KEYSTONE 1617 by Keystone PVPCOA

keystone 1617 the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; annual magazine

Vivekanand Institute of Technologyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Padmabhushan Dr.Vasantdada Patil College of Architecture, Pune. we believe in creating sensitive and socially conscious architects who can contribute in shaping our built environment

倀瘀瀀䌀甀氀琀甀爀攀㨀挀漀氀氀攀最攀攀瘀攀渀琀猀䴀愀爀愀琀栀漀渀愀渀搀䌀礀挀氀漀琀栀漀渀吀爀椀瘀椀愀爀挀栀䄀⸀ 儀刀漀漀欀椀攀猀䘀爀攀猀栀攀爀猀一椀最栀琀吀爀攀欀刀攀氀愀琀椀瘀攀匀琀甀搀礀倀爀漀最爀愀洀匀栀爀攀愀爀昀漀爀挀攀䤀渀猀椀最栀琀䌀甀氀琀甀爀愀氀猀匀瀀椀渀攀漀昀倀嘀倀䌀伀䄀䨀 ⸀ 倀匀椀爀

䘀攀愀琀甀爀攀猀攀搀椀琀漀爀 ᤠ 猀瀀椀挀欀刀攀洀攀洀戀攀爀椀渀最刀椀猀栀愀戀栀䨀愀椀渀䬀愀琀琀愀䰀攀琀栀愀氀椀琀礀漀昀䜀椀渀最攀爀䰀攀愀爀渀椀渀最琀漀匀攀攀匀琀愀琀攀漀昀一漀琀栀椀渀最渀攀猀猀䘀爀漀洀吀爀椀瘀愀渀搀爀甀洀眀椀琀栀䰀漀瘀攀䄀渀䔀瘀攀渀琀唀渀氀椀欀攀䄀渀礀伀琀栀攀爀匀氀椀挀攀漀昀䠀攀愀瘀攀渀䘀愀洀椀氀礀䄀眀愀礀䘀爀漀洀䠀漀洀攀䄀猀䤀琀刀愀椀渀猀 ⴀ 䌀栀攀渀渀愀椀伀昀㈀㄀㔀唀渀椀瘀攀爀猀攀漀昀䔀渀搀氀攀猀猀倀漀猀猀椀渀椀氀椀琀椀攀猀倀氀愀礀稀漀渀攀

㐀Ⰰ 㔀㤀㄀㐀㄀㠀㈀㄀㈀㘀㈀㠀㌀㠀Ⰰ ㌀㤀㐀㈀㐀㐀㐀㤀㔀㄀

䈀夀吀䠀䔀匀吀唀䐀䔀一吀匀

伀䘀䘀䤀䌀䤀䄀䰀圀伀刀䐀㨀愀爀挀琀椀挀氀攀猀戀礀琀栀攀昀愀挀甀氀琀礀

刀椀琀甀愀氀䔀砀瀀氀漀爀椀渀最吀栀爀漀甀最栀匀欀攀琀挀栀椀渀最嘀愀猀琀甀欀漀猀栀

㔀㈀Ⰰ 㔀㌀㔀㐀Ⰰ 㔀㔀㔀㠀Ⰰ 㔀㤀

昀爀攀攀瘀攀爀猀攀㨀

愀爀挀栀椀琀愀氀欀䄀爀 ⸀ 一愀爀攀渀搀爀愀䐀攀渀最氀攀䄀爀 ⸀ 䈀椀洀愀氀倀愀琀攀氀䄀爀 ⸀ 䬀⸀ 吀刀愀瘀椀渀搀爀愀渀

㘀㘀㘀

䄀爀 ⸀ 䜀⸀ 匀栀愀渀欀愀爀䄀爀 ⸀ 䴀漀渀愀倀椀渀最愀氀䄀爀 ⸀ 一攀攀氀䄀渀搀匀甀瀀爀椀琀椀

㈀㤀㈀㤀㈀㤀

䠀漀洀攀伀瀀琀椀洀椀猀琀圀栀漀䄀爀攀夀漀甀㨀㼀䄀挀攀猀䤀渀吀栀攀䐀攀挀欀吀栀攀椀爀䌀愀氀氀䄀爀洀礀䴀攀渀䄀爀攀夀漀甀匀甀瀀瀀漀猀攀搀吀漀䈀攀䠀攀爀攀㼀

㠀㄀㈀㄀㈀㄀㈀㄀㌀㄀㌀㄀㘀Ⰰ ㄀㜀㌀㘀Ⰰ ㌀㜀㐀㐀㄀㔀㘀㔀㜀

㜀㜀㈀㌀㈀㤀㐀㌀㐀㠀㔀

圀䠀䄀吀圀䔀䄀刀䔀䐀伀䤀一䜀⸀ 䌀漀眀搀甀渀最匀焀甀愀搀䠀愀渀搀猀刀甀渀渀椀渀最䘀爀攀攀吀栀爀漀甀最栀吀栀攀䰀攀渀猀倀甀渀攀䈀攀椀渀渀愀氀攀䄀渀搀夀漀渀愀倀愀瘀椀氀氀椀漀渀匀瀀氀愀猀栀攀猀伀昀䌀漀氀漀甀爀䄀挀栀椀攀瘀攀洀攀渀琀猀䄀猀琀椀琀瘀愀匀琀甀搀攀渀琀猀䘀漀爀甀洀

㨀

㄀ Ⰰ ㄀㄀㈀㈀㜀㈀㐀Ⰰ ㈀㔀㌀㐀㌀㈀Ⰰ ㌀㌀㐀㘀Ⰰ 㐀㜀

The dichotomy we see everywhere, Observe and ﬁnd it in nature as well!

Voyages is an expression of the journey of the ﬁnal year batch throughout their ﬁve years of architecture.

Never the one to brag and always ready to extend a helping hand, Rishabh was a person who exuded humility through every action of his. It is said that we can never understand the value of a moment till it becomes a memory, Whether it is due to the drop of an EDM song, or by seeing someone dance with gusto, or merely by glancing through old photographs, Rishabh will always be remembered. May his soul rest in peace. - Rachana Dighe III B.Arch

I remember hugging you goodbye before you left from Delhi on the last night of Vastukosh 2016. I never thought that would be my last one. A tech maniac, automobile enthusiast, philosopher, a reliable friend and more than anything else, a great human being. I can't help but think about how many times I have nagged you to get things done in every group exercise, to share your glasses with me to click sleďŹ es. I will never forget how you smiled every morning when I wished you " Good Morning Rishabh Jain " no matter how your mood was. You made sure your face gleamed up at that and I can't thank you enough because you unknowingly made my day ! You will always be cherished Rishabh Jain - Neha Joshi III B.Arch

Ar. Narendra Dengle

Ar. Bimal Patel

Ar. K.T Ravindran

6 III B.Arch

Aleena Mariya III B.Arch silvester.mariya@gmail.com

Marathon & Cyclathon The breath leaves our lungs with a huff As our feet pound down on the tar And we fly ahead, Each one competing, but with himself. Parth Mathkari I B.Arch paaarth.vm@gmail.com

The marathon ends at the college And we calm ourselves As we pay respect to the country That's given us our home. We listen to the songs Sung by our own classmates And they fill us with a sense of belonging Belonging to this nation we call our mother. The day however ends In a burst of excitement As the college assembles And sets out to hunt for this year's treasure And we invite the first years All wide eyed And we take them with us on this hunt On their first event in this institution. And we go home Heart filled with a humility That only watching our flag, sway in the wind can arouse

Written by : Vaidehi Savargaonkar III B.Arch Graphics : Yuvraj Shirke III B.Arch Composed by: Tejal Shrotriya III B.Arch

Ritwik Butte II B.Arch ritwikkbutte@gmail.com

Public spaces. What are public spaces? Let's reframe this. What makes a space Public? For me, an ideal public space is the one where an individual of each age group has a scope of contribution. Right from the ancient times, city planners have been striving to balance movement of humans with urban and public spaces. From Plato's model of 'Agora' and 'Emporium' being a paradigm in the Roman Empire to port Cities, city squares and plazas, boulevards and avenues of the west, we have witnessed the rise and evolution of Public Spaces.

