The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Architects `need interdisciplinary skills'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 04, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Architects `need interdisciplinary skills'

Staff Reporter

"Boxed-in" courses `will not turn out quality professionals' "An architect must not only have the required technical skills but also be equipped with financial and management skills."

Chennai : Good colleges that offer courses in architecture must be developed as centres of excellence offering flexibility and a variety of specialisations in the subject, M. Anandakrishnan, Chairman of the Madras Institute of Development Studies, said here on Friday.

Colleges that offered "boxed-in" courses would not bring out quality professionals of architecture, as the subject is interdisciplinary, Prof. Anandakrishnan said at the Architects' Day celebrations organised by the Indian Institute of Architects here. An architect must not only have the required technical skills but also be equipped with financial and management skills, the veteran educationist said.

India turns out 3,500 architects annually. Of this about 1,100 are from Maharashtra and an equal number from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka put together, Prof. Anandakrishnan said. Other states have only one or two schools for architecture producing only a few architects.

Prof. Anandakrishnan presented the `Honorable Architect Award' to S. L. Chitale, a veteran in the field. Mr. Chitale said India had only 30,000 architects and required more professionals.

Arvind Dattar, Senior Advocate, Madras High Court, presented the `Honourable Teacher Award' to Anselm Selvaraj, former head of department of School of Architecture, Anna University. Prof. Selvaraj is now the Director of Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research.

Mr. Dattar urged architects to prepare themselves for the influx of foreign companies in the age of globalisation. "Foreign companies are more organised and have deeper pockets," he said.

Regretting the fact that only five percent of buildings in the country were built by architects, Mr. Dattar called for a law that would ensure construction planning by qualified persons.

R. Ramaraju, Chairman of the Tamil Nadu chapter of Indian Institute of Architects, said that the proper implementation of the Architects Act would help to prevent unqualified persons from making building plans.

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