Kerala to host a global design festival in December

Eyeing long-term development, Kerala will host a major Design Festival in December to discuss the global trends in design and architecture so as to employ them in the state’s sustained efforts to rebuild infrastructure.

The December 12-14 Kochi Design Week (KDW) will strive for the creation of a sustainable ecosystem through innovative design enabled by visionary thinking and technology, organisers said today. The inaugural day will focus on design, while architecture will be the chief subject for the second and third days.

The Department of Information Technology under the Kerala government in association with Asset Foundation is hosting the three-day event at Bolgatty Palace. Registrations are to begin this month.

Billed as India’s largest annual international festival of its kind, the event gives creative minds a platform to meet and brainstorm on new facets in design and architecture.

The meet, now into its second edition, will witness the assemblage of more than 5,000 design professionals, architects, interior designers, thought leaders, policymakers and government officials besides the general public. Curated by leading experts, KDW will chiefly hold sessions on design and architecture, exhibitions and installations.

Featuring speakers of international repute in design, architecture and city planning, the event will also be addressed by Kerala Chief Minister Mr Pinarayi Vijayan.

The highlights of the KDW 2019 will be the charting of an exclusive ‘Design Island’ for the hosting of the annual event and setting up of design installations across Kochi’s high-visibility areas, besides laying special tracks for design architecture and interior designs.

“We need to give the concept of sustainable design its deserving focus in various domains such as technology, urban planning and architecture,” points out Mr Arun Balachandran, Chief Minister’s Fellow (IT), government of Kerala who is the special officer for Kochi Design Week project. “The huge success of the first edition of KDW has made everyone realise the criticality of the role ‘design’ plays in transforming our cities and societies into sustainable ecosystems of the future.”

The KDW 2018 had showcased technology options of use in any rebuilding phase as installations for various stakeholders to experience them. Ideas that emerged out of that edition were distributed to relevant departments for their reference.