Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu has exhorted the students of architecture to design environment-friendly and energy-efficient buildings as people are moving to the cities, making urbanisation irreversible. Youngsters should come up with innovative ideas while adhering to the basic principles of designing and not view future buildings as mere objects of opulence, Mr. Naidu said while participating as chief guest during the third convocation of the School of Planning and Architecture - Vijayawada (SPAV) here on Thursday.
Mr. Naidu said, by denuding forests, the present generation had done a great disservice to the nation, and people seemed to have realised the importance of greenery now.
‘Don’t play with nature’
It was good to raise greenery, but having created vast concrete jungles, buildings should be made livable spaces by making optimum use of natural air and ventilation. The fact that orderly and eco-friendly growth was essential for survival could not be overlooked, as the consequences of “playing with nature” was evident from the floods in Kerala, the Hudhud cyclone in Visakhapatnam and a few previous calamities, he observed. Mr. Naidu said the establishment of the SPAV was a great thing to happen for the youth of Andhra Pradesh as it was one of the three such institutions that were “national importance.”
“The faculty and students of SPAV are in an exciting stage of transformation of Vijayawada into a city that is serving as the foundation for Amaravati. It is an excellent opportunity for them to become a part of that history,” the Vice-President said, suggesting that the future Indian cities should be a blend of heritage and modernity.
Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan said infrastructure planning had to be done with a long-term vision to ensure proper development.
R. Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Government of India, said more SPAs were being established in the country and partnerships forged with foreign universities for imparting the best quality education in architecture and related domains.
Minister for Social and Tribal Welfare N. Ananda Babu, SPAV Board of Governors chairperson Brinda Somaya, and Director Minakshi Jain were present.
Earlier, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu gave away 10 gold medals for 2017-18 and degree certificates to 280 who passed out during the year. Prior to that, he inaugurated the SPAV’s new campus on the Govt. Polytechnic College Road in the presence of Mr. Narasimhan and others.
