Niche - Academy Inside Out . 2020_21

Niche Academy Inside Out

Events Of AOA AOA Amidst Lockdown Clubs Of AOA AOA Student Council The Niche Team Design Architectural Committee Insight From Insiders Meet The Editors

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Hello, First Yearites!

Welcome to Academy Of Architecture: the place that is going to be your home for the next five years, and become your family for a lifetime.

Excited for this journey, but have no clue how is it going to be? Let's take you on a virtual tour of our college and answer all the questions popping inside your head.

Here's Presenting: 'Niché :Academy Inside Out'; A specially curated magazine to help you break the ice and get to know Academy better.

It's a one stop destination to find out about the college events, college clubs, life at Academy, hacks to survive architecture, advice from seniors and everything that you need to know before diving into the adventures that await you here.

Let’s Begin!

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Rachana Sansad’s Academy Of Architecture

Official Social Media Fronts aoamumbai.in aoaconfluence.in

Academy of Architecture DAC Design-Architecture-Committee

@aoamumbai @aoa_niche @aoa_cultures @aoa_dac

Academy of Architecture DAC dac

Issuu aoa_mumbai 04

A Sneak Peek!

Find your ‘Spot’, for it’s the place where you’ll spend most of your waking and sleeping hours- your very own Studio (we don’t call it classroom here!)

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Bored of lectures? Not ďŹ nding an inspiration for design? Or life in general? AOA Library has it all!

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ZZZ

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Where the AC lulls you to sleep, but amazing lectures and events help you hold your grip!

PS: Eating is illegal here in the Auditorium

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The fancy place to display all your hard work to the world -the Art Gallery!

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Our little break-out, work-out and sneak-out place, with tonnes of good-bad memories, the Niche along the staircase!

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Be ready to share your food in the Canteen, not just with your friends, but also with the cats who await your company!

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The one with the tree, aesthetic walls and lots of sunlight, a perfect place for clicking pictures- the Amphitheatre !

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Know the places outside…

Memorise these places, for they’ll help you “manage mischief” and more!

The New Normal As for the online classes, the thing in your hands will probably be your toothbrush, while you log-in just in time before the lecture begins!

Ca(n)teen Canteen is the place where every horizontal surface is utilised in its full potential- to sit. The cute friendly furry friends of AOA reside in the canteen.

Feeling lonely? You go cats. Don’t want to waste food? You go cats.

Studio hours (an

The studio is going the faculty and cla family.

With group projects cling to your best f Work with that guy for you’ll end up d sets in everyone, an too!

Here you’ll see that fresher asking out a senior, or hear the faculty revealing precious secrets; the college canteen is where all the drama unfolds!

Save Your Stationary!

Stationery is soon going to become your most cherished possession. Make sure it’s always securely locked in your lockers, with your name engraved in everything that you own!

nd much later)

g to be your home, and assmates your one big

s coming your way, don’t friends to make a team. y you never talked with, discovering diverse skill nd great new friendships

Morning hues and blues With a truck load of work in your hands ( literally too!), the aroma of brewing coffee and the sight of your friends sharing your struggle is a calming respite and would surely bring a smile to your face.

Life at Academy A day in your life starts from here!

Work, eat, no-time-to-sleep, repeat The ofďŹ cial studio hours end at 2PM, however, the working hours have no end. Staying late in the studio, working, laughing, sleeping, and dancing- will all be a part of your routine soon. Be it online or physically in college, working together is what saves your day.

That Time of the year You 'wait for it' the entire year because you know it is going to be legend-dary! Study Tours are the most memorable times of the year for you get to document and explore some amazing places in India, all while creating tonnes of memories.

Day coll wh mu mid as s and

Chai-breaks and prints’-retakes Practically an extension of the Academy campus, a trip to the print-shop is always accompanied with a break at Madhya’s chai-tapri. Be ready to spend a truckload of money on all the prints that you’ll be required to take, and re-take!

ys when you'll pull all nighters in lege are the most memorable ones, here your survival kit will consist of usic, gossip, coffee, and Karthik’s dnight chai and idli. And eventually sleep takes over, you’ll find the desks d the floor turning into comfy beds!