I'd like to take a moment and appreciate one such infamous and informal space which now is experiencing it's downfall and which is related to the Indian context. The katta. This has become the starting point of my journey to the explorations of elemental architecture. An element so small in scale, yet inďŹ nite in emotional, social, cultural and interactive space.

It would be of absolutely no harm to associate Katta with an archaic importance. The evolution of this space can be traced right from the pre-independent India, where plots were hatched, rebellions were planned, protests were incorporated by the common man against the British Raj. There hasn't been any space so lively yet so subtle in physical as well as mental dimensions. My testimony to this 'THRONE OF THE COMMON MAN'. The apex of Minimalism.

At some or the other point in our lives, we all are exposed to this katta. A playing hub as a kid. A hangout station as a teen. A political debate dias for men. A sharing catalyst for women. A platform rich in knowledge from the elderly.

Graphics by Yuvraj Shirke III B.Arch

Cowdung Squad - A Hands on Workshop experience.

Shubhankar Anwekar III B.Arch shubhankaranwekar21101996@gmail.com

Hands on Workshop 2016-17 was hands down the most fun I’ve had in this academic year. We explored the structural capabilities of material that was termed “waste“.We selected one man-made and one natural waste and try to come up with a construction technique of a home for slum dwellers in vertical groups of 10. Any architecture student will tell you that they make conscious decisions to make their design “stand out”. With the same in mind, my group selected cowdung and plastic. Yes, that’s right, cowdung for a hands on experience. Theorizing about it and making sheets was the easy part, getting our hands dirty was tough. Mixing cowdung, cement, sawdust and water with only a thin glove on is something I will carry with me forever. My group was the reason the whole college smelled of cowdung for the entire duration of the workshop. Plus, I also burned my hand doing it. We made a braid of polythene reminiscent of a woman’s hairstyle as our main structural system. This innovation helped us bag the third price in the competition and a huge scope of future experimentation

Graphics by Ameya Kulkarni III B.Arch

Above - A collage of photos from groups hard at work !

TRIVIARCH Triviarch is an architectural quiz competition held in PVPCOA by the academic team to increase the knowledge of the students and prepare them for the city level competition known as AQ (Architectural quotient). The quiz has questions set by a few students related to architecture and its parallels and the quiz includes two people out of which one has to compulsorily be from the junior most class. It works on two levels which is the preliminary round and ﬁnal round. The students are always excited to showcase their knowlege and understand their level and thus participate with full enthusiasm and vigour Last year this quiz happened on the 17th of June 2016 and with ﬁerce competition, the emerging winners were: WINNERS: Viraj Gapchoop II B.Arch Pinak Bhapkar IV B.Arch

ROOKIES

Conducted as a precursor to Archumen, The ACARA (Asian Contest for Architectural Architectural Quotient, AQ is an inter Rookies Award) is a Asian level college quiz competitions from in and competition and the national level around the city of Pune. It was conceived round was successfully conducted in 2008 and first conducted in 2011. in PVPCOA. 55 contestants from over 40 PVPCOA hosts this event in collaboration colleges all over India contested in the with IIA Pune centre. National competition. The contestants are The quiz consists of a preliminary round required to present their third year final and then when 6 finalists are selected, a projects to an esteemed panel of judges. fast paced buzzer final round for which the The gold winners get the opportunity to quiz master is Ar. Prof. Prasanna Desai present at the Asia level round in Mongolia. The quiz has a lot of enthusiasm from The event happens usually in the first week many colleges and the final round keeps of August and this year it happened on 6th everybody on their toes. August 2016 was convened by Ar. Prof. This is a healthy competition and is carried Prasanna Desai. out to increase the sporting spirit and The students also get an opportunity to see quzzing culture of all the architecture the level fo work happening in different colleges. colleges and their projects and the Last year the quiz took place at S M Joshi presentation skills. WINNERS: hall on 20th July 2016 and the winners Tanmay Nawar, KRVIA (Kamla Raheja were: Vidyanidhi Institute for Architectural studies) WINNERS: Shyam Shah, SEDA. (School of Kedar Sharma, Indrajeet Ghule, ACOA. environmental studies and (Allana College of Architecture) Architecture:Navrachana)

NIGHT TREK 1617

This time we went for the night camp at Lohgad and Visapur. The team started their climb up Lohgad but midway we had to change plans and went to Visapur. After climbing, we set-up camp for the night on the plains of Visapur. A bonfire was lit, around which everybody sat singing songs, sharing stories and displaying their hidden talents until everybody finally fell asleep at 3 am. The next day the team trekked to a waterbody nearby, walked around the fort and reached the summit finally paying off everybody’s efforts and creating an unforgettable experience in the Ghat of Lohgad.

FRESHERS’ EVE 1617

Fresher’s night in PVPCOA was hosted by seniors for the ﬁrst yearites who had recently joined college. This idea for this event had been initiated as the ﬁrst interaction, us juniors would have with the seniors. This year the theme of ‘Sins and Virtues’ had been kept… We had to dress accordingly and hence the entrance and set was designed with the same theme in mind. Performances were made in groups and an impromptu dance performance was made by me for which I was awarded Mr. Fresher’s. A session was arranged where a disco jockey played tracks to which everyone danced to their heart’s content. Written by : Rushab Chajjed I B.Arch Graphics by : Aishwarya Khaladkar III B.Arch

Advait Deshmukh Alumini (batch of 15-16) advait.deshmukh@gmail.com

Statutory warning â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Reading these bunch As Nietzsche expected from the modern of thoughts and researching the references society, educational institutions claimed to given below might result into mind-altering replace these religious institutions with a new culture until thinkers like Foucault ideas. began to question them. Foucault went on When we think of an idea, we think of it as a to systematically critique and destroy continuation to an old idea. We envisage these claims of institutions (Hospitals, branching, like a tree, having a definite schools, governments etc). He bluntly beginning and an end. But ginger, my defined their role by saying â&#x20AC;&#x153;Schools serve favorite part of daily tea is a rhizome. A the same social functions as prisons and rhizome has no beginning or end; it is mental institutions- to define, classify, always in the middle, between things, control, and regulate people.â&#x20AC;? interbeing, and intermezzo. The planar m o v e m e n t o f t h e r h i z o m e r e s i s t s In this little ginger human civilization of chronology and organization, instead ours, I tried to learn architecture, that too in favoring a nomadic system of growth and one of India's small urban areas. Believing propagation. A ginger fights hierarchy. Felix that I've learnt architecture would be a Guattari and Deleuze put forward the model great disrespect to the institution and an of a society being rhizomatic instead of oversimplification. The journey in the hierarchical in nature that revolutionized our institute is not merely about learning architecture, because being a part of the perception. Modern educational institutions, such as rhizomatic society, architecture can't ours, only started appearing in the 19th afford to stand alone. century as belief in religion began to lose It demands an understanding of the idea of multiplicity, or at least an urge of that ground. Churches, Mandirs and Mosques once understanding. Institutions always try to allowed some (usually rich men) to seek flaunt maximum freedom, so did ours. meaning, consolation, wisdom and a sense They usually restrict the spectrum and allow a lively debate (Chomsky) within that of community. spectrum.

It allowed me not only to learn architecture but opened my horizons to countless other ideas about cultures, societies, economics, management etcetra. Freedom, some claim can only be enjoyed within certain limitations. It is time that we try to find out who says this and why. For example, in India, the upper caste minority held control over the majority of lower castes simply by restricting their thoughts by certain religious beliefs. If certain institutions fall short of performing their duties, we as subjects of these institutions should take matters in our own hands. We should make most of the opportunities. Spaces such as the spiral staircase, the library, the toilets and events such as the exhibition, the vertical studio allow for such opportunities. Could learning to understand the rhizomatic nature of our society make us more active and volatile? After five years, I think so. Could ginger be lethal against unwanted hierarchies? I think so. Further reading threads Three ecologies (essay by Guattari) Gilles Deleuze Felix Guattari Michel Foucault Friedrich Nietzsche Psychoanalysis Rem Koolhaas - Voluntary Prisoners Spatial Agency

Go Crazy !

