Akar Trophy for Architectural Journalism,

ATAJ-10

Do All things Urban Have To Be Ugly too?

The price we are paying for developing at a crazy pace!

The whole country is on a wave of modernization, but are we looking at the serious implications this so called
progress has on the visual identity of our cities???

Cell phone towers, atrociously huge and carelessly put up hoardings, electric wires, poles, and now, elevated
metros!!!

What are we thinking?

Or, are we thinking at all?

And why are the people who are in a position to make a difference, not thinking?

Are their motivations different?

Isn't it the responsibility of Architects and urban planners to take up these matters officially to the authorities
that sanction such projects?

Are we, as a fraternity, not responsible for preserving the aesthetic value of our cities???

Is Mumbai going to look like say, Singapore, after its elevated metro starts operating?

Is it enough that we are modeling our urban planning on a proven or workable option???

Aren't our cities different?

Isn't our cultural ethos different?

Should we change?

Is the change going to do us good?

Students of Architecture must be aware of the world they are going to step into, and the many challenges an
Architect must be willing to take up.

It is easy to live in a cocoon, to turn a blind eye towards issues of larger interest, but how good is that for our
Conscience???
Proposition to the NASA 2010 / 2011 theme

Opposition to the NASA 2010/ 2011 theme

The aim of the ATAJ NASA Journalism Trophy 2010 / 2011 Competition is to inculcate the intrinsic observation
capabilities of students to be aware of the real World around them, and make propositions and express their
thoughts in the form of written matter in line with the theme ‘Do All Things Urban Have To Be Ugly Too.'

The brief and modalities

Two modalities are proposed

 Published: Articles, write ups, essays, abstracts for thesis, dissertation, research documentation which
have been published.

 Unpublished: Articles, write ups, essays, abstracts for thesis, dissertation, research documentation
which have not been published.

Submission Requirements In case of published work

• The entry should be sent in unlocked pdf format and word document in soft copy, along with a copy of the
original publication in which it appeared
• The publication should have been after the author joined the qualifying course
• The entry shall be limited to maximum 2000 words in English as it appeared in the original publication

In case of unpublished work

• The written work shall be limited to maximum 2000 words in English.

Soft copy of the text is to be sent by email.

Email Address: ataj.nasa10@gmail.com

The entry should be accompanied by a letter from the HOD / Principal on the college letterhead with the name/s
of the authors and the institution.

The author/s will give a written declaration stating that the work is the original intellectual property of the
respective author.

Coloured seal is essential on the letter.

Format

Margins : 1cm on top, bottom and right; 1.25cm on the left.

Font : Arial font, font size 11.

1.5 spacing between the lines

Text needs to be justified

NASA logo shall be at bottom right of all the pages of the submission.

Maximum of 3 graphics/images may be used which each shall not exceed half of an A4 page in size.

Eligibility :

• The competition is open to all student members of NASA in undergraduate of any NASArecognised school,
college or institution of Architecture.
• The participants may be individuals or a group of not more than three, 3, students.
• The students shall do an online registration in one week in advance one week of the date of submission.

Terms and Conditions :

• The entries will be sent and accepted in good faith, and NASA Council and NASA Journalism Trophy Moderator,
are in no way responsible or liable to the contents of any work, which is entirely the authors'.
• The author/s will give a written declaration, to accompany entry, absolving the NASA Council and ATAJ Trophy
Moderator from any consequences arising out of these entries being published after the competition.
• The author / s will give a written declaration stating that the work is the original intellectual property of the
respective author, and will be solely responsible and liable in case the work has violated any copyrighted
material.
• The entries will adhere to the United Nations Declaration of Universal Human Rights, as set out
in http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html, and will only contain strictly non controversial subject matter, in
particular, will not under any circumstances, contain any references, terms, statements, claims, allegations,
accusation, misrepresentations, misinformation, disinformation, abuse, of any race, language, class, society,
community, creed, etc.
• Any such entry violating this provision will be disqualified forthwith, and will put at risk further participation
in NASA activities of the entire student delegation from which the said violator is part of.
• All decisions in this matter will be binding on all authors which would be at the final and sole discretion of
the NASA Journalism Trophy Moderator NASA Convention 2010 - 2011
• All entries will be the property of NASA Council, which will be free to utilise the same in any manner at any
time, during or after the NASA Journalism Trophy competition period, and the original author will have no claim
on the same after the entry is sent for the said competition.
• The NASA Journalism Trophy Moderator will endeavor to the best of his ability to give a free and fair
competition.

• The NASA Journalism Trophy Competition is subject to Chennai jurisdiction Proposals and essays will be judged
for content, clarity, and specificity.

Content refers to the overall theme of the written work, clarity includes coherence, grammar, and spelling, and
specificity is meant with respect to the competition questions and theme.

Be sure to check for grammar and spellings as well.

Frequently asked questions judging criteria Does the written work address the question?

How creative, or creatively developed, is the written work?

Would the written work be clear to a broad audience?

How does the written work rank in terms of writing style?

How socially significant is the written work?

What is the potential for developing this written work into a strong essay?

Each Proposal will be given a score of 1 to 5, 5 being the highest

Dates and schedule

Entries accepted 1800 hours IST 2010 07 NOV 2010.

Eight short listed entries each in Proposition and Opposition will be selected and invited for a debate / panel
discussion in one session on the first day of the NASA 2010 / 2011 Convention, and all entrants would be
expected to be participants in the audience.

The Jury would judge the eight short listed ones, and finally select the top three based on the written entries as
well as the debate / panel discussion, to be announced on the final day.

This will also enable all the entrants and those interested students to participate and involve themselves in a
more meaningful interaction in this form of written and verbal expression.

Winners announced Valedictory Function JAN 2011 NASA 2010 / 2011