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CEPT Newsletter in
its present monthly E avatar has completed its third year of
dissemination. While we try to increase our news coverage,
more sharing from colleagues in advance of events will be
valuable. Many have expressed the desire to be able to
exercise the choice of participating in happenings on campus
instead of getting to know only later. News should be emailed
to us by the 15th of every month.
Please do participate by
sending in news items, visuals, responses, announcements of
forthcoming programs etc. to ne...@cept.ac.in
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ACADEMIC
ACTIVITIES
B. Plan
Semester 1 Exhibition
The first
batch of B. Plan students, Faculty of Planning and
Public Policy, put up an Exhibition of their first
semester academic outputs in Piraji Sagara
basement on December 9th and 10th. The Exhibition
was inaugurated by Dr. R. N. Vakil, Director, CEPT
University, Prof. H M Shivanand Swamy, Prof. R.
Parthasarthy, Prof. Sejal Patel and Ms. Anita
Hiranandani, Registrar, CEPT University. The
parents of the students of B. Plan also attended
and appreciated their wards work.
The
objective of the Exhibition was to initiate a
dialogue on the curriculum, pedagogy and issues
addressed by the newly launched B. Plan program
and also to create a platform for the program,
said Prof. Sejal Patel, Head,
B. Plan Program.
The exhibition was well attended by the students
and faculty across CEPT who were emphatic that
this should be made an annual event.
Three
‘Centre’ Presentations
The Academic
& Research Council Meeting was held on 21st
December 2011 at CEPT campus where Presentations
of Centre Activities Report and Reviews saw the
presentations by three centres, Centre for
Sustainable Environment and Energy, Centre for
Excellence in Urban Transport, and Design
Innovation & Craft Resource Centre
(DICRC).
LECTURES
Post
Occupancy Evaluation, Thermal Comfort and Low
Carbon Development
The Lecture
on 19th December, 2011 by Leena Thomas was
on Post occupancy evaluations of buildings are
noted for their ability to provide vital feedback
regarding a building's performance in use. In
addition to obtaining physical measurements of
thermal performance and energy consumption, it is
crucial to obtain feedback on user experience and
satisfaction with the building environment to gain
a true picture of the effectiveness of low energy
buildings. The lecture dealt with the subject of
post occupancy and also emphasized on
architectural design practices to achieve low
energy architecture. Speaker also showcased some
of the work in the academic and industry
environment.
Ms. Leena Thomas comes from
an architecture background; she focuses her
research on interrogating and transforming
contemporary design practices to be responsive to
global concerns for climate change, zero carbon
development and high quality living/work
environments. She has pioneered the use of
detailed post-occupancy evaluation to develop a
rich narrative of building performance through the
contextual analysis of design process, design
attributes and building management in tandem with
metrics for energy and occupant satisfaction.
Interaction
Between Humans and the Building Environment
The lecture
on 20th December 2011 by Dr Richard de Dear
focused on restricting climate change to the
“manageable range” will require significant energy
conservation in the building sector. In developed
countries buildings usually account for at least
40% of total energy consumption, and between 30
and 60% of this energy is used in the provision of
indoor climate control for occupant comfort
(heating, ventilation and air-conditioning). In
certain part of India over 75% of office buildings
and about 35% of homes now have air-conditioning.
It seems clear that a transition towards an
energy-efficient, low-carbon economy is going to
impact comfort levels within built environments;
all that remains to be answered is "how much?"
This lecture was aimed to help the audience
understand thermal comfort in various situations
and reveals results of state of art studies
conducted in recent times.
Dr Richard de
Dear, Associate Professor has built a career in
the area of human thermal comfort. He has
published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and a
dozen books and monographs on the subject. Within
that body of research it is his work on the
“adaptive model of thermal comfort” that has had
the greatest impact, receiving over a thousand
citations within the indoor environmental
literature.