The Secret Known for its pressing deadlines, the mantra for a happy life in architecture is to not let them get the better of you. Sometimes all you need is a good few hours of sleep to increase your efficiency, before you start to worry about the submissions again!

know your coordinators

Having completed her B.Arch from Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture and Master’s from CEPT, she is currently a passionate professor training young minds. She knows exactly how to blur the lines between work and fun, with her diverse knowledge, wisdom and inquisitive nature.

A recent graduate from Academy of Architecture herself, she would be your most relatable and youngest member of the team making her one of the easiest ones to turn to. While navigating through architecture, fitness and spirituality she strongly believes that you're unstoppable with a purposeful passion and plan of action.

He is an alumni of AOA, with a Master’s Degree in Urban Design from the prestigious Bartlett School of Architecture, London, his work operates along a broad spectrum of design, from urban planning and architecture to interior and object design. He inspires to think beyond the box and explore everything that is under the sun.

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The AOA Core No institution functions on its own and so like all, Academy has its own spinal cord that helps us stand straight from the first light of the day till the last howl of the night. So here are the people that make sure you don’t fall back for anything throughout your day at college.

Mahendra Meet the man behind the functioning of our Auditorium.

He handles all the chores from lights and sounds to technical difficulties during presentations. Thanks to him for all the smooth sailing events that we're able to conduct in the ‘audi’.

Shailija Not wearing an ID-card? That's when you encounter the stern looking face of Shailja. She appears to be strict but is extremely warm hearted and is the first face of AOA core family that you'll see every morning when you enter the college. Kudos to her vigilance, we are found wearing IDs every day!

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Kumar He is the owner of the most essential place in any architecture college-our stationery shop. Known for his nick naming and flirting skills, he happens to be the most loved person of the Aoa core family.

P.S: Remember to call him Kumar and not 'uncle' or be ready to have a ‘no response’ look coming your way!

Manohar Sleep deprived? Want to boost your productivi-tea and get some creativi-tea? He's your go to person in the canteen.

Known for his very delicious Chai making skills, you'll also find him in the college serving tea to the faculty.

Nandu Cheerful, friendly and a people-person; Nandu is best at doing any job that's given to him and has absolutely no complaints.He's truly the heart of Section B. If not for him, the entire department would come to a standstill.

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The backbone of all the activities and events that take place in Academy is the Student Body.

Filled with a bunch of energetic individuals, it ensures the smooth functioning of cultural events, design dialogues, workshops, and everything and anything else. Most importantly they work tirelessly to maintain the spirit of Academy even during challenging times like these!

events at AOA Academites beat everyday blues by indulging in crazy fun events; the festive season in AOA just never ends!

Freshers Night

This is 'YOUR' event! From getting to ask seniors out, engaging in fun games and dancing it all out, to the ďŹ nal crowning of Mr and Miss Freshers, Fresher's night is a hell lot of fun!

Independence Day

Independence day is when we all excitingly gather for the ag hoisting ceremony which is followed by some amazing performances by the AOA clubs as a tribute to our nation.

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Navratri Colours of AOA

Dressing up in Navratri colors and clicking class pictures at the staircase is an AOA ritual. So bring in all that energy to dance your heart out as the Garba night awaits at the end of it all!

ASSA (Architecture Students Sports Arena)

To keep that spirit of playing your favourite sport intact and give you a break from acads, we have ASSA; a month long inter-college sports event held amongst various architectural colleges in Mumbai.

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Design Dialogues

Design dialogues are AOA's "Ted talk sessions" held by experienced people from various fields. It’s that little break from acads you won't regret giving yourself as it’s surely a productive one.

Confluence AOA’s Annual Exhibition Confluence is an annual exhibition showcasing your year-long works.

Last year, the famous Austrian Ar. Chris Precht was invited as guest speaker, making Academy's Confluence an international platform.

