05] Towards A New Hope

“For improving the quality of education, one needs to understand the diversified needs of the country and character, while being conscious of the values governing life.” 78

While extensive research has been done, both, locally and globally, on methods of restructuring architectural education, there is barely much ideation on tools or methodologies to blur the existing boundaries of inequality within the nation. This chapter briefly speaks about a few simple, but particularly relevant interventions that can make architectural education more accessible for all.

At the governance level, regulating education and licensing of architects should be segregated into two distinct entities; a ‘long and cumbersome’ legislative procedure.79 Until then, the COA should create two autonomous branches within its purview; where licensing ‘ensures minimum standards’ and regulating education ‘provokes excellence.’80

The huge number of recently established schools cannot be undone. However, owing to the UN SDG’s, we must ensure that all the students in these institutions are exposed to ‘quality education.’81 We must establish ‘excellence clusters’ by recognising mentoring institutions, with each one acting as guides for the nearby 15-20 ‘lesser-prepared protégé schools’ where faculty, resources and innovative ideas can be shared.82 With the current surge in digital learning, institutions could also tie-up with local and global e-learning platforms such as Coursera, Udemy, ACEDGE, edX and many more. They offer a wide range of courses and pre-recorded lectures related to architecture and its ancillary fields (Figure 33 & 34).

78 Afza, Nooreen, 2020. A Review Of Architecture Education In India - Rethinking The Future. [online] Rethinking The Future. Available at: <https://www.re-thinkingthefuture. com/fresh-perspectives/a609-a-review-of-architecture-education-in-india/> [Accessed 30 October 2020].

79 Chandavarkar, P., 2017. Architectural Education and Regulating Architecture in India. [online] https://wordpress.com/. Available at: <https://premckar.wordpress. com/2017/10/14/architectural-education-and-regulating-architecture-in-india/> [Accessed 9 September 2020].

80 Ibid.

81 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 2020. Education. [online] Available at: <https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/> [Accessed 30 October 2020].

Figure 32. Quality Education as a part of UN SDG’s

Figure 33. Globally renowned online courses in architecture by leading universities provided by ‘edX’

Figure 34. Online tutorials and courses specifically for architecture students in India provided by ‘ACEDGE’

A mandatory, ‘transparent’83 process of screening for the quality of students and faculty should be undertaken by the institutions. A list of all faculty members, both, visiting and permanent, with their profiles, portfolios, published papers and research interests should be a compulsory component for all institution websites. Common admission application requirements in global universities, such as a ‘Statement of Purpose’ and ‘Reference Letters’, must be incorporated to ensure only the intake of ‘highly motivated’ students.84 Simultaneously, to prove their competency, institution websites should display selected student projects and theses; annual COA accreditation reports for the past two years which contain the comments and complaints of the review panel along with the institution’s responses.85 The openness and accessibility to this data can be used by the institution as a motivational tool for critical reflection and reforms; to establish the national rankings of schools; by practitioners to hire fresh graduates or partner with placement cells of Universities, and by prospective students to shortlist schools based on their academic inclinations.

“We are in the throes of massive epochal change that must profoundly impact architecture.” 86

83 Chandavarkar, Prem, ‘Regulating Architectural Education: An Approach Paper’, Architecture: Time, Space & People, June 2004.

84 Chandavarkar, Prem, ‘Architectural Education: A Road Map To Reform’, Matter, 2018 <https://thinkmatter.in/2018/05/25/prem-chandavarkar-architectural-education/> [Accessed 10 October 2020]

85 Ibid.

86 Buchanan, P. 2012. The Big Rethink: Architectural Education, Architectural Review, 232(1388), p. 92.

As a result, processes, techniques, materials, politics and practices of architectural education cannot be predicted.87 Thus, the current curriculum needs to be reinvigorated to incorporate three major components: ‘pedagogy, values and content’88 to ensure that students can design for such ‘moving targets.’89 Moreover, shifting from a ‘mechanistic’ to a ‘systemic’ pedagogy (Figure 35); through the integration of ‘transformative’ pedagogies is imperative.90 This will ensure that students have a greater understanding of not just the ‘structured curriculum’ but also the ‘hidden curriculum’; one that emphasizes unstated values, attitudes and norms that stem tacitly from the learning setting of the course.91 Designing for the diverse range of the country’s topography, ethnicities and lifestyles, the hidden curriculum will instill confidence among students to ‘comprehend information and ideate into creative expressions’, rather than merely ‘imbibing information.’92

Historical precedents of ancient Indian art and architecture schools suggest that education was inculcated through practice.93 Today, many architectural practitioners and educators complain about ‘the Gap’ between two components; the architectural academy and the architectural profession.94 Through a collaborative and participatory approach, we must ensure the integration of teaching, practice and research within the profession.