On
Cultural and Contemporary Iran
Vastu Shilpa
Foundation for Studies and Research in
Environmental Design organized talk show on 20th
December 2011 at CEPT University on ‘Cultural
History and Architectural Practice – Iran’,
Ahmad Zohadi, CEO, Publisher & Editor in Chief
of 2A International Architectural Magazine, CEO,
Publisher & Editor in Chief of Tehran based
Memary (Architectural) Magazine. And ‘Iranian
Contemporary Architecture’, Kourosh Rafiee,
Professor of Architecture – Tehran Azad
University, Asar Consultant Co. Design Director.
STUDENT
ACTIVITIES
CEPT
Students Propose Multi-Modal Transport Hubs for
Ahmedabad
The final
year students of MIEM (MTech in Infrastructure
Engineering and Management) program, Faculty of
Technology at Centre for Environmental Planning
and Technology (CEPT) University have designed
hubs to integrate various modes of public
transport to encourage use of public transport and
prepare a detailed project report on Multi-Modal
Transport Hubs (MMTH) for Ahmedabad. A group of 14
MIEM program students took into account various
modes of public transport like AMTS, BRTS, GSRTC,
college bus routes, routes of private bus services
and proposed metro rail alignment, as part of
their Infrastructure Project Development Lab. They
group designed four MMTHs at Airport, Regional
Transport Office on the 132-feet Ring Road,
Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) in
Juhapura and Ahmedabad Railway Station in Kalupur.
As part of their research, the students
visited Hong Kong to study integration of public
transportation system, Chennai, Bangalore and
Mumbai for visualizing it in the Indian context.
They also generated a multi-modal route map for
Ahmedabad on Google Earth, covering routes for
public transport. The basic purpose of this study
was to provide a seamless passenger exchange
between the modes of transport and to interconnect
the end points/ entry points of the city with
which any person from any part of the city can
reach his/her destination with ease and comfort
and can also save precious time of individuals.
SBST
Students Claim Top Civil Engineering Awards
The
Institute of Engineers (India) Gujarat State
Center held its 52nd Annual Session on 20th
November, 2011 at Bhaikaka Bhavan, Law Garden,
Ahmedabad. The Chief Guest of the ceremony was by
Mr. Jay Narayan Vyas, Minister, Health &
Family Welfare, Tourism, Devsthan, Pilgrimage
Development and NRG division, Government of
Gujarat. The Session witnessed two lectures on
various branches on engineering and even comprised
distribution of merit medals to various
engineering divisions of all universities of
Gujarat.
Shalin
Shah, SBST won the Vishwakarma Merit
Award and the Vakil-Mehta-Sheth Award
for securing the highest marks in Civil
Engineering Branch from all Universities of
Gujarat State while Dimple Ranpara won the
Gujarat Contractor's Association Award for
securing the highest marks in Civil Engineering
branch in Final degree for year 2010-11 for female
students in All Universities of Gujarat State.
Student
Award for Design of a Self-Sustainable Sky Scraper
Bhavik
Mehta, a student of M. Tech in Climate Change and
Sustainable Development, received an award by the
“Aces of Space” Architects and Interiors India
Award 2011. On 27th November, Bhavik was awarded
the 2nd prize in the “Ace of Space – Outstanding
Student Thesis” category for his undergraduate
thesis work in architecture, at The Taj Mahal
Palace Hotel in Mumbai. The award, presented by
Century Ply and ITP, had 25 eminent jury members
including Brinda Somaya, Dean D’Cruz, Rajeev
Kathpalia, Karan Grover, Sanjay Puri, Minsuk Cho,
Lipika Sud, Rahul Gore, Tony Joseph, and Raja
Aederi, among others.
Bhavik’s thesis was
the design of a sky scraper, designed
incorporating the green building principles. The
research attempted to find different alternatives
for “building orientation, facade design, form
development, and shading devices” in the context
of Ahmedabad, (hot and dry climate). Exploring
different software simulations, he has attempted
to design a self-sustainable skyscraper,
addressing issues of solar passive techniques,
energy consumption, renewable energy, water
conservation, rain water harvesting and waste
segregation. The program was to design a
Futuristic Media & Communication City Tower
having several public activities, commercial
zones, offices, sky parks, and an observation
desk.
