INTRODUCTION Architecture, as a profession, is known for its numerous connotations, locally and globally, as a passion, avocation, a science, social art and a business. Primarily and essentially involved with creation of built environment, architecture is known to be both process and product besides provider of a sense of place and supporter of all types of human activities. Known for its genesis in the creation of built environment, Architecture aims at making man-made environment gel in harmony with the natural environment. As promoter of health and well-being, architecture has enormous capacity and capability of making value addition and enriching the human living and working, both aesthetically and spiritually. As promoter of construction industry, Architecture is known for creating enormous economic opportunities besides creating legacies symbolizing culture and traditions. Marcus Vitruvius, the great Roman architect and historian of the first Century BC and author of the treatise De architecture refers to, “firmness, commodity and delight”, as the basic traits of Architecture. Despite numerous connotations Architecture, as mother of all arts and synthesis of all sciences, has its operational domain in creating state of art built environment, promoting sustainability and minimising use of resources and energy besides serving the basic human needs of living, working, care of body, mind, spirits and circulation. Architecture is, primarily and essentially, a design-based activity supported and guided by basic elements of sun, space, verdure, function, form and order. It is a unique blend of aesthetic, technology and humanities duly supported by technical input but not like pure civil engineering. Since it is an activity where end product is meant to meet the basic needs of providing appropriate shelter, accordingly its role and importance in creating appropriate, supportive and sustainable built environment assumes importance. Profession of Architecture, which is known to have been practised right from the day human beings came to exist on this planet, has got its recognition as a profession only recently. Despite housing enormous built heritage created over centuries, formal architectural education in India had its origin much later, which came only a century ago with the opening of Sir J J College of Art and Architecture in Mumbai in the earlier part of 20th century. With architecture, both as a profession and practice, getting firmly rooted and commanding a relatively better acceptance in the post- independence and post- liberalisation period of technical education in India, large number of students started opting for architecture as a profession. This has led to number of such institutions mushrooming in the country. With opening of the large number of institutions, pattern and quality of architectural education has emerged an issue of intense debate and scrutiny among the professional Architects, professional institutes, academic institutions and the technical universities regulating the architectural education, so that education imparted remains relevant to the context and the issues/challenges faced by the society, community, cities and nations, both locally and globally, are adequately and appropriately addressed. Since sustainability of any profession is closely linked to the quality and dedication of professionals serving them, accordingly, it becomes critical that quality of education imparted must be of the highest order, relevant to the needs, ethos and objectives of the profession and society, so that professionals could meet the aspirations of community, state, nation and all stakeholders in a rational and realistic manner. However, over the years, with liberalization and opening of the economies leading to globalization, profession of architecture is facing numerous challenges and threats due to fast changing construction technologies, new found materials and rapidly changing architectural vocabulary and building footprints. New found pattern of professional practices and design strategies have also created numerous challenges to the profession and the professionals. To meet these challenges, effectively and efficiently, professionals need to be equipped with different skills, knowledge, experience, expertise, capacities and capabilities, largely driven by state of art technologies. Architecture, as a profession, is now being viewed as the extension of the new technologies, materials and innovations in design and structure. Accordingly, architectural institutions are in a state of flux to find and discover new order and pattern of architectural padagogy to meet these fast emerging challenges and threats effectively and efficiently. Prevailing architectural education, which has its genesis in the old schools of western thoughts and ideas, need close study, ARCHITECTURE EDUCATION IN INDIA -WAY FORWARD 20 | analysis, rationalization, review and redefinition to make it more relevant to Indian ethos, culture, environment, ecology, climate and needs of multi-layered society and communities in order to make it a distinct and unique. In order to achieve the defined professional objectives, large numbers of issues need to be addressed in the domain of architectural education. New found challenges in the profession require scope , intent and content of architecture to be enlarged by stepping out of buildings to include the design of the total built environment spanning from micro level of designing and construction details of buildings to the macro level of town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture. GLOBAL PRACTICES In this era of fast changing materials and construction technologies, institutions of excellence in architectural education, are trying to review, revise and redefine architectural padagogy on regular basis for skilling students and enable them to meet the emerging challenges in the domain of the built environment . Accordingly architectural institutions are trying to focus on skilling and creating core competencies among students needed for understanding and ability to write, draw, and speak and to promote thinking, dedication, self-discipline for evolving state of the art architectural solutions through connecting with people, places and ecology besides understanding relationship between people and buildings; between buildings and communities; between communities and cities and between cities and ecology /sustainability.The system of architectural education in Russia is being redefined with a view to meet the emerging demands made by the development of modern Architecture, both as a science and an art and by modern construction techniques.. The training of architects is being undertaken by specialties: civil construction, Industrial construction, urban construction (urban planning), landscaping, interiors and the inside equipment of buildings.The leading subject is architectural designing– complex creative discipline that enables students of architecture to acquire professional experience by passing from the designing of simple buildings to complicated ones. For making optimum use of new building materials and modern construction technologies of mechanization and prefabrication, the technical training of future architects has increased. The need for architect technicians has grown enormously. In this fast changing scenario, contours of architectural education are changing rapidly. For making architectural padagogy more relevant, education is envisioning promoting knowledge of research methodologies, consultancy projects, and about industry, organizations and i. State of Art Architectural Learning

