIDAS) are all set to celebrate the spirit of the city for the upcoming Madras Day. Kick-starting the Madras Week celebrations on August 18 2018, over 120 students will display urban design exhibits across three different parks located in T. Nagar, Nungambakkam and Sholinganallur which will give the public an insight into the glorious heritage of the city spanning across 379 years.
"For the last three years our seniors have been conducting and managing this event, this we get to do it and we are very excited," says Aishwarya Suresh, a final year student at MIDAS.
Keeping in mind the cultural diversity of the city and its evolution alongside rampant development, the students have chosen to showcase the growth of three significant locations - Nungambakkam, Saidapet and Sholinganallur as part of the initiative. The exhibits at Independence Park, Nungambakkam will help public traverse through the evolution of Nungambakkam into the cosmopolitan hub from a traditional settlement without compromising on the culture and heritage. Offering a peek into the growth of Saidapet, the exhibits at Natesan Park – T. Nagar will showcase the transformation of the location from an ecological reservoir to its current state. A modern case of development, the exhibits at Devaraj Park – Sholinganallur will display the impact of its rapid transformation in the last decade.
"We will provide the public with urban design sheets that may sound technical but in reality, they are just proposals and solutions towards building an ecologically sustainable future. We have conducted physical surveys over the last two weeks to come up with the proposals," says Aishwarya.
Aishwarya explains that the students had to first be aware of the theory of this entire process, "We had lectures conducted by renowned architects, had to read about the ecological constitution of the three locations and then get into the practical part of it - on sites, surveys, documentation."
The urban design exhibits have been developed by the students of MIDAS over a span of one and a half months and are based on the UN Sustainable Goals. The exhibits will be open for public review and will serve as a platform for all the urban enthusiasts to come together and celebrate Chennai - India’s first ever modern city. "We are scared and excited at the same time as this will be an opportunity to interact with the public and listen to the real world problems. However, we should also be prepared for criticism regarding our design exhibits," says Aishwarya.
For more details about the initiative, you can contact - 87544 12325.