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Facades: Cultural Week Amidst the toil for submissions and deadlines, we crave for a little break from all that stress; And our annual cultural week- Facades, brings to us just that! It's the week when the cultural team hosts crazy events and we pit against all the batches of different years to win 'the best class of the year' trophy.

Traditional Day It's the day we get ready and glam up in our traditional attires and click lots of insta-worthy pictures with the yellow wall.

Pyjama Day Ironic is the fact that we dress up in our pyjamas on pyjama days when we are sleepy almost every day.

Character Day Dress up as your favourite character. Be it from movies, tv series or even comics! Get ready to get into the character for the character day's here!

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Mismatch Day Go crazy with your attire and break all the stereotypes, pair that dupatta with shoes or trousers with a bathrobe or anything that you wish for it's time to go all mis-matched!

‘As a class’ Day Get your creative senses on and get dressed up as a class to bring out the most unusual theme on board. Show that 'class spirit' of yours and stand out from the rest!

Annual Day The final showdown of academic prizes, music and dance performances, insane hooting and cheering, and also finding out the winners of the Best Class of the Year!

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AOA Amidst Lockdown The new normal came up with its own challenges, yet the academy continued emitting its energy and enthusiasm!

Plus week (Online Exhibition) With 3 weeks, 9 topics and 360 ideas, Academites put forth an online exhibition of their work on www.aoaconuence.in. The Exhibition received a great response and was truly a visual delight.

Games Night A games night was hosted by the student council where teams from every class competed against each other. It acted as the much needed stress buster from our academic lives and that was real fun.

Navratri We dressed up in Navratri colors and took class photographs online to keep that festive spirit alive and our annual tradition going.

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Talent Hunt The Talent hunt was our ďŹ rst ever virtual cultural event. @aoa_cultures acted as a platform for the Academites to showcase their amazing talents which received over 100 entries. This event brought the much needed enthusiasm back into our lives while we were all bored at home amidst the lockdown.

Independence Day Flag hoisting took place in the college while keeping in mind the parameters of the new normal followed by the Independence day event hosted by the Cultural team which got premiered on Youtube. Watching it all together helped us lessen our FOMOs and feel the sense of togetherness on that special day.

Design Dialogues Despite the new normal, the discourse of Design Dialogues continued owing to virtual platforms with a booming response.

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AOA clubs

@aashijain_26

MUSIC CLUB

@zayangulzar

DANCE CLUB

If your hands start moving, legs start tapping and body starts grooving at every music note you hear, then the Dance Club squad is waiting for you to join them.

Either to ward off the academic heat, or to beat your foes in a face-off, the Dance Club offers you the perfect stage to celebrate moments and to showcase your classic moves.

The Music Club is a place meant for every music enthusiast, irrespective of their knowledge and experience, because music is all about expressing and celebrating your innermost emotions. If music is your go to therapy to fuel up for our monotonous schedules, this club might just become your new favourite place. From jam sessions to passive learnings, the club offers it all.

Club Coordinators @sukriti_sharma197 @riddhi_gunaji

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Manav Sharma, 3A @manav_s.h

Laxaree Sawant, 2A

International Day of Charity

15th SEPTEMBER

International Day of Democracy

SOCIAL CLUB

@_laxaree_

MOVIE CLUB

Club Coordinators

5th SEPTEMBER

Club Coordinators Sumit Gawali, 5A @sumit_g27

Aayush Kapse, 2B @aayushk101

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And at the end of the day,

Shreya Tengle, 3B

FOOD CLUB

Club Coordinators

I bleed black on white, Trying to make sense of all the grey.

जो मल है आज़ाद इतने संघष से तो उं च नीच जात पात मटा कर ज़ेहन से क्यों ना लेजाए लहराते तरं गे को और ऊंचे मुकाम पे चलो आज फरसे आज़ाद होते ह अपनी आज़ाद कज़ादी प रभाषा हम खुद लखते ह

@shreya_10gle

So yeah, in this psycho sweet country only, I say this today, loud and kinda somewhat proudly, On this very land which embraced the freedom seeking blood of my forefather, Is where I’m gonna live on the land that they freed, for you and me.

