Students at Anant National University will prepare design proposals for a pedestrian bridge proposed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) at Narol Crossroad in Ahmedabad. The project is intended to connect classroom learning with practical work on public infrastructure and expose participants to the considerations involved in developing a design.

Open to students across disciplines, the initiative will follow a three-stage design competition. Participants will be expected to develop practical proposals that address usability, safety, visual design and the needs of people using public infrastructure. The selected proposal will be recognised and taken forward in collaboration with NHAI.

The university is coordinating the initiative through Dr Sanjeev Vidyarthi, Provost, and Ar Jabeen Zacharias, Professor of Practice. Shri Pradeep Atri, Chief General Manager (Technical) and Regional Officer at NHAI, along with architect Habeeb Khan, is also involved in the project.

Working on a real public site will give students an understanding of how design decisions are influenced by people, location, safety and the wider urban context. The project will also introduce them to practical constraints, stakeholder coordination and the process of developing an initial idea into a proposal suitable for implementation.

The competition will require participants to consider technical requirements, revise their designs and understand the coordination needed to create a workable solution. Its cross-disciplinary format will enable students to approach the challenge from different perspectives while gaining exposure to collaboration among designers, technical professionals and public agencies. The initiative is intended to demonstrate how design education can contribute to infrastructure planning and implementation.