Visit: www.constructionweekonline.in
Student of
Faculty of Arts and Humanities wins Awards
"Char Dukan"
- the Thesis Film of Faculty of Arts and
Humanities student Arvind Caulagi has won two
awards at the recently concluded Cut-In Students
Film Festival organized by Centre for Media and
Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social
Sciences, Mumbai. The film was awarded the Gold
for the Best Documentary Film and the prize for
the best editing as well. Mr. Caulagi will be
graduating at the next convocation in February,
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Convocation
on Feb 18, 2012
The 6th
annual convocation 2012 has been scheduled on
Saturday, 18th February 2012. Ms. Leela Samson,
Director, Kalakshetra Foundation has accepted
the invitation to be the Chief Guest and will
deliver the convocation address.
Certificate
Program in GIS & Remote Sensing
Faculty of
Geomatics and Space Applications, CEPT
University has announced a Certificate Program
in GIS & Remote Sensing to learn concepts
and applications of RS & GIS; to explore
interdisciplinary elements of RS & GIS using
advanced tools and software, and to increase
professional expertise and get a competitive
edge on the Geo-spatial technology. Program
Duration - 16th January to 5th May 2012, Last
date for receiving applications: 12th January
2012.
Visit: www.cept.ac.in
Soft
Skills Module Commences
iSEED – (
innovate) Skill to Envision and Enable
Development, a segment of Center for
Communication and Holistic Development (CCHD) at
CEPT has been established to introduce essential
building blocks of Soft Skills to facilitate
students as well as professionals to explore and
learn the skills to successfully compete the
demand of the constantly changing global
environment. The ultimate goal is to achieve the
state of complete self-management to carry out
effective performance professionally and
personally. Commencement: 9th January, 2012.
Visit: www.cept.ac.in
Book Fair
organized by CEPT Library 2012
CEPT
Library has organized a Book Fair on 10th-11th
January, 2012. Faculty members and students may
participate in book selection for the library.
Books sellers will display books and will
provide forms to those who wish to recommend
books. Individuals can recommend books of their
choice and can also purchase books from the
fair.
FoPPP
Placement 2012 launched
Faculty of
Planning and Public Policy, CEPT University has
commenced the placement process for Planning
Batch 2010-12. The first Campus Placement Block
1 was held between 18th- 20th December 2011 and
the Second Campus Placement Block 2 will be held
on 1st -10th February, 2012.
Visit: www.spcept.ac.in or www.cept.ac.in
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WORKSHOP/
CONFERENCE
FoT’s RSP in
Bamboo for housing and construction
A Related
Study Programs at the Faculty of Technology was
conducted from 21st Nov 2011 - 8th Dec 2011 at
Vyara, Tapi district, Gujarat with the goal of
learning about bamboo as a construction material
and associated construction techniques. The RSP
was carried out by second year undergraduate
students of FOT and coordinated by Prof. Anal
Sheth. A copy of the RSP report will be submitted
to the library. Student presentations and poster
show was held on 10th December, 2011.
Bamboo -
construction material and techniques for
housing:
The study
involved learning from nature, existing
literature, case studies and field work. The case
study of Tapi district was taken where bamboo
grows in abundance and a week was spent at Vyara
and nearby villages of Barakuwa, Devgadh, Songadh,
Loterva, and Balda to learn the construction of
bamboo housing. A visit to Centre for Indian
Bamboo Research and Technology, Bamboo plantations
and J K paper mill in Ukai district was also most
useful. The learnings gathered from the study have
been reflected in the RSP report: Bamboo as a
plant - silviculture, cultivation, harvesting,
forest, Policies and management, Bamboo Treatment,
Bamboo properties, Bamboo Products, Bamboo Housing
(types of construction, footings, columns, walls,
roofs, doors and windows, fences); aspects like
seismological, cost, geotechnical, durability,
Bamboo for gazebos, Need for involvement of
experts to promote bamboo technology as it is a
renewable resource.
