Andhra Pradesh   

Art and architecture decoded

Shubhra Tandon

Education of architecture involves understanding of several aspects

BRIGHT FUTURE: With the real estate boom, requirement for good architects will be enormous in the coming years.

They give shape to dream homes and structures that boom the business. Relatively not so popular but equally on par with other professionals, architects are increasingly making their presence felt. And the architecture course is getting the popularity all it deserves.

"In a country where we have six lakh doctors, eight lakh plus accountants and 10 lakh plus lawyers, the number of trained architects is a meagre 30,000. Not just that, out of 200 buildings that are built in India only one is signed by a registered architect under the Council of Architecture (COA)," says Vijay Sohoni, President, COA.

Future demand

With the real estate boom in India, experts feel that the requirement for good architects would be enormous in the coming years.

However, they are apprehensive about the way public at large views the profession of Architects.

Experts also feel that it is important that people discern between `myths' and `scientific principles'. Says Prasanna Desai, an architect, "For example, if the kitchen is on the east, the principle behind it is that when rays of the rising sun fall, they could kill germs. Similarly, on any busy market street in a city, there are shops facing north and south directions, but can you say that shops that do not face the `so called lucky' direction do bad business?"

Understanding the demand, the boiling question that comes is how, when and where can one apply to take up a course in architecture? In India, there are around 140 architectural schools and colleges that include Government and non-Government too.

On completion of a five-year course, successful candidates are awarded Bachelors in Architecture (B.Arch.) degree.

"Education of architecture is not just technical, but involves understanding of psychological, sociological, economical and art and cultural aspects of life," says Director Pushkar Kanvinde, National Institute of Advanced Studies in Architecture (NIASA), Pune.

How to apply

The first step towards becoming an architect requires clearing of National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA) held by Council of Architecture.

It is an online test held at designated NATA test centres in various schools and colleges of Architecture in India.

A candidate can take the test throughout the year by filling a form available at NATA website (www.nata.in) and registering oneself with the desired NATA centre in the country. There are some 80 NATA centres in India.

A candidate is eligible to take NATA after Class 10. Along with NATA scores a candidate should have 50 per cent marks at 10+2 level irrespective of the stream, only with Maths as a subject.

"The scores of the test are valid for two years and a candidate can take the test any number of times. However, the final score will be calculated on the average of the past and present scores," adds Mr. Kanvinde.

A fee of Rs.800 need to be paid to take the test at the registration time and will have to be paid afresh in case the candidate takes subsequent attempts.

The online test on the other hand is divided into two sections- paper based Drawing test and computer based multiple-choice type Aesthetic Sensitivity test.

Both papers are for 100 marks each and cumulative qualifying score is 80 marks.

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