LITERARY CLUB

@sharvari_ joshi04

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Sharvari Joshi, 3B

Club Coordinators Chaitanyaa Agrawal, 3A @mithi_09

Devika Biyani, 5A @deva_1011

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Club Coordinators @prathamesh__nimbalkar @shivanjaybhagat

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SKETCHING CLUB

PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB

Photography is an art of observation, it reects the way one perceives things; it is about freezing time and capturing the moment and souls of the animate and the inanimate as well. The Photography Club will help you polish this skill of observation and capture at those precise moments, adding life to your photographs.

With an aim of developing a perfect connection between one's brain, paper and hand, the Sketching Club invites you to explore newer styles and ace up your skills. For the love of sketching and the joy that it brings to the heart, join to inspire and get inspired, and most importantly to enjoy the process.

Club Coordinators @aasthasinha17 @dhruvijain_18

CINEMATOGRAPHY Girish Gondhali, 5A @girya99

Pragati Dighe, 5A @pragati_dighe

Club Coordinators Anushri Shetty, 5A @anushrishetty

Have a chance to be in the team which is the backbone of all the events and activities of our college, right from fundraising to the ďŹ nal showdown. If you are aiming at sharpening your management and marketing, social and communication skills, or anything to do with public relations, then this is the place!

The larger aim is to increase the reach of AOA, maintain archives and databases of contacts and their related information.

Club Coordinators Varada Avachat, 3B @avaradakedavra

PR & MARKETING

Club Coordinators

SOFTWARE CLUB

Soon enough you’ll be wondering how to create interesting, explanatory graphics and illustrations for your design. The software club is here to train you and develop your skills in AutoCad, Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator along with rendering and 3D softwares.

Join the club to see your crazy ideas getting realised through pinterest-y graphics, with the newly learned software skills.

Interested in exploring the fun of video and movie making? This is the time to shine, and add another feather to your hat. Movies can be a compelling, but creative alternative to the standard forms of expression like drawings and models.

The Cinematography club offers you to learn and develop the art of shooting and editing, right from its roots.

Parth Bhutalia, 3B @parth_bhutalia

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AOA student council AOA Council is a group of student’s representatives, elected through voting by all academites. Each year the Council sets goals to shine the name of AOA within all spectrums, from academics to sports, events, seminars and much more!

GENERAL COUNCIL The guiding force behind it all, the general team with their vigour, passion and vision handles and manages the student body.

Devansh Maru @devansh_maru General Secretary A

Nimish Pardeshi @nimishpardeshi General Secretary B

Vedant Baheti @vedantbaheti8 Joint Secretary A

Krish Mewawala @krish.mewawala Joint Secretary B

Class Representatives 2A

3A

4A

5A

r

2B

3B

4B

5B

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EDITORIAL TEAM The team behind the smooth functioning of your DDs, Courtyard Dialogues and other academic events.

Neha Karwa @neha__karwa Editorial Head

Iqra Shaikh @iqru_s Co Editorial Head B

Shruti Yelane @shruti.yelane Co Editorial Head A

Editorial Representatives Nidhi Khot, 2A

Pradnya Bairagi, 4A

Tanvi Pimple, 3A

Anushri Shetty, 5A

Aakanksha Patankar, 2B

Ronak Gala, 4B

Urvi Khadakban, 3B

Priyal Parekh, 5B

SPORTS TEAM The squad that doesn’t let all work dull you and keeps the play alive!

Siddharth Dak @siddharth03_ Sports Co-Head

Manas Patil @manas_patil11 Sports Head

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Cricket

Table Tennis

Badminton

Football

Chess

Basketball

CULTURAL TEAM The team behind all the cultural events taking place in AOA that’ll make your dopamine levels go silly!

