BENGALURU: As part of the Bangalore Design Week, a panel discussion will be held on Sustainable Design, to talk about ‘Why thinking fresh on sustainability is key to the challenges we face in our design practices today’. The session which will be moderated by Jenny Pinto, design director at Oorja, will throw light on India’s own sustainable practices that were used as part of our tradition.
Talking about how we were a sustainable society 25 years ago, she says, “Things have changed, consumption patterns have changed, and we have somewhere lost that natural ability to live along the environment.”
Keeping in mind the position of the city on the map of the country, Jenny adds, “It’s relevant to open these discussions in Bengaluru because the city has always been at the centre of science and technology. And somewhere I feel design, science and technology must work together and come up with solutions.
Not just for the city, but the country as well. The country needs to look at how we can go forward with the environment changing so much. When the Kerala and Kodagu floods happened, we have to realise that changes are at our doorstep, at our backyard. Thus, somewhere I feel designers should feel they are part of.”
Jaigopal Rao, principal designer and partner of ‘Inspiration’, will be a part of the panel discussion. He too emphasises the need to evolve our own standards as a country. “Making use of local resources available, we must make architecture which consumes less energy and gives importance to natural lighting and ventilation. This is even more relevant in this age of global warming.”
He further goes on to suggest, that if companies like Infosys can take a lead in what is considered as sustainable buildings and habitats. “They can have campuses that are self-sustaining, with their own food, electricity and other resources.”
The panel discussion on ‘Why thinking fresh on sustainability is key to the challenges we face in our design practices today’ will be held at The Purple Turtles, Domlur today. The other panellists at the event include Archana Shah, a graduate of NID, Ahmedabad, and Prashant Dhawan, co-founder of Biomimicry India Lab and Studio.