Online Classroom




The goals of this course are: • to get familiar with the world-wide web • to be able to evaluate oneself, and one's design abilities, in a broader forum • to get first-hand experience with primary sources in architectural history • to increase the scope of intra-student academic discussions • to place them on the web

The Faculty MR. Jacob George A. I. I. A. B.Arch, School of Planning and Architecture, N.Delhi, 1979. M.Arch, Pratt Institute, New York City, 1990. After having worked with Ramesh Tharakan from 1980-85, left for the U.S. for graduate studies and worked there from 1986-1993.Rejoined Design Combine in August 1993. Mr. Jacob George has to his credit, a number of architectural works where the byword has been detailing it out to the last T. He has indulged in intensive product design as a part of his architectural endeavours and also independently. Presently he is involved with the designing and manufacturing of High End speaker systems, which have already found acclaim abroad and in international exhibitions. He has often written for architectural magazines in India and abroad, and has been in the panel of Jury for the universities in India.

The course will run along lines similar to studio. You'll do assignments and adopt your own projects, time frames for which would be pre-decided depending upon the magnitude of the assignment. Feedback would be required at regular intervals, submission schedules for which would be drawn up at the beginning of the problem. At a later date we would have online discussions on various approaches to similar assignments. We will also keep in touch on a one to one basis through email. Assignments, which you write, would involve extensive net and library research and would be posted on the portal when it meets the grade. You are required to be very thorough in the research and provide authenticated data with close cross-referencing and detailed bibliography, as your research material should be able to provide references and study material for all the other students participating in the programme. A lot of what you learn will be self-taught, from resources you can find on the net or elsewhere or from your fellow students, and we would like to encourage the synergies of your working toward similar goals and sharing what you discover. Students may work collaboratively, but each will be responsible for projects in which he or she takes the lead. Although we will be giving grades, etc, . this would be an effort at a joint exploration on all of our parts, and the goal is to explore issues, both design and theoretical together, exchange information and ideas, under a common banner. You've probably sensed that the course ventures into two often-independent areas: architectural history and multimedia. The tendency among some of you might be to be dazzled by the new medium and skimp on the other stuff, but that must NOT happen. The computer stuff is simply a language, a tool for communication; the footwork and research you do, and your careful design of your projects will be what makes them valuable in the long run. You will shape your projects, proposing doable but useful undertakings, which you will write up as a proposal for critique before going further. You will have to be resourceful and mobile, to independently visit the appropriate repositories of information and images.

Theoretical assignment #1

A temple for the new generation. Issues to tackle: • Significance of a religious building today. Has the context changed from yesterday and if so, how? • Salient architectural features of a temple and its relevant meanings in today's world as interpreted by you as an architect • Translating such features as should be relevant to today into architectural features, compatible with today's building materials and technology. How much should be retained and how much discarded? • To adapt, is there a necessity to divorce yourself from previous motifs, or do such adaptation go against the ideas of individual creativity? • Design concepts evolved out of such research as is involved. Assignments should be emailed to us within a period of two months, with detailed referencing and bibliography. Design sketches can come in as images or drawings, but it is to be remembered that we are only looking for CONCEPTS and not even schemes.

Design assignment for the month

Choose anyone of the following: 1. Hanging light fixture for the corner of a room. 2. The main signage pillar for a highway petrol pump 3. A food kiosk. Submission schedule: • Concept sketch submission by 20.05.2000 • Scheme design submission by 30.05.2000 • Final design with working details where applicable by 20.06.2000
Designs and sketches should be e-mailed to the site in the form of images and drawings. Virtual modeling and 3D visuals will be encouraged. The submission should come in on time for the student to be able to participate in online discussions and crits given by members of the jury.

Independent Projects

Students are welcome to take up independent research projects as personal assignments, and can submit such research material from time to time for reviewing by our team of experts, and also other students. The effort is to generate discussions at a much broader forum level and arrive at common platforms of understanding issues.