Archive · 7 Dec 2025
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
- When
- During the seventh convocation ceremony of Anant National University
- Where
- Ahmedabad
- Why
- To inspire students to address urban planning issues and promote sustainable architecture
- 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