By evolving Studio Culture :–Making studio as the hub of architectural learning and experimental Learning, involving : a. Hands on application of concepts or ideas b. Learning from experience as opposed to theories c. Applied learning outside classrooms • Organising Workshops- On crafting of functional objects- model making/ architectural designing/ construction skills/ graphics, etc. • Promoting Learning with Commitment – to society, environment, accessibility and sustainability. • Creating Chairs to promote innovations and for carrying out research projects. • Making students learn advanced technologies- through o How to make scaled models. o Using laser cutting machines o Using Computer controlled machines ( CNC) o Making volumetric model o Creating Core Competency in students by re-orienting teaching and learning process to develop:

Dispelling the conception that student of Architecture has to be trained to be a designer only – students must be allowed to charter his path during the education and choose what he would like to be- designer, construction manager, sustainable designer, landscape architect, architectural critic, journalist, photographer , structure expert etc depending on his interest ,capacity and capabilities. Institute must provide the option and environment for students to charter his path of growth and learning.

Training of Faculties- Education focussing on training the five faculties of human beings- hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting , analysing – to understand, appreciate and differentiate between good architecture and bad architecture besides what goes into making of good and bad architecture.

Learning the context of green buildings- in promoting sustainability and minimising global warming and carbon footprints of built environment.ii. Focussed Architectural Teaching • Teaching based on undertaking projects of all scales – learning by doing • Adopting Global Approach in Teaching – for developing global perspective • Promoting Education- based on providing knowledge of both theoretical and practical tools – to ensure higher learning and better employment. • Making Education Broad based – by working transversely at different levels i.e. subjects to be taught in a cross cutting/ transversal manner for better understanding / interaction with other professions. • Making Research and Development –integral part of architectural teaching and learning • Involving Professional Architects of Eminence- as part of faculty- both visiting and regular. • Hiring highly experienced and dedicated faculty -for interacting with students • Promoting high degree of interface between Industry and Academia -for making architectural education relevant to changing needs of profession, society, technology, etc • Focusing on process rather than on product – in the Learning Processes/Methodology -to make architecture objective and focussed. • Making Education output rather than input based – with teaching re-oriented with focus on student’s learning rather than on teacher’s output • Making Classroom a research lab- where self -learning of student is promoted by experimenting, innovating, freedom of thought and action • Promoting research and experimentation in the teaching – learning process • Education focussing on skilling student — to appropriately take care of professional responsibilities.iii. Empowering Students through; • Developing Global Perspective • Creating Forums – organising series of conferences involving national and international architects • Providing personalised Attention to students- through advice and coaching- assigning an Academic advisor and a professional coach • Creating a National/ International Job Bank – for facilitating students for jobs locally and globally. • Providing State of Art Infrastructure – soft and hard for promoting excellence in learning. • Organising Study Tours/ Visits to historical places of architectural importance and important modern complexes / buildings on regular basis. • Promoting Interface with Institutions of Architectural Excellence- Locally, nationally and globally • Promoting exchange of Students and Faculty– with International Institutions of Excellence • Focussed selection of quality faculty- having aptitude, commitment, competency, understanding and capacity to deliver and engage students in learning • Providing options in learning based on students capacity- liking, understanding etc to make optimum use of his skills • Recognising and awarding merit among Students to promote quality, innovations in architectural learning.

WRITTEN BY – CONTENT WRITER Sthapati App MEDIA TEAM

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