Eco Drive

“But what had us all vying for the award was the last line – the design would be implemented on some of the Consulate General of Canada’s staff houses,” chorus Shiv Kumar Kumawat,Shivnaath Mehra and Saurabh Dogra,the winners as they hug the award citation and talk about the thrill of seeing their design adorning a prestigious place.

The contest saw entries flowing in from across the country and was shortlisted in two stages. The second stage saw only four teams give the presentation.

“We went week in our knees. It was like we would never be able to speak. But then we did. For we had to win,not because of the award alone but we had to put our point across and we wanted to contribute to making the country tread the green path,” says Kumawat,who’s happy to see the use of bamboo,earth and grasses in creating the green roof.

Raw materials that they had read about in a case study many years ago. “Then we kept thinking to ourselves -are these feasible in the urban world. Can they lead us to eco friendly houses,” recalls these final year civil engineering students from PEC University of Technology,who finally got their answer.

“That too in the best possible way,” they say through the design they want to tell all that sustainable designs are not just those that save energy. “They are those that reduce temperature variations and green house effect,give sound insulation,are made of materials that can be locally sourced and can be created on a low budget and in limited time,” reels Mehra,as he takes us to their project – a roof that can be built in a day and gives you a terrace garden on top that is complete with a patch of grass and can be beautified with plants.

Organised by The Consulate General of Canada,Saint Mary’s University and the Punjab Engineering College,the contest was the brain child of Pierre Bosse,Consul.

“Green roofs have been in use for hundreds of years and are now experiencing a revival around the world. And we wanted to bring the concept to Chandigarh. We wanted to heighten awareness of environmental sustainability and show off the bright ideas of local students,” he reels.

The winning students were also awarded scholarship to Saint Mary’s University with a total value of $40,000 dollars. Now this is what we call on the top green!