- Pan – India Participation by over 600 students!
- Over 180 innovative design entries from tomorrow’s architects!!
- Shoma Mathew & Surikrishna Siddharth, SPA College, New Delhi (North) is National Winner in ‘Transparence 2010’
The Awards Ceremony in the Grand Finale of ‘Transparence’, India’s biggest design competition from Saint–Gobain Glass India, for students of architecture, was a grand affair at Hubli. The event was a part of the NASA (National Association of Students of Architecture) convention - a national event for students of architecture. The venue was the BVB College, Vidyanagar at Hubli.
Around 4000 students from over 100 colleges were present during the Awards Ceremony. The results were announced amidst much suspense and excitement. Shoma Mathew & Surikrishna Siddharth, SPA College, New Delhi (North) won the ‘Transparence 2010’ trophy and is the National Winner for the year 2010; they walked away with a cash prize of Rs 75,000. The first runner-up and second runner-up were Shruti G H, MSRIT, Bangalore (South) and Ankan Prasad, Somraj & Kritika Sha - Bengal Engineering College (East) respectively and won Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 each.
The Jury for Transparence 2010 was made up of an independent panel of eminent, practicing architects :
- Ar. Ravi Sarangan, Partner, Edifice Architects
- Ar. Shirish Beri, Shirish Beri and Associates &
- Ar. Gayathri Shetty from Gayathri & Namit
Mr. B Santhanam, President – Flat Glass, South Asia & Egypt and Managing Director, Saint- Gobain Glass India and Mr. R Subramanian, Director – Sales & Marketing, Saint -Gobain Glass India were also present during the event.
The theme for Transparence 2010 was to design an “International Convention Centre” in Navi Mumbai. Transparence 2010 got an overwhelming response this year – over 600+ entries from architectural students from 100 plus colleges across India. Participating colleges include IIT Roorkee, IIT Kharagpur, Birla institute of technology, School of Planning & Architecture, Delhi, Jamia Millia Islamia, JJ College of architecture Mumbai, Anna University … and many more. The highlight being that over 14 colleges have taken this up as their studio project.
Transparence, the design competition for architectural students is an initiative from Saint-Gobain Glass India. It is much more than just another competition for students: it is a search for talent among the budding architects; a unique platform bringing together the students of architecture, practicing architects and the industry; an event which has become an integral part of the annual calendar of architectural colleges. ‘Transparence 2010” commenced in May 2010 with the announcement of the topic- “International Convention Centre”. Students were given a brief based on which they had to submit designs with all aspects of architecture. The spirit and enthusiasm of the students was reflected in the number of participation. Over 600 students from 100 colleges sent in their entries to Saint -Gobain Glass India. The competition was held in two stages- the Regionals and the Finals. The Regional Round was conducted in November 2010 in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkatta and Delhi. The teams battled out with their innovative designs and creative presentations in the presence of a large audience of students and practicing architects. 8 teams were shortlisted for the finals:
- SPA College – New Delhi, RIMT – Punjab, IIT-Kharaghpur, Bengal Engineering College – Kolkata, Manipal Institute of Technology – Bangalore, MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology – Bangalore, Sir J J College of Architecture – Mumbai & LBH College of Architecture – Mumbai.
The shortlisted 8 teams presented their designs during the finals at Hubli.
“The competition has received overwhelming response from the students and architect community and it is a proud moment for us” says Mr B. Santhanam, President – Flat Glass, South Asia & Egypt and MD, Saint-Gobain Glass India. Mr Santhanam further adds “The objective of this programme is to inspire and bring out the talent in budding architects. At Saint-Gobain innovation is a core philosophy and Transparence is an opportunity for us to inspire innovation among tomorrow’s architects. We have been conducting Transparence every year from 2005 and every year it only gets better and better”.
The panel of judges was impressed by the quality of designs and the creativity exhibited by the students. The criteria for judging the entries were unambiguous - concept, innovation in design, use of glass, detailing, presentation and sustainability. Mr Ravi Sarangan, one of the jury members says “It was a big challenge for us to decide the winners, each of the finalists presented their designs with passion and are worth appreciation. We are overwhelmed by the detailing and the quality of the designs presented. The designs were a treat to our senses.”
Ms Gayathri Shetty, Architect and Jury member further adds “students look forward to an event like this and we are happy to note that many colleges across India have taken this up as their studio project too and we as architects are proud to be a part of this”.
Mr Shirish Beri, Architect and Jury member says: “We appreciate Saint-Gobain’s efforts in reaching out to the architect community and the students of architecture, this is a great opportunity for the young architects to showcase their talents”.
About Saint-Gobain Glass India:
Saint-Gobain Glass India Ltd (SGGI) started operations in the year 2000 with the commissioning of its first float glass plant. Since then it has rapidly expanded and deepened its presence in the Indian Flat Glass Market. Today Saint-Gobain Glass India is the clear market leader in the flat glass industry with a strong brand and a market share of 36%. SGGI pioneered several innovations in terms of products, marketing and manufacturing that helped in the emergence of product differentiation and segmentation in what was seen as a Commodity industry. Today, SGGI is the leader in the Indian Flat Glass Industry. Its goal is to provide complete glass solutions for tomorrow’s evolving needs.
