Saint-Gobain, world leader in habitat solutions, in association with Ethos recently hosted the grand finale of the thirteenth edition of Transparence in Chennai. It is India’s largest competition for students of Architecture and Design to showcase their talent and opportunity for practical implementation of concepts. The theme for this year’s edition was, “The Business of Space” to address the growing needs of dynamic work spaces in the world of business.

Balaji B, Chidambaram N and V.C.S Srivetri from School of Architecture and Planning, Chennai won the first prize for their project design while Anushka, Neethi Acharya and Siddhesh Bhandari from Pillai College of Architecture-Panvel were the first runners-up. The second runners-up were Adarsh Agarwal from Gateway College of Architecture-Sonepat, Chavan Roy and Siddhant Shrivastav from Bhagwan Mahavir School of Architecture-Sonepat.

Transparence13.0 received entries from all over India, showcasing their concept under the theme – The Business of Space. The entries were judged by an elite panel of practising architects from across the north, west, east and south zones of the country during the regional rounds. Right national finalist teams from the regional rounds battled it out for the coveted national awards in front of a jury of eminent architects and a host of architecture students and practising architects across the country.

Speaking on the occasion, B Santhanam, managing director, Saint-Gobain India Pvt. Ltd., said, “Transparence is Saint-Gobain’s innovative response to the changing times. Transparence has always aimed to inspire and motivate the student community, to unleash their creativity and talent while keeping sustainability at core of their designs. We, at Saint-Gobain, see ourselves as part of the larger social ecosystem and ensure that we nurture talent that is building and shaping the world of tomorrow.”

A.R. Unnikrishnan, director sales & marketing, Saint-Gobain India Pvt Ltd-Flat Glass Business, said, “Transparence is not merely a competition but a journey of months that allows young students to learn from eminent practising architects. As the 13^th edition of Transparence comes to an end, it gives us immense confidence to continue our efforts for the next edition, we believe Transparence will continue to act as a platform for students to develop their skills and engage with architectural fraternity.”

Having commenced operations in 2000 in Chennai, Saint-Gobain’s Glass business in India has cumulatively invested over Rs 3500 crore with manufacturing plants in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Learn more at http://in.saint-gobain-glass.com.