Bhubaneswar: Students of architecture from three institutes have been assigned the task to prepare lighter, quicker and cheaper (LQC) projects and sustainable designs to beautify the city ahead of the hockey world cup in November.

Students of KIIT School of Architecture and Planning, Piloo Mody College of Architecture and College of Engineering and Technology will prepare the project to be installed at 30 public places in the city.

The LQC transformation of public spaces is generally used to describe simple, short-term, and low-cost solutions that leave a remarkable impact on shaping neighborhoods and cities.

The decision was taken on Wednesday at the sixth Urban Lecture Series organised by Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), Bhubnaneswar Municipal Corporation, Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited and Bhubaneswar Urban Knowledge Centre (BUKC).

The lecture, which saw the participation of over 150 students, was part of an interactive workshop for budding architects on projects for public spaces. To make the process competitive and interesting, the organisers have announced cash prizes for the best entries.

After the inaugural and technical sessions, the students were divided into 30 smaller groups, and they started working on their ideas that would be submitted to the organisers by the first week of October. Prizes will be distributed to best designs during the world cup.

Speaking at the lecture-cum-workshop, experts advocated the need for innovative use of public spaces. They asked the students to understand tactical urbanisation through use of new urban ideas and case studies.

Director of the KIIT School of Architecture and Planning Prof S.S. Ray, additional commissioner, BDA, Swadha Dev Singh, BDA member enforcement Bhabani Shankar Chayani and principal Piloo Mody College of Architecture Dharitri Das spoke at the event.

Singh urged the young designers to make something unique so that it attracted visitors, who would carry back home memories of the work. The visitors should be able to identify the work with their memory of Bhubaneswar.

Chayani urged the students to experiment with new ideas on urbanism. He also advised them to respect people's sentiment while having an understanding of "local ethos''.

Whenever a public space gets created or developed, residents and tourists will inevitably take a note of it. The organisation, preparation and design of public spaces with an intention to create spaces that promote people's health, happiness, and well-being is what "place making'' is all about, he said.

The topic - Bhubaneswar projects for public spaces - and the initiative of LQC have been specifically picked with an eye on the upcoming hockey world cup. There are plans to create a series of projects for revamping some of the public spaces in the city before the mega event.