At PVP CoA, we concern ourselves with the overall development of the student so that the academically competent professional is also a balanced and sensitive human being.
To reinforce the syllabi, academics, site visits, expert subject lectures, jury reviews of Academic projects, etc. are regularly conducted under “ Academic Events” so that students get connected to the practical applications of the subject.
The “Co Academic Events” are organized to test the students' understanding through Quiz competitions, Presentation techniques enhancement and participation or organization of architectural competitions on certain themes.
The “Co Curricular Events'' aim to bring out the hidden talents oof students through sports and cultural competitions. Such events truly build and boost students' personalities.
All these events are minutely planned and executed to perfection with Enthusiastic participation of Faculty, Administration as well as students.
For the IV Year Habitat Studio B. Arch. Design VI (2024-25), Ar. Prasanna Desai delivered two lectures on "Housing as Habitat" under the series "Understanding Urbanizing Peripheries of Pune." Lecture 1 explored traditional settlements and contemporary housing, analyzing projects by architects like Charles Correa and B.V. Doshi. In Lecture 2, he demonstrated how these principles were applied in projects by Prasanna Desai and Associates (PDA), emphasizing the evolution of project requirements, Habitat clusters, and site plans.
Ar. Asmita Patwardhan conducted an expert session in Researc Paper Writing for the students of 4th yr B.Arch. In this session, she shared her journey of Research and the process of writing it along with some of her published work.
On 22nd July 2024 Ar. Vikram Hundekar spoke to the third year students on essentials and approaches to incorporating sports facilities within educational campuses. He focused on several important educational campuses in the city and country and went on to explain some of his own projects in greater detail.
The talk mainly focused on challenges in designing sports facilities for educational campuses and what are the opportunities that come out of these challenges.
We kick started II Year- Sem I Design Project with a talk and interactive session conducted by Ar Jayant Dharap.
The session focused on "Design thinking & Drawing" & involved demonstrations & exercises. The exercises included some quick 19 minute exercises which helped students understand the essence of designing a dwelling along with understanding the importance of sketches which help focus and detail the thoughts.
Introduction lecture by Ar. Aashish Khaire on explaining materials properties and technology used in furniture making was explained in detailed. This was an eye opening session for all students and kick start to Furniture workshop.
Students visited this site as a part of understanding Mud as a construction material. Students explored and studied the site wrt to the material and technique used during the construction of the structure. Students interacted with the designed architect and got clarity on the concept behind the design of the structure.
The primary objective of the site visit to Ram Mandir, Tulsibag, Pune, was to encourage students to engage critically with architectural history. It aimed to explore the evolution of Hindu temple architecture while studying humanistic disciplines such as philosophy, art, literature, and social context. The visit also provided an opportunity to understand the significance of various Indian dynasties and their impact on Indian architectural history.
The primary objective of this site visit was to deepen students' knowledge and understanding of historical and cultural significance. It aimed to introduce students to our rich heritage, allowing them to explore intricate carvings and gain insight into the symbolism behind the work at Karle, as part of the HOAC I subject. Additionally, the visit provided an opportunity for live sketching for the AGD subject.
Students visited the site and understood the technique of construction of stone masonry, cutting of stone, carving / chiselling of stone. Students also interacted with the site supervisor who explained to students about the process of construction.
First year Orientation Week 24-25 ended with an exciting outdoor visit to ‘Zapurza’, Kudje,Pune. Thoughtfully designed campus and serene site location was the perfect ending to this week.
An insightful and inspiring day for II Year students with site visit and conversations with Sujata Dharap, Ar Jayant Dharap and filmmaker Kranti Kanade at their
1. Art studio of Sujata Dharap
2. Dwelling of Kranti Kanade by Ar. Anupama Kundoo
Both the site visits were a part of academic exploration to learn about studio spaces and transition spaces.
Exploring the idea of open, semi open transition spaces which adds an essence to the living/ home.
An inventory of unpinned expressions with Prasanna Morey.
The exhibition was attended by II year students and Faculty members as a part of learning which focused on the topic of Sem III academic project of Design of a dwelling. The exhibition focused on the design philosophy, its conception to the drawing.
The II YR & III YR students, as a part of their exposure visits, were taken to the footpath and public place at ITI Road, Aundh (Design by Prasanna Desai Architects, Pune) and India House.
Ar. Prasanna Desai, very enthusiastically, explained the approach to design safer, efficient and public spaces accessible for everyone. He further explained the effect that such spaces have in the health of the city and its citizens.