Time for some doodling !

This space belongs to you so make it your own, we would love to see your doodles, expressions of the theme ‘ DICHOTOMY’ click and share it with us at keystone.pvpcoamagazine@gmail.com

Relative Study Programme 16-17

I Year

-Anshuta Karmarkar I B.Arch

II B.Arch

III B.Arch

The following two sketches of the street character are a composition (and do not exist in reality in this form) of peculiarities picked up while walking on streets of respective settlements. This technique is used here to understand and capture the spirit of a place in the form of a graphic.

Learning To See

Ar. Salman Sheikh M.Arch salman20192@gmail.com

In my early days of architecture school, I was fascinated by the works of some famous architects, such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Louis I Kahn, Charles Correa, and B.V Doshi, etc. and also with the writings of some of them. I studied their works deeply through all the possible drawings, images and data that I could find. In some cases I was also interested in knowing the biographies of the architects, as I believe it is the events and experiences in people's lives that really make them what they are and define how they work. But at the same time then, I found myself disliking the works of many other architects whose work, to me, did not seem to have any value that could move me and which seemed to be completely in the opposite direction compared to the works that I liked. I hadn't even seen their works properly but I had already started to dislike them.

This was like being born and bought up in a city and assuming that I lived in the best place, and saying 'no' to an opportunity to travel the world. Of course this was not only with architecture, but with life, as well. Elif Shafak- a novelist and a political scientist says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We all live in some kind of social and cultural circles. We are born in a certain family, nation, class, but if we have no connection with the worlds beyond the one we take for granted, then we run the risk of drying up in our cocoonsâ&#x20AC;?. But soon then, I stared to travel. By that, I mean I found myself interested in everything; and that felt beautiful. I am still traveling and there is no stopping me!

Street Character-1: Main approach street to Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, Nizamuddin old Settlement, New Delhi.

Street Character-2: East approach street to Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, Sarai Kale Khan, New Delhi.

Aishwarya Khaladkar III B.Arch aish.khaladkar@gmail.com

Hands Running Free

Uchchita Joshi III B.Arch

Pushkaraj Bhamre II B.Arch

Siddhesh Marne III B.Arch

Janhavi Kamthe I B.Arch

State of Nothingness

Siddhanth Pillay III B.Arch siddhanth19@gmail.com

Since my ﬁrst year I've heard that every architect has their own style when it comes to their design or their philosophy…for example Zaha Hadid's futuristic ﬂowing forms or Frank Lloyd Wright's simplicity and nature-inspired work. I naturally started to search for my own philosophy. First was the love for nature which I incorporated in my work and then the experience felt by the user of the space joined in. In the midst of this a question came to my mind, "Who Am I?". I still do not know the answer to my question but it made me wonder, what if architecture could be used as a means to induce this question in the user? Imagine a space for example where you cannot make out the third dimension, a space which only has darkness all around and where you are left with only your thoughts.

I believe a space of such a nature would eventually induce a thought in you as to who you are and what is the purpose of your existence? I call this state the State of Nothingness. A state where you leave everything behind for the sole purpose of Selfenlightenment. I believe Architecture could be used as a means to help you on your way there but then again I don't really know if that's what I really believe!

Ar. G. Shankar

Ar. Mona Pingel

Ar. Neel and Supriti

Padmashree Ar. G Shankar of habitat group based in Trivandrum graced us with our presence on the 26th of August 2016. After giving a talk on the topic "Journey of an unfinished symphonist" at feed the earlier day he interacted with the students and threw light on his journey. Focused and Determined, Ar. G SHANKAR has always stood to what he believes in. He believes in meaningful interventions, people oriented architecture, social dimensions and making architecture a dynamic tool for social development. Hailing from a small family in a small town, he has had his share of questions and feeling of not belonging anywhere but he soon realised his calling and devoted his life to it. Now after designing 1.5 lakh individual houses, 5 lakh housing projects and working in Nepal and Palestine he feels he has found his happiness.

Ar. Mona Doctor Pingel is a practising architect at Auroville, Pondicherry in India. She interacted with the students on 14th of December 2016. She talked about the journey between tangible and intangible and making sense out of it. A sensitive architect at heart she has a strong relation with Pondicherry and talked about her home place with fondness. She believes that the connection between man, nature and economy is a golden triangle and everyone should adhere to it! She appreciated the works of students and she also shared her life as a student and a learner. Last but not the least she says “ life without a swing is a misunderstanding!”

Ar. Neel and Supriti from OVOID studios in Pondicherry visited the college on 25th of January 2017. They both had no idea about what they were going to do in life before joining architecture. Ar. Neel actually did English honours from Hindu college and theatre and then joined Architecture which he left mid-way to work as a mason before realising his calling and completing his degree. After moving to Pondicherry and before they started their own practise, they wanted to be sure that they have learnt enough so instead of plunging in the professional practice field they worked under different architects. After a few years, with a few masons they started a workshop for custom made arts and crafts and that actually paved a way for their practice. The duo have strong sense of vision and believe in learning, reading and drawing and being inspired by great architects.They say that the conversation one has with one oneself is the most important communication one can have. “Be bloody bold and resolute!” says Neel. Most important conversation is the one with yourself. Be confident be bold. Draw, draw and draw. You’re learning to learn. Use the tools ! Interview with Neelratn and Supriti from Ovoid Studios.

‘Who Are You?’

Isha Chaudhari II B.Arch ishachaudhari@funskool.com

I am a name. I am an identity. And at the end of the day; I am, Something akin to inﬁnity.

I am a timeless obsession. I am also the obsessed. I am the one who seeks the truth, And as the truth, I rest.

I am the words I speak. I am the land I walk on. I am the sounds I hear. I am the colours I don.

I'm mortal and eternal. I'm all this and more. I am everything, but, The person I was a moment before.

I am every terrain I've traveled. I am every person I've seen. I am every eye I've met. I am every person I've been.

Who am I, you ask? More than I speak and more than I show. So let me ask you a question for a question, "Who do you want to know?”

I am every word I've read. I am every song I've heard. I am every experience I've had. I am every story inferred. I am all the nights I've spent, With a warm drink under the stars. I am all the sleep I've lost, Battling demons and healing scars.

Various sounds in the surroundings of the river Mutha were recorded and composed into a sound track that made the listener visualise the sound and travel with it, enjoying the drops and mixes of the pitch bringing the ‘Antarnaad’ of the river to him.A worthwhile learning experience for us students in the public domain.

Pune Biennale 2017 Yona Friedman Pavilion Viraj Gapchoop II B.Arch viraj.gapchoop@gmail.com

Ar. Yona Friedman pavilion was a great experience for me. It was as good as building an actual small scale structure. Learning by observing, experimenting and playing with the material, understanding the joinery was much more than just visualizing the structure in the studio, with pencils and tracings on the desk. Within 6 days, we revised all our earlier learnings and explored bamboo as a versatile construction material. Installation of the pavilion included various stages right from designing the structure, resolving the joinery details, material procurement, setting out, selecting the bamboo, cutting, installing them on site, scheduling of all activities, managing labour (friends!)

-Prajakta Ghatge

It was an amazing practical learning experience for me, along with my friends, enthusiastic faculty and senior architects who visited and shared their valuable inputs. The structure which we have come up with is not just the end product but a journey from the ground up. The process itself was an unforgettable part of the workshop. This structure will always remind me how versatile a material, bamboo is. The stability of the arch and the simple straight bamboo getting it’s ﬂuid form in the hyperbolic structure. While constructing the pavilion we could actually feel the stresses in the structure, and forces getting transferred to other structural elements. The canopy which we see, is not only made by tying bamboos, but it also binds all of us and our memories.

