National seminar on Hindi media :

NEW DELHI: A one-day national seminar on "Growing Opportunities in Hindi Media'' is being organised here by College of Media and Communication (CMAC) this coming Tuesday. It will be inaugurated by senior Hindi journalist Prabhash Joshi.

Eminent journalists, experts and students are expected to attend the seminar that would focus on topics like "Print Versus Electronic Hindi Journalism'', "Localisation of News'' and "Role of the Hindi Media in Globalisation''.

Cities should grow vertically: American expert

By Indo Asian News Service

New Delhi, March 30 (IANS) A leading American design expert and city planner, who founded the team for the re-planning of New York's World Trade Center, Thursday stressed the need for 'vertical growth' in Indian cities to solve transportation problems.

'The more you spread out, the more you have to worry about transporting and moving people,' Frederic Schwartz, who teaches architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, told a seminar here.

'Imagine how efficient the city would be if people don't spend this much time travelling. City planners should work towards providing a public transport system that takes vehicles off the road. Every major city in the world has grown with its transportation.'

Schwartz also advised against the growing use of exterior glass in commercial buildings in many Indian cities.

'Glass should be best avoided as it is not suited to Indian weather conditions. In western countries including the US, glass windows are used in buildings to trap heat from the sun as these are mostly cold weather countries. India is a hot weather country and needs to trap cold instead of heat,' he said.

'Most of the buildings should have proper walls with ventilation system instead of too many glass windows. This is the reason that none of the old architecture in India had glass-based construction. They rather had thick brick and mortar walls, which not only made them more safe but also led to energy conservation,' he said.

Rai foundation organises disaster management meet

Disaster management is a matter of great concern worldwide and is an issue that keeps popping up whenever a disaster occurs and is buried till the next disaster takes place. Belapur-based Rai foundation had organised an event, ‘Managing Disasters’- A platform to discuss the crucial steps to overcome disaster, at the Nehru Centre, Worli at 3.00 pm today.

Prof. Fredrick Schwartz who is known as ‘The man who dared the city to think again’ was the main speaker for the event. He is a Professor of Architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design, USA who has designed the world cultural centre at ground zero post 9/11. The other speakers for the event included Prof. Ravi Sinha (dept. of civil Engineering, IIT, Mumbai), Prof. Amit Verma (NICMAR, Pune), Prof. Rajeev Mishra (JJ College of architecture) and Mr M.C.Bhide who is the founder and honorary director of Institute of Bridge Engineers.

Prof. Ravi Sinha discussed on the issues of urban disaster risk management (DRM). The population in Greater Mumbai has increased by 64.9% in the last 10 years and in Thane the population has risen by 93.1%. According to him the reclamation in our city has been done on garbage and this was not only the major reason for the floods in Mumbai last year but also earthquakes and the reason for the increasing number of buildings collapsing in this city. Mr Sinha says, “Knowledge is the key to effective disaster risk management. Whatever plans or assessments that are made should be understandable to all stakeholders which include the government, disaster management community, corporate and finance community, NGO and the local people. It should be made understood to these different sectors in the language they understand so that we can all walk together in implementing the plans.”

Prof. Rajeev Mishra says, “If architects are sensitized towards building for the society it can help save human lives.” Even he feels that information is the key to managing any disaster. The vulnerability of old buildings is very high in this metropolis. And it’s not just the old dilapidated buildings but even the new ones, most of which are not constructed with required safety levels. According to the record almost 237 buildings collapsed in the year 2001-2002 and the figures are rising. The plans should be developed on sound technical basis which is rational.

In a developed city most people have GPS (Global Positioning System) which is very much necessary in our country too. Simputer which has already been put to use in Bangalore, is a smart card which is useful in a disaster or crisis as it is easy to locate people using this card.

In his speech Prof. Amit Verma focused on development and risk management and mitigation with an emphasis on earthquakes in India in his speech. He says, “About 50% of India is prone to moderate to very high seismic risk zone. There is more risk in mega cities .i.e., Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. In rural areas nobody checks the kind of technology used for housing units. He further spoke on how the government has not included the structure requirements in its housing schemes. He adds, “disaster and risk management should be community based and for the community.

Prof. Fredrick Schwartz very rightly says, ‘Poverty is an everyday disaster, this breeds the mosquito called terrorism, and this mosquito will bite anytime anywhere unless we fight against poverty”. He says that the 9/11 disaster as well as the Mumbai floods were a failure of not being prepared. He is the person responsible for now designing the world cultural centre with memorials for those who died in the tragedy at the same place where the twin towers once stood.

Nature has created havoc, man has made mistakes but it lies in our hands to handle these situations in the best possible manner. Now what waits to be done is for these talks and plans to be converted into actions.

"Need for vertical growth in cities"

NEW DELHI: Harvard Graduate School professor Frederic Schwartz stressed the need for vertical growth in Indian cities to solve transportation and other basic infrastructure problems.

Addressing a lecture series in the Capital on Thursday, Prof. Schwartz said the more a city spreads out the more it has to worry about transporting and moving people.

The professor added that city planners should work towards providing a public transport system that takes vehicles off the road. He also advised against the use of exterior glasses in commercial buildings, as it was not suitable because of warm weather conditions of the country.

He also stressed use of eco-friendly construction materials and conservation of energy in the buildings.

