Blueprint for success
Students of architecture need to keep pace with thenew modesof learning.
In this dynamic world of increased technology, improved payment capacities, quick shifts from one style and taste to another and globalised trade, it becomes mandatory that we keep our education system not only updated but ahead of the times.
This applies to architecture education, too. Starting from interior spaces to cities, from products to landscapes, everywhere there is a run for something ‘new’.
Only an architect who has been trained in the latest trends and nuances of both history and modern architecture can take architectural creation to a new level.
After completing five years of course work, fresh graduates have various options to pursue. One can go on to specialise in fields such as urban design, environmental design, landscape architecture, town planning, interior design and project management. The profession also offers almost immediate employment if one acquires the requisite skills. Even teaching is a career option that one could look at, especially with the growing demand for quality teachers in architecture in India.
Indian scene
India has produced some world-renowned architects who have contributed to 20th century architecture. Works of Charles Correa, B.V. Doshi, Raj Rewal, A.P. Kanvinde, Habib Rahman and Laurie Baker have been recognised worldwide and these icons have remained a big inspiration to a generation of modern Indian architects.
‘Transformation of architectural education’ sounds exciting, but the fundamentals of architecture or the synthesis of form, design and creativity, will always remain the same. The student of architecture goes through a journey in space and time, from ancient, classical, traditional architecture to the conventional and beyond. Having said that, there is enough evidence of how transformation of architectural education is taking place.
Transformation
The first architecture school in Tamil Nadu started in the year 1957. From then to now, teaching has shifted from manual to digital. Drafting, rendering, model-making etc. all require creativity and hard skill and can be termed manual work. Software knowledge, Autocad, Revit, Photoshop, 3Dmax, Maya, Sketchup, etc. require creativity, hard skills as well as soft skills and can be classified as digital work. Tools like drawing boards, sheets, t-scale, manual drafting tools, models made from boards, etc. have made space for new-age computer aided design, 3-dimensional models, realistic renderings, walkthroughs, simulation for building response, etc. There is a shift in the learning exposure too: from books only to Internet, travel and books and from traditional libraries to e-libraries and e-lectures (video conferences). The competitiveness among students varies now from students being motivated by regional benchmarking to international and commercial benchmarking. Students are exposed to additional responsibilities and taught to develop awareness about the adverse impact of human influence through development. We now focus more on developing a responsible architect as well as a human being who is concerned about nature. Work submission is now being done electronically. Foreign collaborations have become easier and building standards have a wider range.
Additionally, areas of immediate societal concern, related to our context, need to be also addressed in our education and government policies. Architecture needs to be inclusive and should not remain elitist and exclusive.
The writer is the principal of MIDAS (MARG Institute of Design and Architecture Swarnabhoomi).
Specialisations, digital architecture, façade management, environmental design, urban planning and design, economic planning, retail design, hospitality design, product design, production design, para-architecture courses (lighting, HVAC, building services), parametric design, 3D printing.
The architecture related job profiles in the industry currently are architect, interior designer, product designer, industrial designer, landscape architect, urban designer, city and town planner, architectural journalist, architectural photographer, architectural critic/writer, architectural software developer, architectural project manager, architectural production designer etc.
