9 months ago
Vembu highlights urban planning challenges at convocation
Sridhar Vembu, a co-founder of a big software company, spoke at a university event.
He said that as cities grow, they become harder to live in.
He thinks modern buildings, especially those made of concrete, are not good for our climate.
He was inspired by old temples and traditional buildings and wants people to use those ideas to build better, more comfortable places.
He even built a school and his office using old-style, natural materials.
He told students to start by designing small, well-planned campuses to solve these problems.
Many students received degrees in design and sustainability at the event.
Sridhar Vembu spoke at the seventh convocation of Anant National University in Ahmedabad.
He highlighted that modern cities are becoming more unlivable due to poor urban planning.
Vembu criticized 20th-century architecture, particularly the Bauhaus style, for being unsuitable for current climatic conditions.
He emphasized the need to return to traditional architecture, citing examples like Chola temples and Thanjavur agraharam style.
Vembu proposed that students should start by designing well-planned micro campuses to address urban planning issues.
- Who
- Sridhar Vembu, Chief Scientist and co-founder of Zoho Corporation
- What
- Urban planning challenges and the need for sustainable architecture
- Where
- Ahmedabad
- When
- During the seventh convocation ceremony of Anant National University
- Why
- To inspire students to address urban planning issues and promote sustainable architecture
Key facts
- Speaker
- Sridhar Vembu, Chief Scientist and co-founder of Zoho Corporation
- Event
- Seventh convocation ceremony of Anant National University, Ahmedabad
- Key Issue
- Urban planning and livability of modern cities
- Inspiration
- Traditional architecture, including Chola temples and Thanjavur agraharam style
- Solution Proposed
- Designing micro 50-acre campuses well
- Degrees Awarded
- 299 degrees in various design and sustainability programs
- Other Speakers
- Ajay Piramal, Dr Sanjeev Vidyarthi, and board members
Quotes
Sridhar Vembu
Chief Scientist and co-founder of Zoho Corporation
“Why is it that 20th century architecture has not made a mark? Why is it that we still celebrate the 18th century? Turns out a lot of the architecture of what modernity comes from a German 1910-1920 Bauhaus School… the rectangular concrete block; We must question this because it is not suitable for our climate today. We have to build for our climatic conditions from materials that are suitable for us. As our cities become bigger and bigger they are becoming more and more unlivable… it is an urban planning problem which your generation has to solve”
indianexpress.com
“So many people comment: how come it is so much cooler inside?…All this was our traditional knowledge….our homes were built this way hundred years ago, now, all over India we are building the same concrete structures which we should not be doing”
indianexpress.com
