Today's need in Architectural Education

Teaching Statement Submitted towards AAVisiting Teachers Programme Application 2013

a!anya "othi Ven#atachalam
Architecture ta#es a distincti!e position among the pro$essional disciplines being a %u&taposition o$
inputs $rom arts' technology' sociology' economics and en!ironment( demanding a world!iew e&posure
that is multidimensional and e!er changing besides a deep sensiti!ity towards the spatial entity
inhabited by man#ind) And teaching architecture becomes e!en more comple& as it essentially in!ol!es
#nowledge inculcation' s#ill de!elopment and resilience building to shape competent pro$essionals who
can sur!i!e in a challenging global en!ironment)
To me' as a young teacher $rom *ndia with a bac#ground o$ education in *ndia and +nited ,ingdom'
community connect and en!ironmental commitments are two signi$icant concerns in architectural
education today) -hile community connect can e&pose students to the broad spectrum o$ users they
would cater in the $uture' en!ironmental commitment can inculcate in them a sense o$ e!ol!ing
conscious built inter!entions that utilise minimum resources and gi!e way $or $uture generations to
cherish) Although both $orm part o$ the pre!ailing academic curriculum o$ undergraduate architectural
education' signi$icant impact is seldom created because in most cases they are ta#en as small modules
as part o$ a semester)
.ommunity connect and en!ironmental commitments need to be integrated into the mainstream
architectural curriculum as a series o$ progressi!e tas#s) Architectural practice is o$ten or rather always
associated with the user group or the client and to read their minds is o$ paramount importance) /ost
o$ten' our design studios in!ol!e criti0ues $rom the architectural $raternity) *n addition' representati!es
$rom the user group can inculcate in the students a sense o$ awareness towards people and society)
Through this they can de!elop e$$ecti!e communication s#ills towards the non1architectural audience
that they would address in the rest o$ their li$e) 2esides the core design studio' small tas#s to sol!e
issues in $abric o$ the city through community interaction can go a long way in shaping better
pro$essionals)
Similarly' en!ironmental commitments need to be instilled in the young minds o$ architectural
$raternity) 3lobally' en!ironmental issues are the prime $ocus) *nitiati!e to mitigate the impacts o$
human de!elopment on the en!ironment is seriously sought a$ter across nations and among !aried
disciples) And en!ironment cannot be concei!ed in a day) To be able to comprehend en!ironment' one
must associate with it continuously in multiple ways) *$ this could be habituated in the students $rom
their early days in architecture schools' a positi!e change can occur in our en!ironments) Small tas#s as
part o$ the design studios could $ocus on en!ironmental concerns) Also real time initiati!es could be
ta#en with industry partnership and community collaboration to try and see how ideas can translate into
realities)
At the outset' architecture and architectural education need to re$lect the changing aspirations o$ the
society yet $oster the innate 0ualities o$ well1orchestrated spatial entities) -hile the latter is being
addressed strongly in the present day undergraduate design curriculum o$ most schools the $ormer
needs attention) -hen both issues are considered with e0ual importance and a constant search $or these
is instilled in the young minds o$ architectural $raternity a de$inite positi!e change can occur in the
design pro$ession)