II year and III year students of PVPCoA visited India House, the office of Christopher Charles Benninger Associates on Friday 16th August 2024. The students & faculty members were greeted by the ever enthusiastic team of CCBA and were also addressed by Mr. Ram Naidu and Mr. Daraius Choksi (Director at CCBA). The model of every project done by CCBA, were are great eye-opener for the students who could realise and feel the power that a model has. The CCBA team also explained the transition spaces and vision of the architect in designing this wonderful gallery cum office space cum residence.
Intent of the visit was to Document Spatial Units at Osho Teerth park & understand characteristics & role of plants in ascribing spatial, experiential quality to the open space.
This visit was to understand the work philosophy and approach of Ar. Prasanna More. The exhibition focused on two of his unbuilt projects. In addition students also got to interact with Ar. Girish Doshi, who happens to be the mentor and greatly influenced Ar. Prasanna More's design philosophy.
Site visit to Forbes Marshall factory at Chakan by 4th year Students and faculty from VIT’S PVP College of Architecture Pune
As part of the building technology course, on Friday 6th September 2024, 4th year students and faculty from PVPCOA had this valuable opportunity and an enriching learning experience, to visit Forbes Marshall boiler plant and site premises at Chakan. The visit was coordinated and facilitated by Er. Mangesh Ashtekar from Forbes Marshall.
The site visit was a great learning experience to students about how Architecture and Function of Industrial nature can be integrated in terms of design.
Designed by Ar. Christopher Charles Benninger and team CCBA, this building seems virtually crafted to suit its purpose and still retain the virtue and values of design. It sure has put a masterstroke benchmark in front of Architects and students of Architecture regarding an Industrial building in India.
We thank Forbes for this wonderful opportunity for our students.
Faculty team from PVPCoA :
The 4th Year B.Arch students visited the Maharashtra Cultural Centre, exploring the repurposing of existing spaces into black box theatres. Focusing on the Shreeram Lagoo Ranga-Avakash and Jyotsna Bhole Sabhagruh auditoriums, they observed layout modifications and design adaptations. Engaging with experts, they delved into the intricacies of flexible seating, lighting, and sound systems. Documenting architectural features and aesthetic qualities, they analyzed constraints and opportunities in the repurposing process. Through reflection and discussion, students synthesized their insights, gaining practical understanding of adaptive reuse and innovative design considerations for cultural spaces.
Workshop on Wood: Chair Craft - 2024” by Ar. Ashish Khaire an Alumni of our college from Tuesday, 6th Aug. 2024 to 8th Aug, 2024 at PVP CoA premises. This is to instill in our students the ‘CULTURE OF MAKING’ and enabling them to design and execute a chair using various tools involved in furniture making. Furniture can be defined as a mobile item that can be utilized to attain and support necessary human activities such as sitting, working, sleeping, storing etc. It is used to make a space suitable for living or working. Furniture can be considered as a form of decorative art. Initially after satisfying its functional requirements a lot of modifications started emerging catering to its aesthetical requirements.
The technology studio running for one semester of PVP CoA, Pune 3rd Year B. Arch. 2024-25. This exercise of understanding Wood Work in Interior projects helps students to develop the knowledge and skills required to be enhanced during their course curriculum.
This is the first technology studio in series of - Understanding Wood Work in Interior. A process of understanding the stages in Interior project work based on various criterias is one of the aspect of study. The objective of this workshop is to introduce materials and technology of assembling & designing of furniture units which is one of the important components of interior space design.
Interaction, Review and feedback session on Thursday 3rd Oct 2024 with Ar. Prasanna Desai and Ar. Vijaya Srinivasan for IV Year Habitat Studio B. Arch. Design VII (Yearlong Design Studio) 2024-25 under the series ‘Understanding Urbanizing Peripheries of Pune Region’.
Studio Team:
These review sessions conducted for RIA- II discussed various categories of Research topics and ongoing research work of 4th B.Arch students of PVPCOA, Pune with the expertise of the internal faculty team. It was a mid-course review to critically look at the data collection and its analysis in response to the Research enquiries framed.
The reviews were conducted under the following categories of Research Topics-
Review of all group chairs was scheduled in the 3rd week.
All the chairs were reviewed by expert Ar. Ashish Khaire.
Individually each group explained first their design for 10 minutes. After that experts' comments along with faculty team members' comments were given to group members.
The points discussed were helpful to all groups and given further guidelines to complete the project.