Atherva Kelkar @atharvak97 Cultural Head

Priyanshi Vora @priyanshi_vora_ Cultural Co-Head B

Vinay Ekkaldevi @vinayekkaldevi Cultural Co-Head A

Cultural Representatives Viresh Desai, 2A

Shrushti Mumbarkar, 3A

Riddhi Gunaji, 5A

Harshada S. Warrier, 4A

Vaibhavi Tolamatti, 2B

Khushi Jajoo, 3B

Sanchi Anwaney, 5B

Vedant Khedekar, 4B

OUTREACH TEAM The team that knows precisely how to gather the right audience for all your hard work!

Manasi Petkar @manasipetkar Outreach Head B

Urvi Mathkar @urvi_mathkar Outreach Head A

Social Media Team Muskan Ranwaka, 4A Gaurang Rajput. 2A Aayush Kapase, 2B

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DAC TEAM The crew which ensures that your academic ventures expand exponentially by guiding you to and through competitions.

Sushant Nikharge @sushiii2698 DAC Head

Wipra Gada @wipra_gada DAC Co-Head A

Shrideep Kshirsagar @shripk DAC Co- Head B

COUNCIL COORDINATORS A team comprising of faculty members which looks after the smooth functioning of the council activities.

General Team

Editorial Team

Ar. Ronak Savla Ar. Amey Ghosalkar Ar. Yagnika Bathija Ar. Shripad Bhalerao

Ar. Neha Panchal Ar. Juhi Prasad Ar. Ronak Savla Ar. Shripad Bhalerao

Cultural Team

Sports Team

Ar. Richa Raut Ar. Amey Ghosalkar

Ar. Rohit Karekar Ar. Nitesh Avhad

DAC Team Ar. Shekoba Sanap Ar. Saurabh Mhatre

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Niche We hope this magazine brought at least half the joy of being in college and you had fun reading it so far!

The magazine, like the quarterly newsletters is an initiative by Niche, a part of our student council. Its named after these magical spaces in the college called 'Niches' which transform into hangout spots for having discussions, munching with friends and napping for all-nighters!

Niche is like the ‘Aaj Tak’ of AOA that brings together the entire college on a single platform encouraging students to actively participate in college events. The Niche team consists of a core team of editors and an extended team of reporters, all under one roof of the council. Our meetings are usually debate grounds for ideas and representation techniques for writing down a report on all the ongoings inside the college.

How does it help one after joining?

All you need to be a part of this family is tonnes of enthusiasm and a little bit of liking for composition and writing. Here, every member gets to have a voice. We work devotedly and try to harness everyone’s individuality to bring out the best piece of publication so that our readers enjoy reading it as much as we do writing it. Perks of being a part of the Niche family is the unbounding vertical interaction among all the years that provides a great learning experience and would definitely polish your skills.

How to join Niche?

If you are eager to work with us in the future, send us an email niche@aoamumbai.in stating a little bit about yourself and we assure to get to know you better.

Good luck, Enjoy the magazine!

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The Team

Tanaya Nadkarni @blue_from_neptune Niche Head

Anushka Satpalkar @anushkasatpalkar

Varada Avachat @avaradakedavra

Sukriti Sharma @sukriti_sharma197

Shrutee Patil @shrutee_31

Newsletter Quarter I https://issuu.com/aoa_mumbai/docs/aoa_in_a_niche_newsletter_quater_i Newsletter Quarter II https://issuu.com/aoa_mumbai/docs/aoa_in_a_newsletter_quarter_ii

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Design Architectural Committee

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What is DAC? Design architecture committee is an initiative by the students of the Academy of architecture to provide support for those who want to participate in various projects , competitions, and workshops and explore deeper into the field of architecture.

Design Architectural Competitions Participating in Architecture competitions gives you the opportunity to streamline new concepts and ideas that keep exploding out of your mind, into the right direction. It provides an opportunity to learn and showcase diverse skill sets, which adds to your portfolio too. Handling projects apart from the academics also helps to think and execute independently, hence promoting practical learning.

The fun part is that you get to participate in competitions that are completely of your choice and array of interests. And if you ever get stuck in between, the seniors are all ears and would love to guide and teach you the most effective way of going ahead.

