Manoj Godara, Chandigarh: Chandigarh is now 60 years old. This city boasts of being ‘City Beautiful’ mainly not because of its Architecture and Town Planning but also landscape architecture which contributed in beautifying this city. The landscape architects and horticulturists have enriched this city with lovely flora from all over the world. City roads, streets have been beautified and numerous gardens have been created. All this has made an enormous difference in the quality of life. But the certain aspects of landscaping are missing and a few other decisions had gone wrong. It is high time to evaluate various issues which need careful handling at this juncture.
Chandigarh-Punjab Chapter of the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) in association with University of Western Australia, Perth and Alumni Association of Chandigarh College of Architecture is organising an Indo-Australian Symposium ‘Landscape Architecture’ on 6th April, 2010 at Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10, Chandigarh. Eminent landscape architects from Australia and India have been invited to speak on different aspects of the subject.
Sh Ram Niwas, IAS, Home Secretary, UT Administration, Chandigarh shall be the Chief Guest. The key speakers will be Prof. Christopher Vernon, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Art at the University of Western Australia. He will speak on “Australian and Indian Capital Connections”. He will be discussing the capital cities of Pretoria (South Africa), Canberra (Australia) and New Delhi (India). He shall emphasize on the contributions made by Australian landscape architects, Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion Mahony Griffin who designed the federal capital city, Canberra. The duo had also made considerable contribution to India’s landscape architecture.
Second speaker would be Dr Minakshi Jain, Professor, Department of architecture, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh). She will speak on “Effective Landscapes—images and perceptions”. She will deliberate on the landscaping in the hills and the methods to preserve plantation in hills.
Ar Surinder Bahga, Chairman of the Chandigarh-Punjab Chapter of IIA, who will deliver the keynote address, said “The popular conception of landscape design has been that it is a profession which is confined to private gardens and parks. But, with the growing imbalance in the ecosystems and global warming, the role of landscape design has become all the more important.”
Eminent architects like Jit Gupta, Director, College of Architecture, Bhaddal and Archana Chaudhary, Architect, Housing Board Haryana will chair the technical sessions.
It is believed that this Symposium would definitely be a step forward towards creating awareness among the professionals, students and public about landscape architecture.