‘Through the eyes of the wild’ was an effort taken to make people aware of the changing scenarios of Mutha. The flip book showed the transformation in the eyes of the flora and fauna around the river. A flip through the pages. A flip through their lives. A realisation! -Rucha Dande

‘Drishtikon’ the three states- an attempt to display the start of art through the frame of photographs, the state of water having the context of the river and the state of people being the locals as the critiques. Capturing the essence of Pune through varied frames of vision revoked the sense of belonging to the place.

Here we presented stories of the seen yet unnoticed characters existing in the riparian that narrated their r e l a t i o n w i t h t h e r i v e r. Through these stories one understands the importance of the river in their lives. They depicted the perspectives of these characters then compiled in a book called the ‘Riparian Stories’ - Anala Patwardhan

As humans we look at the river, criticise it, exploit or even ignore! But what is the river like, ‘Through the eyes of a ﬁsh!’ As a group we tried to map the pollution in each of the water levels, that have led to the deterioration. This project was an eye-opener, as we never look at the river so closely. -Suresh Batra

Pune Biennale 2017 Kaliedoscope Shreya Kembhavi Mugdha Karlekar IV B.Arch

-Sayali Tarnekar

To make people see the unseen; to take ‘Cognisance!’ Two frames, one in its natural state as seen by the common man; and a second one, highlighting the scrap in it, going unnoticed, were installed. Working in a group for a city-level initiative, was a huge learning experience!

‘Sculpting a Paradox’ was an attempt to portray the ugly reality in a beautiful way- an art installation made out of the waste that engulfs it today. Working literally with waste and doing a clean job with a creative output was quite a task! An experience worth cherishing!

- Rama Sathe

-Mugdha Karlekar

As we explored the Mutha river for 24 consecutive hours, we noticed many people, animals, and phenomena that were so ordinary, that they usually went unnoticed. We chose the medium of a short ﬁlm, ‘Once upon a River’ to throw light on these aspects. Working on this project, forced us to think laterally and push ourselves on many fronts. -Siddhi Khirad

From Trivandrum, with love. A compilation of doodles of life in Trivandrum.

Shambhavi Joshi V B.Arch samjos94@gmail.com

arriving in a new town!

predicament of vegetarians

Gorging on South Indian delicacies

Through The Lens

Siddhesh Marne III B.Arch

Yuvraj Shirke III B.Arch

Like material is to texture ,colour is to light.

Life is getting up an hour early to live some more.

Atharva Ghogale I B.ARCH

Siddhyesh Bhansali II B.ARCH

Stepping into serenity.

Ascesion in the ruins.

Aditi Deshpande - LA M.Arch

Prasannakumar Patil II B.Arch

A small world in the lap of nature.

When the first ray of sunlight touches the water...

An experience like no other !

Nischay Pardesi ACOA nischay.nischay.p@gmail.com

For an architecture student who has an inclination towards sport and especially those who love football and basketball have to know what 'SHEARFORCE' is. I personally play football for a professional club in Pune named AIYFA Sky Hawks, but still I desperately wait for this tournament throughout the year. I represent Allana College of Architecture and our team practises rigorously for this event which is held in January, 'a perfect start for me and many more athletes'. VIT's PVP College of Architecture with the help of their student council have come up with this huge football and basketball tournament, which is getting better and better every year. All credit goes to Shri Jitendra Pitalya Sir, Secratary PVPCOA and Ar. Professor Prasanna Desai, Director,PVPCOA .

They have always treated academics and sports equally and maybe that is the reason that it has been 6 years and they already planning to make it state event and invite colleges from all over Maharashtra. My team would love to be called the champions of SHEARFORCE. But more than competition I take the opportunity to use this event as a platform to increase my network because your 'Network is your Net worth

Being in a profession demanding contacts and network, this tournament will give you every tiny thing. Being it friends, game which you love, the trophy which every player craves for and entertainment which is required in ever y human's life. SHEARFORCE has to go very far, this is just the startâ&#x20AC;Ś'

Aces in the Deck

Travelogue

Harshwardhan Ratnaparkhi III B.Arch hmratna@gmail.com

Uchchita Joshi III B.Arch uchchita@gmail.com

This is not me, Do I even belong here? Have I changed from the original? Do I even care?

So hear me when I say this, Life is but a roller coaster ride So instead of looking outside I say, Just take peek inside.

100,000 questions Cross our mind every single day Guess we just look for some colour In a life, we feel, turned grey?

I know it's scary, I know it's hard It can be aces or a joker, No prediction of your card

We are consumed by our petty pursuits In some search we are engaged Our moods have reached extremities Sometimes gala, sometimes raged.

But what if you look inside And ﬁnd a beautiful world instead You can control and nurture it With all the love you can shed

We keep waiting for chances, Talk about our big break We just don't think of anyone else Just think for our own sake

It's a world you can call yours You're glued to its dimension You have to be one with it Away from it you can't run.

We try to break the monotony We complain, cry and crib Keep on adding sail after sail On our ﬂoating ship.

And ﬁnally after you have achieved peace And addressed to your inner call You'll realize that your life right now Is not so bad after all.

We condition ourselves according to the outside From our very inner soul, Away and away we stride.

Where did we go: Ahmedabad, Gujarat. How did we go there (14th Nov 2016): Flight from Pune's airport at 11pm to Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Vatel airport. (650km) Best time to visit: Winters, because summers are too hot in Gujarat (about 50C). Food: 90% vegetarian food, delicious snacks, lots of variety of food. Available transport: Public bus, taxi, autorickshaw. What all to see: Old city heritage walk, Step well at Adalaj, Gandhi Ashram, Mahatma Mandir, Capital of Gujarat Gandhi Nagar, Mahatma Mandir, IIM, NID, CEPT, Sabarmati Riverfront. Other things to observe: difference between old and new Ahmedabad Rich culture beautiful roads and buildings. Experience: A highly developed city, well planned, with beautiful architecture and having its unique culture. There are many things to see and experience in Ahmedabad.

Voyages is an expression of the journey of the ﬁnal year batch throughout their ﬁve years of architecture

Achieve 16

Advait Deshmukh (Alumni Batch 2016) was short-listed amongst the top 10 entries in the COA- NIASA National Awards for Excellence in Architectural Thesis.

Pinak Bhapkar (IV Yr.) and viraj Gapchoop (II Yr.) won the 1st prize in Triviarch: Interclass Architectural quiz competition

Kaushal Tatiya (IV Yr) won the Silver medal in Indian Domestic Contest for A.C.A.R.A 201 (Asian Contest for Architectural Rookeis Award )

Manas Kulkarni and Shubham Kotawadekar (III Yr) won the 3rd prize in Architectural Quotient (AQ) Quiz Competition.

Aniket Raskar (IV Yr) and Ankit Parekh (IV Yr) were amongst the top 6 teams in ARCHUMEN: The Western Interface 2016.

Suchit Mutha and Shamika Ghate (IV Yr.) were short listed for partition in First Asian Architecture Students Summer Workshop held at Osaka/ Sabaee Japan.

ments 17

Prasad Somvanshi (V Yr) won the 2nd Prize in The Drawing Board Design Competition organized by Rohan Builders.

Chaitanya Waghmare, Abhishek Agarwal & Chaintanya Ketkar (IV Yr) won the Best Studio Project in Transparence 16 Centre for Performing Arts Space in motion.

Prasad Somavanshi (V Yr) won the Jury Recomendation award for Transparence 2016 (South Zone): Centre for Performing Arts -Space in motion.

Splashes of colour.

Atharva Ghogale I B.Arch

Pushkaraj Bhamre II B.Arch

Vishakha Ghatge III B.Arch

Janhavi Kamthe I B.Arch

Nupur Moghe V B.Arch

Ashutosh Mundada I B.Arch

Shades dark and light surround us everyday, And we strive to see the Dichotomy in nature itself

Shearforce 16-17 on ground

PVPCOA Boys’ Basketball Team skillfully dodging the opponent and heads towards the basket.