You also get an opportunity to team up with them, which along with giving you a learning experience, gives you a bond to cherish for a lifetime. So get over that shyness and approach that senior, and see where it leads you to!

How does DAC help?

The internet is flooded with large number of competitions and DAC tries to hand pick the better options for you!

What’s new?

The world of DAC has been extended to create a holistic plethora of architectural expressions for all students of the Academy.

Check out DAC's Instagram page: aoa_dac which features Academy’s architectural works and students projects.

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Insight from Insiders!

New place, new friends, new faces, new routine. But worry not!

First year is full of experiments where each day gives an adrenaline rush to test yourself in this world of predictions and determinations, where strangers turn into family and we, academites into dynamites.

Don't hesitate to explore and to ask, 'how is this related to architecture'. Strange ya; but it's all worth it when you put in your interest and audit your way out. Last but not the least, dive in and NEVER GIVE UP! -Rashmita Dake, 2A

Architecture is tough guys and it's entirely normal to feel stressed, sleep deprived and overworked. But its all worth it when you look at your final portfolio. Because at that moment you realise that all the REDOS and LATE NIGHTS are actually worth it.

Keep getting up even if you keep falling down.

-Gurusha Sood, 2B

Architects don't invent anything: they transform reality. - Alvaro Siza Remember this when you're presenting your designs and ideas to a jury. Be curious.

Be confident. And most importantly Enjoy.

-Manasa Ravikumar, 2A

“Finally, here in Academy !!”

Don’t worry much, whatever hurdles you’ve jumped to reach here will all be worth the tears (of joy) you’ll shred here.

Just remember, “Seekhne keliye padhna, marks se building khadi nai hoti.”

-Heet Shah, 3B

Don't have any preconceived notions about the course.Trust me your lives are about to change. Let the course mould you All the best!!

-Vedant Baheti, 3A

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-Avani Mandpe, 3A

Welcome to a new chapter in your life!

It's going to be challenging, a roller-coaster ride, but at the end, it'll all be worth it!

Believe in yourself.

-Shreya Jaiswal, Batch of 2015-20

'In your five years at college you will spend time learning about a lot of different things ... hopefully you'll be able to steal some of that time to learn more about yourself too - the person you are and the person that you are becoming. I promise you... Its effort that goes a looong way! Good luck and have fun! ' -Nikita Sharma, Batch of 2013-18

-Aishwarya Balsekar, 4B

Do not forget to sketch out your ideas before anything else. Every master architect ever, has retained their habit and distinct style of sketching. It's the best kind of hand-eye coordination you can get. It's the biggest tool that you have!

-Atharva Rotkar, 4A

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New city, new people, new life.

I was scared.. yet I remember kneeling down in the middle of the road to sing out loud VOLUNTARILY on my third day in college! and I still can't believe I did that...

The first month of college is unforgettable.

No one really knows you so exploit that, take everything but baby steps and go all out to start a new story for yourself!

With the hectic life of an architectural student it often becomes hard to have a life outside of college. The one thing no one told me was to continue doing the little things you enjoy doing. Your design is a direct reflection of your mood. Go out, meet friends and enjoy.

Because at the end of the day it all helps you when you sit down to work.

And most importantly stay true to yourself and your design will reflect it.

Welcome to Academy!!

This is your stage for next 5 years and you're the performer. Make sure that you turn the stage upside down with your crazy performance in academic as well as your co-curricular activities!

-Ronak Savla, Batch of 2014 -19

meet the editors

Anushka Satpalkar, 3B Chief Editor

Shrutee Patil, 2A Chief Editor

Chaitanyaa Agrawal, 3A Writer

Akanksha Sirsat, 3A Writer

Aastha Sinha, 3A Graphics

Iqra Shaikh, 3B Graphics

Prajakta Pai, 2A Graphics

Special Thanks

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STUDENT BODY 2020—21 ACADEMY OF ARCHITECTURE 278, Shankar Ghanekar Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai-400025