“Well planned buildings must, to minimize loss from natural or man-made disaster

Professor Frederic Schwartz, a leading design critic and a Professor of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, said this while addressing a seminar on “Rebuilding Cities after Natural or Man-Made Disasters”, here in Delhi on Wednesday.

The Indian construction industry and all its facilitators like architects, engineers etc., should observe a strict disaster proof and eco-friendly building plan, which not only minimizes loss on account of natural or man-made disasters but also helps in energy conservation.

Professor Frederic Schwartz, a leading design critic and a Professor of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, said this while addressing a seminar on “Rebuilding Cities after Natural or Man-Made Disasters”, here in Delhi on Wednesday. The seminar was attended by various architects, designers, engineers and students of architecture.

Professor Schwartz, who is also a practicing architect and a city planner in New York City was in New Delhi as part of the Rai Foundation - Rai Global Spark initiative.

He specifically advised against the rising exterior use of glass in commercial buildings coming up in various parts of the country like Delhi, Gurgaon etc.

“Glass should be best avoided as they are not suited to Indian weather conditions. In western countries including US, glass windows are used in buildings to trap heat from the sun as these are mostly cold weather countries. India is a hot weather country and needs to trap cold instead of heat,” he said.

“Most of the buildings should have proper walls with ventilation system instead of too many glass windows. This is the reason that none of the old architecture in India had glass-based construction. They rather had thick brick and mortar walls, which not only made them more safer but also led to energy conservation," he asserted.

“An ideal building plan should also focus on effective land use, water harvesting, using passive fire prevention systems with proper mandatory landscaping and solid waste management system. This apart, architectural design parameters should lay stress on insulation, daylight utilization, natural ventilation, shielding, acoustics, window area and its disposition,” he said.

On the problem of country’s infrastructure and traffic problems, Professor Schwartz said, the solution to this lies in growing vertically instead of spreading out.

During his address Prof. Schwartz spoke about the 9/11 tragedy and how New York was slowly preparing to rebuild on ground zero. He said, that for a fast growing city like New Delhi, planning and development is the key and investment on infrastructure a must.

Prof. Schwartz who led the team of architects designing mega projects like the Westway State Park and Highway and the one of its kind Staten Island Ferry Terminal in New York, feels that, “The more you spread out, the more you have to worry about transporting and moving people.”

He further pointed out that “imagine how efficient the city would be if people don’t spend this much time traveling. City planners should work towards providing a public transport system that takes vehicles off the road. Every major city in the world has grown with its transportation.”

Prof. Schwartz insisted that, “any growing city needs planning and the planning initiative should be such that while building, it continues to preserve green spaces, historically important spaces, etc. City planners should think into the future when planning the infrastructure for the city, it should, not only meet the needs of today but also the growth possibilities of tomorrow.”

Rai Foundation with its apex aim to provide equal opportunities for education to all, has started a long term series of the event “Rai Global SPARK - A Lecture Series of Professional & Radical Knowledge” where Professors and renowned Academicians from various top-ranking Universities like Harvard University, New York University, Stanford University, University of Leeds etc from throughout the world, will be coming to India to enlighten students and people from related sectors or industry with current methodologies and best practices adhered worldwide.

As the name suggests, the aim of this exercise is to create a “Spark” of desire to excel and promote the linkage of theory to practice and encourage moral responsibility, life-long learning, and engaged citizenship from internationally acclaimed academicians, armoring people with knowledge and skills focused on Global Education and Trends. This exercise of International level will be first if its kind to be held here in India to provide more and more students and aspirants to be able to interact, convene and listen to the crème de la crème of International Academia. The Professor is visiting metros like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore.

Rai Foundation will be working in tandem with these top-notch academicians in creating a regenerated society facilitating accessibility to global education and trends.

For Further Information, Please Contact
Girish Singhal
Propel Communications
9810206244
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Email: info@propelpr.com

Tribune News Service

A new art gallery, SPACE, was inaugurated in the Capital last week. Set up by the School of Performing Arts and Creative Education (SPACE), the gallery aims to provide a forum for the young artists to present their work for public viewing and in the process help establish them in the highly competitive world of creative art.

SPACE provides comprehensive courses in painting, sculpture, dance, theatre and communication.

The gallery, which was inaugurated by Ms. Tracey Hummers, a New York-based journalist and internationally recognized art critic, is also presenting the inaugural exhibition, “14 Strokes” comprising the best works of the third and fourth-year students of SPACE.

A new designer label for women launched

NEW DELHI: The School of Fashion Technology (SOFT) on Friday unveiled a new designer label targeted at women of all age groups at its premises here in South Delhi.

SOFT Dean Rythma Bhatia and New York-based journalist and art critic Tracey Hummers launched the new eco-friendly line that is aimed at women who are fashion-conscious yet do not want to distance themselves from simplicity.

Ms. Bhatia, who has been instrumental in successful planning, execution and supervision of the event, pointed out that the brand aims at creating an attire that speaks volumes about the true enigma of a woman, trapping her charisma, binding the endless energy and possessing the elegance without going overboard with silhouettes, mind-boggling pricing or embroidery.

On the brand's expected sales, Ms. Bhatia said: "The potential for our garment is huge. We cannot only retail our garments from our factory outlet but also through various chains. Since we have our designer base at the SOFT, there is no dearth of imagination and innovation. We are therefore fully prepared to handle even the celebrity wardrobes all on our own."