Shear Force is the inter-college sports event hosted by PVPCOA giving a platform to architecture students throughout the state to compete against each other. This festival has initiated a healthy sport culture amongst colleges bridging the gap between them. The event took place for three days and wide participation was shown by numerous colleges. The Kataria school ground was well lit by cheers and team spirit, fun and enjoyment. There were two main sports, which were later sub divided into various branches as : girls football, girls basketball, boys football and boys basketball.

PVPCOA Boys’ Football heading towards the goal to win the ﬁnals.

PVPCOA Girls’ basketball team defending baskets from BNCA in their ﬁnal match

PVPCOA Girls’ Football Team dribbling the ball against the opponent team of MMCOA Girls’ Football Team

The cup went to BNCA for Girls basketball and Minerva college of architecture for Boys basketball. The winners of Girls' football as well as Boys' football was PVPCOA for the first time in six years. The increasing popularity of Shearforce was visible with the amount of participation by different architecture colleges throughout Pune and a good number of supporters who had gathered to cheer their respective teams. Like every year the spirit of shear force acclivates, giving rise for a social and a cultural hub between colleges. Kudos!

- The two teams competing for ﬁnals of Football Girls’. BSOA vs. PVPCOA

Shearforce 16-17

Maidan-E-Jung

in media Maidan-e-Jung is the inter-college event hosted by Allana COA to encourage sports amongst architecture students. It encourages students to participate in the sport of their choice as each year they host varying sports along with cricket. In 2016, the choice of sports were cricket along with athletics. PVPCOA readily agreed to this and preparations for this event began a month before it. The PVPCOA cricket team reached the semifinals in their attempts and achieved the same position as they had last year. The PVPCOA girls’ and boys’ athletics team really deserve a hearty congratulations as they won medals in multiple races and definitely made the college proud in their victorious efforts. We hope the spirit of Maidan-E-Jung remains optimistic in years to come and continues to influence students to participate in sports and compete against each other in such a healthy and friendly environment. Shearforce getting mentioned in local newspapers throughout Pune. The match scores were published daily by them and daily scores were also broadcasted on Radio City 91.1 FM which were official partners for Shearforce. All of these factors collectively aiding in increasing publicity of the event and inviting new faces to compete at the event in the future.

Winners of girls’ athletics with all the medals and the award they won in Maidan-E-Jung. Compiled by: Parag Kashyap II B.Arch.

A Slice of Heaven Outdoor Classroom - A design and landscape integrated study programme.

Shubhankar Anwekar III B.Arch shubhankaranwekar.21101996@gmail.com

I walk through these rolling slopes. The cool, soft lawn under my feet. A mild breeze wafts through my hair. It brings with it, the song of the trees. A murmuring, as they talk about me. A stranger passing through their home. Their song is inquisitive, as they question my intentions. I am innocent, I say ! I am just passing through this paradise that you call home. SatisďŹ ed, they let me pass. I walk through some more. The brick and the stone make me pause. They are calling out to me with their head full of shingles. I gaze around, looking at the world from their eyes. The river and the valley lies below. The distance between does not seem to impair their bond. Instead, they act as a constant companion to all that is here.

I feel more at home than I have been in a long time. I lie down on the grass and look towards the heavens. The sky is slowly changing colour as the sun says goodbye. I have ďŹ nally been embraced and accepted by the grass, the brick, the stone and the tree.

Photo credits - Yuvraj Shirke III B.Arch

Uchchita Joshi III B.Arch uchchita@gmail.com

From rustling of leaves to the rawness of trees It's been a while to have seen ﬂowers dancing in the breeze

So serene, calm and blissful it's almost as if it has to say doesn't matter where you reach, my dear in the end it'll be all okay

It's been a while to smell the earth It's been a while having touched a bark Little things these are, undoubtedly on your heart, they leave a mark.

It's all too good to be true in our soul it has made some sort of dent for the ﬁrst time in many days We feel really content

We hail from a different world with a million gadgets that daily interfere If that's where our home is, then tell me why do we ﬁnd our connect here ? It's like we belong here We have to address some inner calling It's as if this right here, right now is going to save us from falling

INSIGHT EXHIBITION WEEK 16-17

1/3 days of Insight days

3/3 days of Insight days 2/3 days of Insight days

The most exciting event of PVPCOA had arrived which is looked forward to by all students, the Insight Exhibition week which would change the entire landscape of the college for the upcoming year. Inspiring designs would emerge in designated spaces in the college inviting interaction and giving the designer in us a platform to experiment with materials and improve vertical interaction as all design groups would have students from all years participating to contribute their own understanding of design. This three day event would establish some of the most memorable times for the students in the college as they work outside their studios at all times experimenting with methods they would generally not deal with and with other students who they probably didn’t know until now but would now share a special bond with.

This Insight week the students worked hard redesigning spaces and elements of the college that would generally last as the impression of the college one would keep with themselves, such as the aluminum panel which is divided into several segments but designed in such a way that it shares the same story throughout it’s length, or the vertical shaft that converts recreational spaces into innovative and playful spaces. These elements are subdivided into many categories and teams which carry out their role in defining the college in what it is today. But the Insight week is not about the end result, it’s mostly about the journey of getting through the week with the task in hand and enjoying oneself with the people they’ve to work with.

Composed by: Parag Kashyap II B.Arch Graphics by: Adesh Bhavsar I B.Arch

Composed by: Isha Chaudhari II B.Arch Photo Credits: Photography team PVPCOA

A Family Away from Home !

Rashmi Banate II B.Arch rashmi.banate@gmail.com

At a glance from the outside no one would guess this to be the hostel building of PVPCOA. The culture outside and inside serves the concept of dichotomy at it's best. Breaking the notions of ďŹ&#x201A;at system, we students live as one big family , from the 1st to the 5th ďŹ&#x201A;oor. It's a place for us where, celebrating ganpati festval, dahihandi and birthdays together with our friends stop the thoughts of our families from turning us melancholic. Chatting on the terrace, having never ending conversations starting from stories of our varying native places to college, friends, teachers and ghosts too, ending upon where will we land up in future. Sundays start at 10am with students shouting to come down for breakfast and submissions starting at night saying "abhi toh puri raat baki hain". The whole building striving to keep awake when the world is sound asleep, we chasing our t -scales, screaming at the top of our voices making it audible to everyone, except the one with it he himself unknown of the fact of it's owner.

Falling sick takes us on cloud 9, with one person standing with medicine, one with a water bottle and the 3rd ready with food . A long list of food is given to the student visiting his home and pouncing on it without giving a second thought on his return, just makes our day. Sunday Monday becoming our dabbewala on saturdays apart from our 5min maggi in which we have done masters.

Photo Credits: Author

Their call

The Girl on the Train Author: Paula Hawkins

Shibani Chaudhari V B.Arch shibani24@gmail.com

Come, Take a stroll, A flashback to time immemorial We've been plunged into an era so new Now naïve and afraid Mournfully, reduced to a few. Disrupted by a boom, And left behind by a leap. Finding a niche, a saviour from doom, A corner all mine to keep Come find me, sitting amidst the trees, A new breed, cold and shinny No longer green. They tower over me, the defiant children, With hearts of manufactured stone, Impervious and uncaring, to theirs neighbours well-being The stories I could tell, of what once was and what still remains, The reasons for your losses, The weight of your gains.

Mayuri Jadhav I B.Arch jadhavmayuri461@gmail.com

Instead we must swim, far beyond keeping aﬂoat, To a progressive future imbibed from our roots. My voice is rendered to a whisper, tame And no longer am I on top of my game But make us a part of the new you For we have a lot to share And so I call out to you Come, walk through my world, For I crave not nostalgia, but rebirth, and seek once again my due.

