UltraTech Cement announces winners of IndiaNext 2018

~ 10 winning ideas themed on ‘Building for a Billion’ finalised out of 4,250 registrations ~ UltraTech Cement, an Aditya Birla Group Company, today announced the winners of IndiaNext 2017-18 – Building for a Billion.  This is an annual initiative that brings alive the company’s endeavour to present the best concepts and designs to fulfill every Indian’s dream of owning a worthy home. Speaking on the occasion, KK Maheshwari, Managing Director, UltraTech Cement, says, “At UltraTech Cement, our endeavour is to build solutions for the ever-evolving infrastructure challenges that our country faces. We believe that every Indian should have a home of their dream. ‘Building for A Billion’ – an engineering and design competition launched under the aegis of UltraTech’s IndiaNext initiative is a testimony to this belief. In keeping with this vision, we developed the idea of IndiaNext to bring together the best and brightest minds of the world to collaborate and devise solutions. Going by the number and quality of entries, the competition seems to have energised the engineers and architects worldwide. This year’s theme is driven by our insight that housing is and shall remain one of the biggest challenges that modern society faces – rural or urban. We look forward to the winning ideas as an opportunity to fulfill every Indian’s dream of owning a home. And since the competition is judged by an eminent jury from within the architectural and engineering fraternity, we can be rest assured that the winning ideas are indeed path-breaking.” IndiaNext aims to help revitalise the ecosystem by bringing the best ideas, suitable for India, and mobilise the wealth of world-class experts including practicing engineers and architects. The theme for the year 2018 is ‘Building for a Billion’, the endeavour being to meet not only the needs, but also aspirations of consumers in the emerging affordable housing segment in India. The competition, inspired by Government of India’s ambitious Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY), invited entries under two distinct categories – Housing for the Urban Poor and Housing for the Rural Poor. Following a successful first edition, IndiaNext attracted over 4,250 registrations from architects and engineers globally this year. In the second stage, an eminent jury led by award-winning architect BV Doshi and engineer Mahendra Raj judged the entries. The panel also had luminaries like Prof AGK Menon, Academician Architect Urban Planner Conservation Consultant; Sheila Sri Prakash, Founder and Chief Architect, Shilpa Architects; GH Basavaraj, Civil Engineer, Structural Engineer (IIT-Bombay) and Chairman & Managing Director, Chetana Consultants; and Hirante Welandawe, Head and Chief Architect, HW Architects Academician. The panel shortlisted the entries and zeroed it on the 10 best. The National 1st Prize Winner was FHD Consultants – Pradeep G Kedlaya (Engineer), Nagesh Battula (Architect) and Dhurgai Kumaran (Architect).  They presented their ideas on The Bottom-Up Approach. The National 2nd Prize Winner was Sameep Padora & Associates – Rajeev Shah (Engineer), Sameep Padora (Architect) whose project was based on the theme of Match The Following  The Jury Commendation prizes went to: Dinesh KS, Architect Eisha Nagpal and Architect Syed Sarmad from Engaging Spaces Kailash Solanki, Architect Puneet Dua, Architect Rameez Raza from MA Architects Sonali Phadnis, Engineer Dr Arndt Goldack, Architect Yashoda Joshi, Architect Dr Anupama Kundoo from Anupama Kundoo Architects Sameer Sawant and Architect Rohan Chavan from RC Architects Vasant K, Architect Revathi Sekhar Kamath from Kamath Design Studio  On the academic front, the National first prize was awarded to Indubhai Parekh School of Architecture’s – Mansi Pitroda and Jaya Hariyani. Their presentation was on Opening up Spaces. Alongside, the jury commendation was accorded to: The keynote speaker for the evening was Hong Kong-based architect and founder of the international award-winning design practice EDGE, Gary Chang. Chang held forth on the topic – Smaller space needs bigger thinking. Alejandro Soffia - Architect and Academician, guest speaker, spoke on Value Housing. The evening was also marked by an engaging panel discussion that brought the best minds together to express their view on the topic of ‘Housing for a Billion – Strategic Solutions and Possibilities’. The panel moderated by Prof AGK Menon – Academician, Architect, Urban Planner and Conservation Consultant, comprised of Rajesh Krishnan, CEO, BrickEagle; Girish Dravid, Director, Sterling Engineering Consultancy Services; Sheila Sri Prakash, Founder and Chief Architect, Shilpa Architects; Gary Chang and Alejandro Soffia.