BuildMat 2013, Coimbatore
Global Trends and Products in Construction
| BuildMat 2013, an International Construction and Interior fair is a unique exposition promoted by Coimbatore Centres of the frontline construction industry organisations of India viz., Indian Institute of Architects (IIA), Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (ACCE), and Builders Association of India (BAI) to showcase the global trends in construction and interior products. With 440 stalls displaying several building materials under one air conditioned roof, BuildMat, established a new benchmark. The four day extravaganza took place at the grand venue of Codissia trade fair complex, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, |
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between 7th and 10th of February, 2013. The fair provided an ideal avenue for growth and bringing Coimbatore on the map of Indian Construction Industry. BuildMat, as an event, has already created a brand that is irrefutably superior. This is proved from the consistent healthy growth in patronage by all stakeholders of the industry. The excellent team work has earned a reputation and name for the brand BuildMat nationwide making global construction players turn towards Coimbatore.
| In commemoration of this unique exposition, an International Seminar with a theme "Sustainable Construction" was also held at the venue. The seminar had a special focus on Energy/Cost/Resource and Efficient Construction Technologies. Eminent speakers presented their views and solutions in the frame work of the theme and held the audience in awe. In addition to the industry professionals, students from different schools of Architecture, Interior design and Civil Engineering participated with keen interest. The inaugural function was honored by the presence of Dr. Harimohan Pillai, |
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Ar. Jaffer A Khan and Dr Arun.C. 'Built Expressions' as Media Partner of BuildMat, covered the event in its entirety.
Ar. Jaffer A Khan
Sustainability is not a Myth but a Reality
Opening his remarks with a slide show of the macrocosmic universe and juxtaposing the same with the microcosmic universe, Architect Khan drew our attention to the two scary facts- the exploding population and the exploding urbanization.
India is the second highest populated country in the world with nearly 1.3 billion populations contributing to 17% percent of world population. It is expected that the trend if continues will exceed China in 2030 with an estimated 1.53 billion people living on this motherland. This is really scary as the resources to support this population are not growing at the pace expected and scarier is the urban population will be almost 50% by 2050.
| Touching upon the five gross elements of the universe, the Vedic wisdom and Man-Nature Connectivity, he also put forth various works and case studies which showcased a sustainable way of living through design. Considering some of his projects executed and completed as case studies, he explained the way projects can be made energy efficient and sufficient. He cautioned by saying-" but vandalizing the earth has become the business of Man. We have seen the Ice melting, the grounds cracking, the forests vanishing and little water or no water….and then Man experiments for all possible survival options". |
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The deliberation also gave a futuristic idea of how man's abode might shift to another planet in the near future in view of the damage caused by to the planet earth. He concluded his talk with an emphatic message that "Sustainability is not a Myth but a Reality"
Dr.Arun
Sustainability and Project Management
Dr.Arun, from Calicut took up the issue of "Sustainability and Project Management" and dealt at length explaining various aspects of Sustainable Development, Key Principles of Sustainability, Interacting life cycles, Potential areas of impact and concluded with a few tips to achieve it.
The session two commenced with a prelude given by Ar.Mohammed Ali Sharieff, the dean, Faculty of architecture, Karpagam university, and the fore runner of the whole seminar event. He gave his words of wisdom on "Solar-Our social responsibility".
The session continued with presentations on "utility of solar", "solar policy and approvals" and "advantages of sreevatsa solar" by speakers Mr. N Sivakumar, Mr. A D Thirumoorthy and Mr.Rajive Ramasamy respectively.
The second day of the international seminar had speakers from various countries such as South Korea and Singapore. It commenced with a mind boggling seminar by the famous architect Yatin Pandya from Ahmadabad. He generously threw light on sensitive and sensational topics such as "Sustainable Symbiosis between Man, Nature, Culture and Architecture."
This was followed by lectures from Speakers such as Mr.Sang Won, Ar.Vasudevan Kadalayil, and Ar. Koushik Toppe on topics such as "Aluminum formworks", "Green buildings-An experiential perspective" and "Green buildings-how do they differ" respectively.
Curtains were drawn to the entire event with the valedictory function and a thought provoking talk by the chief guest Dr.A.Sivathanu Pillai, recipient of prestigious Padma Bushan award.
The Expo housed around 440 stalls exhibiting various smart building materials and technologies under one single roof, which was open to all, on all the four days. Students, who showed keen interest during their visit to stalls, collected as much information as possible from the vendors.
To sum it, Build Mat 2013 had it all.
Reported by: Janani Venkatesh , 3rd year faculty of architecture, Karpagam University