Imagine someone stalking you every day, at the same time, watching most of your life, knowing your actions more than you, knowing what goes around your house in your absence. What do you do when that person is the same one accused of murdering your relative. The story plot goes from the old streets, railway stations of Ashbury to the suspicious streets of London. To experience, the thrill and excitement, grab this book and you just won’t want to keep it aside. For those who enjoy murder mysteries you should deﬁnitely read the BOOK, 'THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN' by Paula Hawkins. The author surely knows to create stories which play with your mind and seem so real and yet are not real.

You speak of sustainability, But to sustain means to prolong, to maintain but not to grow

As it Rains- The Chennai Of 2015 Vaidehi Savargaonkar III B.Arch vaidehias1996@gmail.com

The rain pounded down for three days before the repercussions were really understood by those still dry outside that fateful metro city. When the water really started rising, small lakes connected to form one unending body and swallowed everything in its way, and the news showed people breaking windows to get out of flooded houses onto what were once roads. The rain was the culprit, or was it the ancient drain system, never really modified to take up the manifold increase of Chennai in the past decades? All these questions arise later though. What everyone wanted to know then was when the clouds would finally run dry and stop the unending bath that nearly washed the city clean! People lost belongings, people lost houses and people lost people. And the people outside this city, people with loved ones caught inside, they lost their peace of mind! Doesn't sound much does it? But when the telephones don't work, the electricity is cut off, the mobile batteries drained and there is no way of communication with outside world, what was the outside world supposed to do? They were supposed to sit and wait.

They turned the news off eventually, made sure their mobiles were glued to their hands and they waited. They waited for news, not the grotesque images on the ﬂat screen but news a little more relatable, a phone, message, from their kin back inside the city. Some were worse off than others, some never got to see their loved ones again, and some were fortunate enough to have emotional reunions with theirs. Where life of those outside continued with hardly a ripple, it stood still for those inside. Where roads became streams, taxi companies provided boats for transport and rescue, water became a free medium for snakes and other reptiles and shops started giving out supplies on credit because no one had any money left, where the nearby ATM stood was now a lake!

They destroyed houses, they destroyed roads and they destroyed people! They destroyed hearts of helpless people outside this victim city. Brains function in funny ways sometimes, dream up situations and a variety of 'what ifs'. This happened to those stuck out of the city eventually! And some of them had their nightmares realized! Any natural calamity hits one spot and lets out ripples throughout the nation, it affects the affected and then some, in the form of the people of these affected, and the nation eventually faces the calamity as one!

I left the city two day prior to the rain, faced only the starting drizzle, and I left my family on that ﬁrst ﬂoor of that apartment building with water hallway up its parking, escaped just in time, and was one of the lucky once who never had their 'what ifs' turn to reality. This is my experience of one of the worst calamities to hit India in 2015. The experience of not experiencing it.

So one can hardly imagine the state of mind of a girl in Maharashtra, a state with hardly any water, with a family on the first floor of an apartment building with water halfway up the parking, a father hell bent on going to the office, and a brother telling her it felt like he was on a Ship when he looked down from the terrace! Chennai is a marshy land, especially the recently developed outskirts, periodically punctuated with small ponds that are non-buildable water clogged areas. Along these lands run roads and highways looking down to these useless, neglected pieces of arid land. So what did these pieces of arid water lands do? They decided to cross these roads and meet their neighbours! And what a joyful reunion! They seeped through the land between, slowly, making sure no one noticed at first! And when the game was up, when others around them realized, they crashed and they rippled and they destroyed! Photo credits: Author

THE STUDENTSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; FORUM

Aditi Joshi

Payal Jhalani

Vishal Patankar

IIIYear: Kalyani Kulkarni Rachana Dighe

IIYear: Ruchi Kumbhani

Kiran Karachiwala

Shubbaam Rathi

Bilwa Gulawani

Parnavi Khanvilkar

IIYear: Shubhada Gumphekar Raj Shah Apurva Patil Vaishnavi Sonawane

Shamali Padalkar

Academics Akshay Shete

Aniket Raskar

Shubham Khotawdekar

Rushikumar Chaudhary

Shamika Ghate

IIIYear: Amruta Jadhav Pratik Londhe Harshavardhan Ratnaparkhi Anurag Bhavsar IIYear: Pranoti Raut Viraj Gapchoop Prasanna Patil Omkar Hiremath

Payal Jhalani

Suresh Batra

A Aleena Mariya

Prajakta Ghatge Umaija IIYear: Deshmukhe Tanya Chanchalani Gayatri Gosavi Madhura Gupte

Nirmit Shah

A d Sayali Thakudesai

General Secretary Sourabh Jayagond

Photography Abhilash Rahane

Film

Environment

Chinmay Modi III Year: Ishita Shah Siddhesh Marne Aditya Navale

Sanika Nahata

II Year: Mihir Ghotankar

Yuvraj Shirke

Chaitanya Deshpande II Year: Karan Parab Yash Khinvsara Rugveda Sawant

Stuti Tank

Akshat Agarwal

Kaushal Mehta

III Year: Aishwarya Khaladkar Bhagyashree Chaudhary Prachi Shinde II Year: Namrata Sowale Ketaki Ghodake

Chandrashekhar Kondabattini

Sports Sourabh Jaygond

Apurva Saykhedkar

Onkar Joshi

Vedika Rathi

Vaishnavi Paralikar

A Rutwik Paranjpye

III Year: Prithviraj Agashe Yash Bagrecha II Year: Pallavi Laddha Ishita Suratwala Unmesh Jawalkar Pushkaraj Bhamre Yash Patil d

Shalvi Gujar

i A Sumeet Joshi

III Year: Harshada Pawar Kushal Darda II Year: Mayuri Bhandari Trupti Kale Aditya Bhole Darshil Shah td A A di Rujuta Chauhan

Army Men

Know your architect!

Aakash Karnavat I B.Arch karnavat27@gmail.com

We the soldiers Degrees go up and then go down With our feet jammed on the ground Guns barrelled up & uniform on Fighting for the country dusk to dawn Hours long, silent, fatal montage Secret & hidden in camouďŹ&#x201A;age Enemies creep out & lose their lives Because once we are out, we are like bees out of hives For us comes our country ďŹ rst Patriotism is like an unquenchable thirst Forward march, about turn & head held high May it be unbearable, won't let out a sigh

If our country has us chosen We will buck up & bolden No fear in our eyes, or mind or heart Nothing in this world can tear us apart! After all, we are India's army men Can face any danger full of zen We do this everyday & we feel proud. To let live peacefully, the country's crowd

KYA Credit: Sumeet Joshi III B.Arch

THE UNIVERSE OF ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES: FICTION Parag Kashyap II B.Arch paragkashyap2212@gmail.com

We live in a world of multiple possibilities and the exploration of these in the form of stories is executed in the world of fiction. Fiction was an attempt at bending one’s imagination and giving people hope in difficult times. During times of crisis, tales were told of Gods that would help people out of their misery. During wars, super soldiers were glorified about, who could defeat dozens of troops at a time. In today’s world, readers admire heroes with relatable problems that rise above everyday struggles and radiate optimism. On the darker side of fiction, are stories of antiheroes that wish to terminate evil off the face of the Earth using unethical means. This has gained wide popularity due to the psychology these stories handle, focusing on the thin line that differentiates a hero from a villain, as aptly stated by Harvey Dent, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Point being, no matter who you are and where you belong, there is something for everybody in the massive universe of fiction, if only one knows where to look. Graphic by: Author

ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE HERE? Abhinav Agarwal IV B.Arch abhinavagarwal3335@gmail.com

Are you supposed to be here? You are lying on your couch with the laptop in your hand; you are spreading yourself in the bed, Cell phone in the palm, You are sitting somewhere making yourself read this; But again, are you supposed to be here? You came to that city with thrill in your nerves; You felt her streets with patience in your feet, You looked at her wrinkly old buildings with impatience in your eyes; You breathe her history with anticipation. But were you supposed to be doing that? You choose to look at situations with your eyes closed. You hear stories that were never told. You jump upon guns saving bullets off your shoulder. You tell stories that are never meant to be narrated. But were you supposed to be brought here?

