ISOLA Honour & Awards 2014 – Pune

On 10th January 2015, ISOLA held the Jury for the ISOLA honours and awards at School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi.

The eminent Jury comprised of :

Jury for the ISOLA Medal, General Design Award, The Landmark Award
Sujata Kohli, Varsha Gavandi, Sachin Jain

Jury for the ISOLA Students Award
Sujata Kohli, Varsha Gavandi, Madhup Mazumder

One nomination was received for the Landmark Award, thirteen entries for the General Design Award and Nine entries were received for the Students Award for the Year 2014-2015.

All the award winning entries will be displayed at the ISOLA Conference 2015 to be held at Pune on February 20th and 21st 2015

Awards (Professional)

The ISOLA Medal

No entries were received for the ISOLA Medal for the year 2014-15.

The Landmark Award

Jury Comments
There was only one entry in this category titled “Rao Saheb Patwardhan Udyan, Bandra(W) Mumbai“ . While the park is a significant public space contributing to the
community, the jury noted that the design lacks in the continued relevance of the project’s design expression. The jury unanimously decided to withhold the Award in the Landmark Category for the year 2014-2015.

General Design Award of Excellence

Jury General Comments
There were 13 entries in the General Design category. The standard of entries was substantially better than the ones submitted in preceding years & it was difficult to exclude some other entries from the commendation.
Award Of Excellence
ISOLA General Design is awarded to the “Guadalupe River ParkConfluence Park East”.
Jury Comments
It is a very well-crafted public space which addresses all values. The engineering solution enables the design to be environmentally sensitive – riparian nature of landscape preserved along with amenities required of a good urban landscape, which fulfills the social & functional requirements of a successful public space. It stands out for innovative handling & detailing of individual spaces besides the well-designed overall scheme.

Commendation

Two commendations awarded to :

1. ROHNHERT PARK – COTATI REGIONAL LIBRARY GARDEN, CALIFORNIA for a strong innovative design theme relevant to the context, simple & subtle.
2. R & D CENTRE “ASTRAZENECA”, BENGALURU for well conceived design intent for each of available spaces. Nice use of local materials & simple technology with good detailing.

ISOLA Official Code Number: GD 10 (Commendation)
Project title: Rohnert Park- Cotati Regional Library Garden, California
Commencement date: July 2001
Project Completion: Jan 30, 2003
Project Size: 1500 sq. m.
Project Cost: unavailable

The Landscape Architect says, “The human mindset is to objectify the Other, focus on “difference” and “apartness”. However, are we truly that different? Are there no basic cultural elementsthat unite us? We allspeak a language, but “my language is not your language” is often used to identify our differences.

As repositories of knowledge, Libraries have played a valuable part in building a civilization’s foundations. They play a crucial role in both future education and past record keeping. The garden for this library in northern California was an opportunity to speak of the larger purpose of human civilization – which is to create culture through language. The one endeavor that unites all races is the yearning to speak and write. Focusing a multicultural group of people in America on their commonalities and not their differences, this project is an example of education design that could be also relevant in fractious India. Our schools and public spaces could be enriched with ideas, images and physical form that make us realize our universal brotherhood.”

ISOLA Official Code Number: GD 14 (Commendation)
Project title: Astra Zeneca India, R&D Centre, Kirloskar Tech Park, Hebbal, Bangalore
Commencement date: Phase 1 – 2004, Phase 2 – 2008
Project Completion: Phase 1 – 2007, Phase 2 – 2009
Project Size: Phase 1 – 6.5 Acres, Phase 2 – 3.5 Acres
Project Cost: Phase 1 – 88 lakhs , Phase 2 – 55 lakhs

The Landscape Architect says, “Any design effort and its physical exemplification at site, is a culmination of the synergy between diverse and related professional disciplines, a process that transforms a barren site into a working mechanism to suit the clients requirement in all aspects.

We feel, in this project, this synergy worked more as a “symphony”. This was one of the few projects we have dealt so far, where aspect was orchestrated well. In our visits to the project a few years post completion, we have experienced “a working landscape”, the spaces being accepted and utilized well by one and all within the campus, in a way it was intended by design, than being just a visualshowpiece.”

Awards (Students)

ISOLA Students’ Award

Jury General Comments
There were 9 entries in the ISOLA students’ award for academic year 2013-2014. The general trend of the entries had more emphasis on analysis and research and less on design resolution. As for few, the relevance of topic selected scored well, but for others not so significant.
ISOLA Students’ Award
Is awarded to “Adaptive Reuse of Dry Dam Site”.
Jury Comments
The thesis is appreciated for its relevance of topic, in depth research, methodology and maturity of presentation. The graphicalrepresentation and clarity of thought deserves merit. Although the topic did not conclude with significant design resolution, however the inference models are relevant for similar
cases.

Commendation
No entries were selected for commendation award.

Kapil Sachdeva
Centre for Environment, Planning & Technology, Ahmedabad
ISOLA Official Code Number: ST 08
Thesis Topic: Adaptive Reuse of a Dry Dam Site
Case: Ramgarh Dam, Jaipur

The Landscape architect says “ The landscape is not only what is visible at the very first instance , but is rather a result of many processes that formed it . These processes would continue to form a landscape in the time to come. It is the responsibility of landscape architect to cater to the visible/tangible and the invisible/intangible processes to reach to a sensible end. The present project of Ramgarh dam required the similar understanding and concern in coming to a useful end . It has been dry since last eight years which has been the result of change (or the processes) in catchment
characteristics due to anthropogenic encroachments and activities . It was practically impossible rather illogical to try to achieve the original catchment characteristics which existed some hundred years before in lieu just to revive the dam to its original state . The study intended to cater to only those areas which could possibly be intervened (areas other than anthropogenic ownership) to use to the landscape in some form .

The landscape potentials of these very left areas has been elaborated and hence proposed to benefit the local population. These interventions when applied in all the areas at local level, would benefit region as a whole . The dry reservoir area with a high potential to assimilate and hold water has not only been proposed to do so but the other manifold benefits it can offer has been envisioned thereof. The various economic ventures in this scenario would not only promote the local population to achieve the envisioned setup but would also lure the government to advocate the potential of the place. The Dam also known as Ramgarh Lake would again be acknowledged in the recreational aspects too. ”

ISOLA Honours & Awards 2014

List of Entries Received

Entries for ISOLA Landmark Award :

Entries for General Design Category :

Entries for Students’ Award Category :