87 Field: A Free Journal for Architecture. 2013. Architectural Education Field: Volume 5, Issue 1, p.1. [online] Available at: <http://www.field-journal.org/uploads/file/2013%20Volume%205/ Field%205(1).pdf> [Accessed 31 October 2020].

88 Chandavarkar, Prem, Architectural Education: A Road Map To Reform, Matter, 2018.

89 Field: A Free Journal for Architecture. 2013. Architectural Education Field: Volume 5, Issue 1, p.2.

90 Ashraf M. Salama, Seeking Responsive Forms of Pedagogy in Architectural Education, Field: A Free Journal for Architecture. 2013. Architectural Education Field: Volume 5, Issue 1, p.11-13.

91 Ibid.

92 Rege, Akshay, Architecture Education In India – Challenges And Opportunities, InsideEthos-ACEDGE. Available at: <https://ethosinside.wordpress.com/2019/02/26/ architecture-education-in-india-challenges-and-opportunities/> [Accessed 1 November 2020].

93 Ibid.

94 Ford, Chris, Finishing School; The Gap And Its Effect On Architectural Education, 1st edn (Florida: University of South Florida, 2003), pp. 72-78 <https://www.yumpu.com/en/ document/read/5914018/the-gap-and-its-effect-on-architectural-education-college-of-> [Accessed 1 November 2020]

Currently, the COA has no framed guidelines regarding internships under the infamous Architects Act of 1972. As a result of these missing legislations, students are exploited during their internship tenure, as spoken about in Chapter 3. To ensure equality in opportunities for all students, stringent laws should be placed; similar to the UK where RIBA chartered practices are legally bound to pay a minimum of the nation’s Living Wage to all its interns.95 The delinking of licensing from education by the COA will ensure the easy implementation of such policies. Based on the ‘Knowledge Boundary of Architects’ diagram, internship opportunities should be permitted across all allied fields of the profession and not constricted to traditional architectural practices. This move will reduce pressure on the already low scenario of employment and allow students to develop a diverse range of skills, which eventually will help reduce inequality.

Many universities, especially the low-funded ones, cannot afford to invest in state-of-the-art technology and facilities privately for their students. Through a ‘powerful human resource base’ and ‘intelligent scheduling’, it would be interesting to either own, provide, share or simply make accessible ‘high order facilities’ between institutions in the same city or close proximity.96 These institutions could all have different areas of technological expertise and infrastructure and operate the shared pool of resources. Establishing inclusive models similar to ‘Access-Space’97 and ‘The OpenSTEM Labs’98 in the UK will prove to be extremely beneficial for students in terms of learning flexibility, exposure to technology and cost-cutting.

95 Block, India, Architects Who Don’t Pay Interns Shouldn’t Be Given Prestigious Commissions, Dezeen, 2019 <https://www.dezeen.com/2019/03/25/architects-unpaidinternship-serpentine-pavilion/> [Accessed 2 November 2020]

96 Indian Institute of Architects (IIA), “Status And Future Of Architectural Education In India - Need For Radical Change”, AZ South Asia, 1999 <https://architexturez.net/doc/ az-cf-21641> [Accessed 9 July 2020]

97 Access Space, Access Space - About, 2020 <https://access-space.org/> [Accessed 2 November 2020]

98 Stem.Open.Ac.Uk, About Us | Faculty Of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, 2015 <http://stem.open.ac.uk/study/theopenstemlabs/about-us> [Accessed 2 November 2020].

Figure 35. Shifting from ‘mechanistic’ to ‘systemic’ pedagogical models

Figure 36. Working components of the ‘OpenSTEM’ model that could be translated into architectural education

Validated programmes such as Sheffield School of Architecture’s ‘Collaborative Practice’99, which blends academic learning with professional experience through affiliated architectural practices, should be made optional for senior student cohorts in Indian institutions as well. Here, students are not just exposed to practical learning from the beginning, but they can also simultaneously earn money while studying, thus reducing the pressure of student debt and fee hikes.

“What is important in this debate is to ensure architectural education remains vital, challenging and culturally (as well as technically and professionally) engaged, and to ensure it remains open and accessible. I’d argue that somewhere in this current crisis lurks an opportunity to develop stronger, more vibrant and more relevant forums for generating and sharing architectural knowledge.” 100

99 Sheffield.ac.uk. 2020. Architecture: Collaborative Practice March The University Of Sheffield, Available at: <https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/courses/2021/ architecture-collaborative-practice-march> [Accessed 2 November 2020].

100 Jacob. Sam referenced by Satwinder Samra, “Architectural Education Must Change”, Dezeen, 2013 <https://www.dezeen.com/2013/04/18/sam-jacob-opinion-architecturaleducation-crisis/> [Accessed 2 November 2020]