You stare into the horizon whilst being subconsciously restless in your train bogey but still at complete peace. You gaze the horizon on that silent ﬂight where you impatiently want to reach your destination but still not want to go there. You look for the horizon but yet not look at it when you rest your chin with your hand as a buttress in the back of your car-seat listening to old English Classics in your mind. You glance the horizon in the seat of a bus while you plan of doing something but not asking whether you were putative to be doing that. You loved it with all your might but yet didn't love it one bit. You portrayed the sculpture of being an artist. You thought of it but dreamt about something else. You were drowning in guilt but swam in the ocean of pride your ally provided you. Did you choose to do that?

You were Free As A Bird. You greeted Jude with a Hey. You traveled in the Yellow Submarine. You told My Bonnie that You'll Be Mine. You love her for Eight Days A Week. You explain to him that She Loves You. You Twist And Shout. You know It Won't Be Long. Were you supposed to be listening to The Beatles? You rushed in the ﬁelds of hay. You dived from a cliff where every rock was made of silk. You brawled in World War II. You swam in the ocean of glitter. You skipped the day but yet were there. You strayed in the expanse of the universe. Were you supposed to be dreaming that? Out of the hundred you's, is there a you that made the same choice? Is there a you who thought about doing that? Is there a you that you were trying to ﬁnd? Is there a you that brought yourself to read this? And yes, hey, Are You supposed to be here?

PLAYZONE!

Ritual

Ar. Niranjan Garde Faculty, PVPCOA niranjangarde@gmail.com

Usually this word tends to be associated with the aspect of 'worship' and something confined to the idea of 'sacredness'. Loosely speaking, the idea of ritual indicates a sequence of actions one has to repeatedly undertake, strictly in a prescribed order (crystallized over the generations and codified/ sanctified through collective memory) to achieve a result – either of appeasing the Gods or fulfilling a duty or wishing for benevolent events to happen in one's life. There are several 'intentions' behind the idea of ritual, one of them being of achieving a state of mind that may closely resemble Godliness. Other intentions include the idea of purity v/s non-purity, holy v/s secular, hierarchical systems to maintain ideas of privileged class and untouchables, financial support to the institutional structure of worship and many other political motives. I would like to highlight important observations from above statements – A) Any concept, no matter how noble its intention maybe, isn't uniformly perceived

when it comes to applying the same in practice – modifications (and adulterations) are inevitable. B) Any concept or an idea undergoes changes and transformations over a period of time. C) It is upto the individual to 'discover' and realize the potential of the 'idea' and even surpass the idea itself. In other words, according to point ( C ), performance of a prescribed set of actions does not necessarily guarantee the intended noble intention that may have been dictated by somebody else in some different place and in some different time period. Or, a crystallized 'method' and the sequence of actions does not necessarily guarantee a historic output. And if one is doing actions for a substantial amount of time, without really questioning what that action is meant for and what it will let you achieve, then the action is nothing but a 'ritual' that is being performed. If we change, our intentions will change and so will our aspirations. If aspirations change, so should the method of

achieving our priorities in life. My question to the students therefore is: Is your way of thinking being - ritualistic? Are you performing actions without thinking, without analyzing, without any concern for yourself? Are you doing something just for the sake of doing? Are you doing something because it seems to have been dictated by the society and has a huge cultural/ historical/ social baggage? Have you evaluated that a given set of framework prescribed by your colleagues, family, college, relate to your individual aspirations? Are the prescribed demands entrusted by the society able to make you discover the meaning of your life? Have you thought about such questions deeply enough and boldly enough? My experience tells me that the biggest obstacle to our development is our nature of thought and the biggest asset is also the nature of our thoughts. Our thoughts are everything in life and therefore, I would sincerely urge the students to think deeply for themselves – since that will eventually make your life purposeful, meaningful and liberating.

How does one achieve this? One can start by observing things that one is interested to learn something from – music, stories, reading, drawing, playing. One needs to experiment with things one has not done before. One has to start looking 'inwards' and ask oneself – what is one trying to discover here and how can one achieve this sense of discovery and learning? How is one thinking and how are those thoughts, in turn, shaping oneself and one's life? The advantage of contemporary times is that everything is open for questioning – old orders are dismantled, hierarchical relationships need not be present always and ideas can be forthcoming from any dimension, from any place and from any slice of time. This is the time of volatility and a destabilized environment. The onus of finding one's way is upto 'you' – the Reader! Best wishes for a bright future!

Exploring Through Sketching Ar. Sameer Gujar Faculty, PVPCOA sameergujar.pvpcoa@gmail.com

Being an architect, sketching is an extremely valuable skill to possess and master. There are many people, whom I always look towards when it comes to architectural sketches. While working with Ar. Vikram Hundekar, a great sketcher himself, I was fortunate enough to get to see some incredible original sketches of one of the great Indian architect, Ar. Achyut Kanvinde Sir. The shear scale and detailing of his sketches left me completely mesmerised till date! I've always thought of myself as a mediocre sketcher and I mostly rely on a 3D software to conceptualise my ideas. Throughout my learning schools & working years, I have always tried sketching through images and Books, but rarely did live sketching. So this year, it felt like quite an experiment when I committed to drawing live sketches during my visits to various places. To start off with such an experiment, I needed to decide a goal to be achieved at the end of this year. Here are some books I found of great help namely "Francis D K

Ching's Architectural Graphics" and "Francis D K Ching's Architecture Form, Space and Order". These books not only tells about basics of sketching but also aquints oneself with different sketching styles. There also are many blogs on internet where you may get inspired too, like "Sketching Architecture", "Architecture Sketch", and "Drawing Architecture" which features great variety of sketches and techniques. Check out blog "Life of An Architect" for some great inspiration – particularly this post about the "Architectural Delineation Competition". Also check out Pinterest board – Architectural Sketches for a bit of inspiration. The next thing to be decided was which type of sketching would help me out to practice more in less time. Now, we all know that regularly go to places on a visit, we have some dedicated time to be spent at that place and taking out few minutes to sketch is quite possible. As Ar. Mona Doctor-Pingel rightly said in

her lecture the other day, “Travel – Explore – Sketch”, there is nothing better than a quick 5 minute sketch. Hence it was decided that the sketches had to be quickly made i.e. instant '5 min sketches', which are supposed to catch the essence and character of the place. The next question was what Medium to be used. There are lot of mediums to do sketching like Graphite, Charcoal, Felt, Ink, etc. to choose from. As the sketches were to be made during the visit, the medium had to be something that would be easily available with me and comfortable enough to work with. Checking with the common things I carry, I had the option of graphite pencils, ink pens and gel pens. Now, graphite pencils are great and easy to work with, but the issue that I find with pencil sketch is that you have to use higher grades pencil to really get those decisive strokes and thus such high grade pencil sketches need to be preserved carefully as they start to smudge easily (I am not good with preserving things).

The other thing with graphite pencils is that you get an option to erase and correct things, that adds up to the time and also contradicts the whole purpose of live sketching and capturing that essence then and there, hence, rejected. The other option was of Ink pen, which got rejected immediately cause, what if I ran out of ink in middle of the Sketch! Thus I was left with the last option of Gel pen. I usually carry the Reynolds Trimax pen, black ink, and thus it was medium of my sketch. To be honest, it was quite tiresome and irritating for the first few sketches I did; especially those which I had to do in noon time when the sun is at its high! Drawing a live sketch, that too in 5 minutes and with ink needs quite some pre calculations before you draw your first line, as you do not have an option of erasing and redrawing. But it was quite an experience. As I was limited to using gel pens, I had to make sure to draw only that what really matters and what really will capture that feeling of the place.

