Space Matrix, a leading multinational workplace design consultancy firm headquartered in Singapore with a specialization in workplace design and build, recently organized a Designathon in partnership with Sir JJ College of Architecture, Mumbai. The 6-month long event of learning sessions involved Space Matrix projects as examples, contests, tests and feedback. Over 65 second-year students participated in this unique event.
The event culminated with a finale on 6th October 2020. Siddhi Hindalkar, Shruti Bhagwat, Swaroop Duelkar, Priya Chauhan, and Varadraj Borde emerged as the top five contenders and Siddhi Hindalkar was declared the winner, with Swaroop and Priya in close contest were declared as tied first runner ups. All the interactions (except the finale) were carried out through in-person campus visits with designers from Space Matrix guiding students through the entire process. The entries were judged on aspects such as contextual design, innovation, ideation, purpose alignment and presentation skills, both oral and visual.
The entries were judged by a virtual panel comprising of by Tonya Thornburgh, Director – Workplace Services at ServiceNow, based out of San Francisco; Valerie Pinto, CEO India, Weber Shandwick based out of Mumbai; Gagandeep Singh, Head of Global Real Estate & Workplace Experience at American Express based out of New York; Sanjeev Tullicherry, Director, Legato Health Technologies based out of Bangalore, Akshay Lankanpal, CEO India, Space Matrix based out of Gurgaon; and Jaiprakash Aildasani, COO, Space Matrix based out of Hyderabad.
Space Matrix has been a driver of change in the design industry and through this Designathon, the company aims to groom young designers into change agents and think about their contribution to society through their designs while they are still pursuing their curriculum.
Speaking about the experience, Akshay Lakhanpal, CEO India, Space Matrix, said, “I heartily congratulate the winners and all the participants of the Designathon. I would like to thank the institute for collaborating with us on this endeavour, it has been an exciting journey over the last six months interacting with some of the smartest budding designers in the country. The Designathon not only gave the students the much-needed real world exposure to the practice of interior design, contrastingly, it gave us a chance to reflect upon the innocence and first principles design thought process, with which young minds approach design problems. This resonates with Ayn Rand’s famous character Howard Roark’s remark – I set my own standards. I inherit nothing. I stand at the end of no tradition. I may, perhaps, stand at the beginning of one.”
Adding further, Rajiv Mishra, Principal, Sir JJ College of Architecture, said, “It is exciting to have partnered with Space Matrix for this unique Designathon. Our college has always encouraged students to come up with their best ideas which resonate with the real world. It is heartening to see the winners and also everyone else who participated in the event. We wish them all the best and hope that this will be the beginning of a long-time association.”
The winner received an international internship for two weeks at one of our international studios during the course of the internship at one of our studios in India and a cash prize of Rs 50,000. The tied first runner ups were awarded a cash prize of Rs 30,000 each and an internship at one of studios in India.
The Space Matrix Designathon will continue to collaborate with prestigious design institutions to carry this unique concept forward. The underlying idea is to build a strong design culture and a connected fraternity of designers in India and rest of Asia.
