KOCHI:
In a determined bid to rebuild its shattered infrastructure caused by the terrible August floods, Kerala will hold a six-day design festival — the largest such an event in India — to boost innovative design and solutions in the state and equip it with futuristic technology and architecture to deal with natural calamities more effectively.
Kochi Design Week, to be held at Bolgatty Island from December 11-16, will witness the assemblage of leading think-tanks and decision-makers, who would ideate, innovate and outline models that ensure a sustainable ecosystem for a better Kerala. Along with it, #DESIGN KERALA SUMMIT will be organized on Dec 11-12, as a great platform for creative technology influencers, architects, and design luminaries from India and across the world to participate in panel discussions, interactive sessions, debates and dialogues centered around designing of a futuristic and sustainable ecosystem for Kerala.” Helmed by Kerala’s Department of Information Technology, the conclave will have Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan addressing the summit on Dec 12.
The December 11-16 event comes after the resounding success of ‘#Future’— a high-profile two-day global digital summit the state government’s Electronics & IT Department held in last March. Attended by 2,000 delegates that comprised professionals, entrepreneurs, academicians, startups and top corporate, the event sought to develop a road map to make the state a hub for digital innovation and investment.
“The post-flood scenario in Kerala warrants a futuristic vision for rebuilding”, said Kerala IT Secretary M Sivasankar. “Path-breaking designs and solutions may hold the key in cases ranging from 3-D printed buildings to self-inflating bridges.”
The upcoming summit at the Bolgatty Convention Centre, with Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) as the official host, will focus on creating a sustainable ecosystem through technology-enabled innovations and design thinking. The event will feature a string of summits that propose solutions to design challenges and put up installations and other exhibits. It will also hold a Copenhagen Institute for Interaction Design (CIID) summer school, workshops and master classes.
The Kochi Design Week will showcase future technology options as installations so that various stakeholders can experience it. A knowledge paper the event makes out on design and future technologies in various sectors will be distributed to each department for their reference during the rebuilding phase.
This will also include Design District which will showcase future technology, ecosystems and design concepts which is adaptable during the rebuild process in terms of Installations and exhibits. Design District is also a platform for the adaptable technology, and design solutions during the proposed rebuild phase of Kerala, such that the decision makers of various departments can experience it.
Given that the event overlaps with the Kochi-Muziris Biennale beginning December 12, there will be special boat service free of cost from the key venues of the contemporary art festival to the ‘Design District’ at Bolgatty Island. The event will be free for the public to experience the Design District at Bolgatty Island.