Same was with the condition with the proportions to be drawn. Initially, I took about 15 min to complete one A5 size live sketch, but as I continued, time taken started to reduce. I also experimented on different strokes and techniques of sketches. In architecture, there is no faster means to explore your ideas than sketching. The lines, the strokes and the intensities all speak up what you are thinking about. Remember, what you sketch or draw you never forget. Try it!

Graphics by Author

This page is dedicated to the silent backbone of PVPCOA- The Admin. For without them the smooth functioning of the institute is but a 56dream!

Graphics by: Ameya Kulkarni, III Barch

Moments With JP Sir

J.P. Sir with the victorious SHEARFORECE Team of PVPCOA!

Much more than a secretary, Mr. Jitendra Pitaliya sir has always been one of the most supportive and enthusiastic personalities we've met; and this time around, we'd like to dedicate to him a few messages of appreciation:

J.P. Sir with the college trustee Adv. Abhay Chhajed sir and our very own P.D. Sir! -Harshavardhan Jadhav, 4th Year, B.Arch

Being on the magazine team, I have interacted with him on various fronts. He has always been there with a positive attitude, pushing us to work and achieve our targets! Be it any agenda, he is always there too guide, support and even scold us when necessary. -Shreya Kembhavi, Advisor, Keystone

JP sir had been the backbone of Shearforce. It wouldn't have happened without him. He is one person with a solution to all our problems. I have never heard of or seen any secretary who has shown so much involvement in college activities! -Shalvi Gujar, Advisor, Sports

A hope, belief and strength to weave, The greatest gift one could ever receive; A person who is great at heart Carrying a lot of joy to impart Despite ups and downs, and people to deem, A ray of hope to achieve the dream I can share with the stars and moon That I have the idol born on 4th of June! For all those times I left it unsaid, Thank you for being one step ahead! -Chanchal Jangid, 5th Year, B.Arch

JP sir, for me, is a mentor, teacher and a very close confidant. He has always been just a phone call away for every student. He is very level-headed and always listens to both sides of the story. His reactions, quick-thinking and decisions are a blessing for us as students. He is involved in all the college activities and his efforts have set a benchmark for all students as ton how to work for your institute. -Saurabh Jayagond, General Secretary

DELHI -O- DELHI. Explore , Embrace , learn and live. Ar. Prof. Prasanna Desai, Director, VIT’S PVPCOA, Pune, is the backbone and the driving force of the college. Delhi holds a special place in his heart, and as he takes us on journey to see this city through his eyes, every person who trudged along for the ‘walk’ expresses their experience of the capital city scratching only the surface of the bottomless barrel of memories...

The capital of our country, the ring master of our democratic circus, but how much do we really know about this vernacular city? A city leaden with past and bursting with future possibilities, A place all of us have visited and never really seen…. And this time, this winter that is exactly what I did, I opened my eyes, and I saw a new city, a city of designers, a city of legends and equally a city of blunders. And this city taught me how to read a place and how to understand its pulse. I come back from this experience with innumerable memories, priceless stories and an abundance of ideas. -Vaidehi Savargaonkar III Year The group... Short and Sweet1

P.D. sir telling the group stories of the city he holds in his heart!

P.D. sir with O.B.Jain!

asure box Delhi-o-Delhi -a tre lhi with a treasure box will be De -olhi De ng Compari Visit to Delhi in the pretty appropriate. at November was a gre chilling month of of y rne jou e Th . experience for me ht in the train where d along with learning started rig lhi an d us the map of De ine pla ex sir sai De ement sprung up cit ex e Th ce. en ess that it's history and re actually gazing we d an lhi De ched further, when we rea only to discover the amusing city. s through the window with each and every structure with k us t Desai sir could lin The structures tha riences and stories. his questions, expe ve us the spatial experience which ga perienced. we visited actually books and never ex we had only read in principles, technology, design The exposure to the mense. I truly collected gems to im new materials was box. fill in my treasure

“This short trip will chan ge the way said all the you look at seniors who Architectur had been to Ar.Prasann e”, Delhi before a Desai sir. Every word with decided to of it came embark on true when this journe and a few I myself y with a co new friend uple of clas s. Starting end of the smates from the m day chat se orning walk ssions, ever experience to the ything was . If it weren just a fun le 't for this tr missed out arning ip to Delhi, on the oppo I would have rtunity to se own countr surely e wonders y by our ve cr eated in ou ry own mas mesmerized r very ter architect by this expe s. I was co rience which understand mpletely ing of the co gave me a new ntemporary offer. architectur e that Delhi It is said th has to at, “Somet imes it is th a lot about e journey th your destin at teaches ation”. Visiti you a little peek ng Delhi th into what th is winter ga e future ho ve me lds for me as a buddin g Architect .

- Durga Vitankar III Year

etime! experience of a lif Delhi-o-Delhi! An a st ju is a classroom What one learns in ing process. learn very small part of ses rts when one cros sta g in rn The real lea ledge!! ow miles for real kn borders and travels of ge an ch starts with a Change of attitude by the perfect mentor . lead perspective when sh taught me that ko stu Va to Traveling d to never te d n a building in which a h w t cture is the ar t of ons bu ite out it, I ti ch b a Ar a c n materials a h a v c d so mu ts and constructio me an en o many m rd s n ire a e r qu e h re fo h an w r m hu use as well Had y tou r 2016 is stud to furnish practical vembe as this so r ed fo lat re d e ar e be on th ance until No nd each of the e very s enroll ch etic solution.. Behi ed on th e mate sth g ae rt e got the an ta ll as s o k c trend nor a vogue, of my We kic ectural les lies not a casual sty bunch . r rience. te n t archit ea e s gr w rimentation p e o x n d e fi l rfu us and urgent expe ecific of the slowed rio se r e of e d wonde m v rio o e pe s n a t bu eds of a sp mpo y with t first da ces and this te d answering the ne , available rchitec ar w a to c ed ct ti re e di ie c, energ e went on , methods of labor masterp usiasti their way of life. Climate esai, w er enth s D v it e a means all impose n e d n n th a ls, and economy of Delhi a t of ria r with, r. Pras f e ate M o m th y r, e it o g c s To fes tiful me a lo d, reat pro ver the beau taught dictats. li and a g isco is tour ome so ith s re. Th ey to d d up w hitectu a journ , I ende ing arc y great, ir tl y p n ll s a a in rt re awest impo ut life, some o m s! t e u b emori e abo amel things full of m - Sanika S of advic g e a c b ie a p d n KPS a B real s r, d IV Yea w frien e n l o o c

Tejal shrotriya III Year PVPCOA

Nishabh Po ke IV Year, BK PS

Some experiences are a slice of life . They teach you things you will never know about, Open your mind to a world full of possibilities and inspire you. Delhi - O- Delhi tour is precious like that. I believe this has been a very enriching five day journey where we got to see how much Indian architecture has to offer in one of the best cities of the country. It was a combination of all the activities from the morning walks to the evening discussions that gave me new sense and respect for architecture. - Ankita Talwar IV Year,SCOA

Composed by: Tejal Shrotriya III B.Arch

April 2017

Ar. Saman Ambreen

Ar. Garima Buragohain

Ar. Deepti Shahi

Ar. Minal Sagare

Ar. Mrinalini Anekar Ar. Vijaya Srinivasan

Ar. Shekhar Garud

Ar. Isha Umrani

Ar. Prof. Prasanna Desai

Ar. Hrishikesh Ashtekar

Ar. Rashmi Joshi

Ar. Sandhya Patil Ar. Rohan Nahar

Ar. Niranjan Garde

Ar. Harshada Brahme

Ar. Devendra Deshpande

Ar. Gunjan Maheshwari

Ar. Deeparani Chougule

Ar. Shraddha Bhortake

Ar. Vaibhav Kulkarni

Ar. Aarthi Chandrashekar Ar. Kirti Mishra

Ar. Rasika Joshi Ar. Pavan Gumaste

A peep into the staff rooms at PVPCOA !

Ar. Sameer Gujar