From subterranean caves to high-rise apartments and everything in between, shelter is a basic human need that is constantly developing and evolving. Architects, the space-makers of the world, bear the responsibility of designing the built environment.
The formative years of young architecture students are of paramount importance in grooming intelligent, sensitive and talented practitioners. Although the architectural domain is vast, a well-structured programme breaks it down so that a young mind is exposed to the right aspects of the discipline at the right time.
A formal architectural education teaches a comprehensive balance of both creative and technical expertise. It provides students with the necessary tools, knowledge and skills to navigate the nuances of architectural practice. Students develop a solid theoretical foundation, an understanding of context, strong technical proficiency and a sense of aesthetics and style.
Formal education also provides exposure through design competitions and internships and the chance to study architecturally significant places through study trips and tours.
Student's journey
Architectural education is generally quite holistic. While subjects such as design studio, technical drawing, history, building construction, environmental technology and structural systems are taught as separate courses in the initial years, students start to draw parallels across subjects and bridge the gaps in their later years.
This is preparation for the real world, where any kind of insert into the built environment has profound effects on the social, cultural, environmental, economic and stylistic aspects of a particular place. It is essential to understand the complexity of these forces and learn how to balance them.
The number of choices also increases with each year of study. Courses in the first three years are mandatory, but as one reaches the later years, there is more flexibility to choose subjects and programmes and eventually create one’s own briefs.
As students gain maturity, they are given agency, teaching them to think for themselves and make their own decisions.
In the fourth and fifth years, there are seminar courses where readings are introduced. Students get to understand the ebb and flow of architectural theory and movements and know where they currently stand in history.
The bridge
It is often said that creators speak a unique language of their own. However, an architect is the bridge between pure creation and a tangible, built outcome and, thus, has a duty as the translator between imagination and reality.
It is essential to learn how to articulate ideas, thoughts and narratives clearly and concisely so that even a layperson can navigate them with ease.
An architectural degree opens many doors for the future. Students can join architecture or interior design firms, start their own practice, or further specialise through a master’s degree in an allied field, such as urbanism, tectonics, history, conservation, landscape design or housing.
They may also choose to go into research, academia or public service. A few students take what they learn as a base for something entirely different and become writers, artists, designers or even chefs — there is virtually no limit to the possibilities.
Her story
I first decided to pursue architecture because it offered a good balance between the creative and scientific disciplines, as I enjoyed both in school and was unwilling to give up either. I am in my final year of the Bachelor of Architecture (BArch) programme at Anant National University.
Over the past few years, I have been exposed to multiple facets of architectural theory and practice, and each semester has been an opportunity to develop a new way of thinking.
I have completed internships at Case Design Studio, Mumbai, and Common Ground Practice, Delhi. I have also toured Varanasi and the Sundarbans for field visits.
Additionally, I had the opportunity to attend and participate in workshops, symposiums, lectures, discussions and design forums, and the exposure has been tremendous. Architecture has changed the way I think and perceive the world.
My undergraduate (UG) architectural education, now almost at its end, has taught me never to stop learning and always ask why!
(Amrita Goyal is a ninth Semester BArch student at Anant National University. She was part of a collaborative studio with the University of Miami in 2024 and has interned at Case Design Studio, Mumbai and Common Ground Practice, Delhi. Amrita will soon be doing her architectural thesis early next year. Views expressed in this article are her own.)
