US non-profit to fund devp of Mawlynnong living root bridge

NEW DELHI, May 20: The living root bridge of Mawlynnong, East Khasi Hills, has been named among the 64 new projects which has been awarded a total of USD 559,100 in grants by the prestigious Graham Foundation that champions developing and exchanging ideas about architecture, art, and culture.
The annual grant programme by the Chicago-based non-profit received approximately 500 submissions and ultimately will fund works by 92 creatives comprising architects, designers, curators, filmmakers, and writers from around the world and has awarded 64 so far.
The award was given to Design Emergency’s YouTube channel that streams interviews with architects, engineers, and designers who are at the forefront of positive change in different fields and different parts of the world.
Further details of the project are not available.
The interviews were done by Paola Antonelli and Alice Rawsthorn.
Each one is structured to encourage global leaders in architecture and design to discuss their work from a personal perspective, sharing lessons learnt from failures, as well as their successes, and their future ambitions.
As well as showing practical examples of how architects are addressing major challenges, the interviews illustrate their use of new technologies and ancient indigenous design practices. “By doing so, the YouTube channel of Design Emergency provides a rich source of information and inspiration for the architecture and design communities, to students especially,” the webwide of the Foundation said.
It also demystifies the often-inscrutable field of architecture to the public by demonstrating clearly and engagingly how it is already helping to build a better future.
Paola Antonelli is senior curator in the Department of Architecture & Design at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, and its founding director of Research & Development. Her work investigates design in all forms, from architecture to video games, expanding its reach to include overlooked objects and practices.
Alice Rawsthorn is an award-winning design critic and author.
In all her work, Rawsthorn champions design’s potential to address complex social, political, and ecological challenges. Based in London, Rawsthorn is a former foreign correspondent for the Financial Times and wrote a weekly design column for The New York Times that was syndicated worldwide for over a decade.