Decent Work
and Social Security Workshop
A one day
workshop on Decent Work and Social Security was
held on December 13, 2011 at CEPT University from
10.30 am to 5.30 pm, with the objective of
discussing issues of ‘Decent Work’ in context of
Ahmedabad and assessing coverage of Social
Security Act, 2008 in Gujarat. The workshop was
co-organized by Centre for Urban Equity, CEPT
University, and Self Employed Women’s Association
and National Association of Social Security
(NASS). Representatives from ILO, Government of
Gujarat, SEWA and other trade unions in addition
to academics, participated in the workshop.
Climate
Change Adaptation Plan in Industrial Estates of
Gujarat
A workshop
on ‘Climate Change Adaptation Plan in Industrial
Estates of Gujarat’ was held on 8th December 2011
at CEPT University. CEPT is associated with
ASEM-GIZ for providing the technical services
in developing the assessment framework for
‘Climate Change Adaptation Plan at Mirco Level’.
The above workshop has been organized to share the
results of the study conducted during last two
months on ‘Climate Change Adaptation Plan and
Interventions for Naroda Industrial Estate
(Ahmedabad)’. The study received the generous
supported by ASEM – GIZ, New Delhi. The rapid
assessment of NIE under the changing environment
and vulnerabilities to potential climate change
induced processes has been captured in this study
wherein a multi-disciplinary approach has been
applied. Based on the rapid assessment a strategic
plan with adaptive measures to deal with climate
change related risk has been evolved at industrial
park level which is under finalization.
The extensive consultation, widespread
discussion and incorporation of the stakeholders’
views would make the plan implementable. The
inputs received during the above workshop would be
useful in refining the framework, plan and
strategies before it is adopted by the concerned
stakeholders for implementation.
Climate
Change Adaptation in Industrial Estates of Gujarat
Workshop on
Climate Change Adaptation for Industrial Estates
organised under the GIZ Study on 15th December
2011 at Hotel Sarovar Portico, Ahmedabad. The
workshop inaugural session was addressed by Dr. R.
N. Vakil, Director, CEPT University, Prof. Utpal
Sharma, Dean, Faculty of Planning, Dr. G.
Mahapatra Commissioner (AMC), Mr. Asit Vohra,
Mayor (AMC). Mr. Swain, MD, GIDC – spoke on
Changing Trends of Industrialization,
Dr. S.
K. Nanda, PS, Dept. of Environment – Industries
and Environment Dept. of Climate Change – Climate
Change Issues and Industries, Mr. Sunil Parikh,
Advisor, Cadila Industries were present as part of
the Inaugural Panel. Keynote address was made
Prof. P. R. Shukla, Expert Climate Change. Vote of
thanks address was made by
Prof. Shrawan Kumar
Acharya, Dean, Faculty of Sustainable Environment
and Climate Change.
The workshop had a
session on technical session, poster presentation
and Interaction with industrialists, stakeholders
AMC, NIA, GPCB, GCPC, CEPT, GIZ. Technical
session: The Eco-Industrial Park Concept by GIZ,
NRB/Murtz; Case Naroda-Climate Change Adaptation
for Industrial Areas-Overview, Prof. Ashwani
Kumar; Hazard Assessment in Industrial Area, Prof.
Vishal Dubey and Prof. Tushar Bose; Environmental
Management and Industrial Emission, Prof. Minal
Pathak; Socio-Economic Vulnerability Assessment,
Prof. Anil Kumar Roy; Land use Plan Intervention
for Climate Change Perspective, Prof. Urvi Desai;
Landscape Intervention for Climate Change
Adaptation perspective, Prof. Saurabh
Popli;
Eco-Industrial Park: Experiences and
Challenges in India,
Dr. R Gopichandran, GERMI;
Climate Change Research in Industries: Need and
Challenges, Prof. Amit Garg, IIMA; Cleaner
Production Initiative in Gujarat, Prof. A. K.