Visit to the institute and interaction with faculty members by Ar. Alicia Nahmad from Calgary, Canada
Ar. Alicia Nahmad visited the campus of VIT's P.V.P College of Architecture on Tuesday 20th August 2024.
Ar. Alicia Nahmad is an architect with a passion for robotics and digital fabrication. As a research-based practising architect, for the last 10 years, she has been engaged with the digitization of building trades and adapting advanced digital design and robotic fabrication methods to incorporate the wisdom and craft of traditional building cultures. She holds a PhD from Cardiff University and a MArch from the AADRL. Her work focuses on exploring design through integrating materials, local skills and cutting edge design and digital fabrication technologies - such as machine learning and robotics - in relation to context-specific environments.
Ar. Alicia, saw the exhibition put up in the atrium under ''Walk the work series”, done under ''Workshop of Wood'- A Chair craft 2024", by students of 3rd year B. Arch. During a detailed interaction with students and faculty involved in this workshop, she gave her critical inputs on how to incorporate the computational thinking and digital fabrication along with local craftsman skill sets in executing the prototypes.
Ar. Alicia also understood in detail, the pedagogy and studio processes followed in various years .
In her interaction with faculty, She shared her insights on how an institute, traditional in their teaching approach, evolves and instills the skills and knowledge base which are necessary for students to effectively develop computational thinking and use of digital fabrication tools. She also discussed in depth about various opportunities for students to engage in Internships and exchange programs with offices and universities overseas.
Well-known architect, *Ar. Abin Chaudhuri* from Kolkata visited the campus of VIT's P.V.P College of Architecture, Pune on *Friday 2nd August 2024*. His firm Abin Design Studio is a multifaceted design studio working on an array of interesting projects across India.
Abin was impressed with the pedagogy, spaces, and the learning environment at PVPCoA. He appreciated that studio processes came out through social contexts in various academic years and especially the thesis projects. During his interaction with students, Abin discussed at length about his journey as an architect and how the various possibilities in allied fields like graphic design, product design, etc. can align with the intent of serving humanity.
He also explained through his own experiences the importance of how to prepare an architectural portfolio while applying for practical training and the key focus points to be remembered while doing the same. Abin also elaborated on the idea of actually making a product at 1: 1 scale as part of the design process. He explained how the studio workshop, set up and run by locals, helps in this initiative.
On the whole, the interaction was quite engaging for students and faculty of the college.
REEL TO REAL
Students were introduced to Photography through the lens of Ar. Vishal Sonigra and his journey of different realms of creative fields after Architecture.
The presentation covered a pictorial journey across different types of photography.
Students were introduced to basic rules of photography and get onto on-campus exploration of frames under different heads.
The Six Week Long Session was Conceived, Curated and Crafted by the 3rd Year Building Technology Team along with Ar. Ashish Khaire culminating into a rigorous three day workshop.
This is to instill the Culture of Making in our students and give them an exposure beyond the classroom.
The workshop - Chair craft is an intersection of form and function turning a space into a living, breathing sanctuary that nurtures both body and soul. The objective of the workshop was to introduce materials and technology for assembling a chair giving the students exposure to types of wooden joinery and training them to use various tools in the process of making the chair.
The workshop helped the students to construct their chair designs that reflected their artistic sensibilities.
Day 1 Workshop Session was initiated with an introductory session by the team of architects and skilled carpenters team.
In post lunch session students started Assembling the Chair Units. These units got reviewed and some instructions and modification were suggested by the team.
Day 2 session was full of enthusiasm assembling and finishing the chair. This work of finishing involved sanding, applying putty coats and polish. The work got completed by the students with the help of a team of skilled carpenters.
The ongoing work was also visited by the trustees Adv Abhayaji Chhajed, Chairman, Shri Inderkumarji Chhajed, Vice Chairman and Shri Jitendraji Pitaliya, Secretary alongwith Ar.Prasanna Desai, Director and Ar. Shekhar Garud, Academic Coordinator. They appreciated the enthusiasm of students and assured continuing support for all such activities.
Day 3 concluded successfully with students gaining vast experience in chair design and the process of making under the able guidance of Ar. Ashish Khaire. He concluded the workshop, reviewing key points of wooden joinery and
reinforcing the learning outcomes.
All Six Chairs are displayed in the PVP College Atrium Space for One Week under "Walk the Work Series" and open for Feedback for further refinement.
The “Walk the Work Series” was visited by Ar. Mahesh Ramchandran from Chennai today who reviewed each chair and interacted with each group which was very motivating for the students.