Rathi; Environmental Management Technologies and
Climate Change Mitigation, Prof. Varandani, Head
(Environment), L.D. Engg College; and Environment
Measures in the Industrial Estate, Mr. Rayji Patel
were presented in the workshop.
Oikos
Ahmedabad Members visit Switzerland
Three member
team from oikos Ahmedabad took part in the
Presidents Kickoff, Project Leadership Program and
oikos Future Lab held at Zurich and St. Gallen,
Switzerland from 12th-15th November 2011. Soumini
Raja, CEPT PhD Fellow and President of oikos
Ahmedabad were amongst 20 Presidents from various
other oikos chapters who came together to share
and discuss on the future of oikos and their
respective chapters.
Pranav Gajjar, Student
of School of Architecture took part in the third
and the final training session of Project
Leadership Program (PLP) 2011 held at Zurich. The
PLP is an OIKOS International’s initiative to
instigate amongst the select project leaders the
abilities to realize their grand ideas. These
sessions were held thrice over a span of eight
months. Special workshops were conducted on
blogging, presentation skills, fund raising,
project management and several other essential
attributes for leading a successful project. Two
of the three sessions were conducted in Zurich,
Switzerland and one conducted online which was a
conscious decision on behalf of the organizers to
cut on the carbon footprint of the program.
The oikos FutureLab 2011 was the first
oikos event ever to gather the global family of
student members, alumni, advisors, faculty and
partners. It was organized as a part of 25th
anniversary of oikos in 2012. It aimed at being a
new platform to provide not only a meeting point
to share perspectives on the future, but also a
“laboratory” to design initiatives and engage the
oikos community in pursuing them. Aanal Patwari,
alumnus of oikos Ahmedabad, Pranav Gajjar and
Soumini Raja attended the event on behalf of oikos
Ahmedabad.
Oikos
Ahmedabad Represented in Oikos International
Executive Board 2012
Pranav Gajar
from Faculty of Architecture was elected to
Executive Board of the OIKOS International for the
year 2012. The board is the prime body that deals
with mentoring and keeping track of activities of
the 36 chapters of OIKOS International across the
globe. The election came during the “OIKOS
Futurelab 2011”, an event to mark the 25th
anniversary of OIKOS International, which was
incepted at the University of St. Gallen
Switzerland in 1986. This happens to be OIKOS
Ahmedabad’s first representative to OIKOS
International’s governing body.
PROJECT
NEWS
CRDC
Projects Commenced in
November - December 2011
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Consultancy
Services – Upgradation and Augmentation of
existing building, interior and furniture work
for offices at Kandla and Gandhidham
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Coord:
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Prof.
Reshma Shah |
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Sponsor:
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Kandla
Port Trust |
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Preparation
of Master Plan with a Business Plan for
Development of Calico Mill Site, Ahmedabad
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Coord:
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Prof.
Sejal Patel |
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Sponsor:
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Official
Liquidator, High Court of Gujarat
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Service
Level Benchmarking (SLB) for Seven Cities of
India |
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Coord:
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Prof. H.
M. Shivanand Swamy |
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Sponsor:
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Ministry
of Urban Development (Urban Transport),
Government of India |
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Strengthening
National Resource Centres for Supporting States
and Cities in Developing Pro-Poor Urban Policies
and Program Implementation
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Coord:
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Prof.
Darshini Mahadevia |
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Sponsor:
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GHK
Consulting Ltd. London, U. K.
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Consultancy
Services to Develop Toolkits
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Coord:
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Prof. H.
M. Shivanand Swamy |
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Sponsor:
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Institute
of Urban Transport (India) New Delhi
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Preparation
of the State of Environment Report- 2011
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Coord:
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Prof. R.
Parthasarathy |
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Sponsor:
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Gujarat
Ecology Commission (GEC),
Gandhinagar |
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