People are working from home and there is need for more and more meaningful spaces. Hence, architecture has found its sweet spot in the demand segment. From an individual bungalow to giant international airports, the opportunities lie in various sectors, says PARAG V SINGAL
The profession of architecture is as long as humanity itself. The origin and evolution of architecture perhaps date back to primitive times when the first humans started living in a cave and built it as per their family size, anthropometry, and other needs of that time. Believe it or not, the fundamental construction technique of post and lintel developed back in the prehistoric era. The bottom line is, architecture has been here since the start of humanity and will be here till the end of it. It is ever-evolving, reflecting the mood of the times.
If we factor out unfortunate events like The Great Depression or more recently, the COVID pandemic, the global graph of development has always been upward on a broader horizon, and hopefully it’ll continue to be that way. And since the past few decades, India’s contribution to this graph has been increasing leaps and bounds. From being considered a sleeping giant to one of the fastest-growing economies, India has become the focal point of the global growth story.
Real estate, being one of the largest contributors to this growth, still has a lot of untapped territories to fulfill the ever-increasing demand in the market. The Reasons? A rapid increase in the population, urbanization, and buying capacity of the people of India. This is where the role of an architect finds its center stage. With the increasing demand for more and more meaningful spaces, Architecture has found its sweet spot in the demand segment. From an individual bungalow to giant international airports, the opportunity lies in various scales.
Examining the rapid expansion of infrastructure and the urgent need to develop meaningful spaces, India has come a long way from Kutcha houses and Havelis to conventional residential dwellings and skyscrapers. Addressing the increase in population and urbanization, the government of India has been actively making long-term policies. “Housing for all” is one such ambitious mission of the government under which, the government of India intends to provide affordable houses to the urban poor with a target of providing 2 crore houses by 2022. This provides a huge opportunity for the private players to contribute.
Another such scheme worth mentioning is Smart City Mission under which, the government is looking to boost core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment, and give a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of ‘smart solutions’. Many consultants have already begun to contribute towards this noble mission of improving the urban infrastructure. Apart from these two major reforms, there are a few more policy changes and initiatives by the government to boost the infrastructure at both micro and macro levels. Directly or indirectly, all this will in turn boost the opportunity in the field of architecture, planning, and even interior designing. This brings us to the fact that there are diverse opportunities within the field of architecture that puts different talents to use.
While architecture remains the core field, one can explore their forte and specialize in subsidiary branches like planning, urban design, and interior design. Since each of these streams needs a different skill set to be acquired, various colleges across the country offer different curriculums to acquire these specialized skills be it at the Bachelors level or at Masters level. All of them carry a different set of opportunities eventually and work experience that can be explored and mastered as per one's knack.
Talking about opportunities, the rightfully changed stance towards sustainable and green design has made people realize the need for green design. The climate crisis has exposed the short-sighted planning of the cities and habitats in which we are currently living. The world is staring down the barrel due to its high carbon footprint, and it has realized the importance of sustainable development. Architects have a starring role in fighting climate change since unfortunately; the construction industry is one of the major contributors to global warming. But as rightly said, in every challenge lies an opportunity.
Sustainable architecture is a fast emerging academic program that is being taken up on a massive front across various universities and there are many academicians’ and practicing notable architects who are spearheading the fight against climate change by their sustainable approach.
The profession has so much diversity to offer that if you have a flair for management, you can opt to specialize in construction management and overlook the administrative part of the project rather than being directly involved in the design. Having a rich history and heritage, India has uncountable monuments which need to be conserved. There are many organizations that are working towards the conservation of this rich heritage of India. Apart from these, the growing demand for architectural photographers and journalists has opened the doors of untapped opportunities on a different tangent.
Architecture has always been a reflection of the era it resides in. One can easily see the reflection of times in the mirror of architecture. Be it the gothic era or the renaissance, architecture has always evolved for good. Taking an example from the recent COVID pandemic, it brought a new set of standards that suddenly disrupted long-established norms, where all spatial routines fundamentally changed. Our typical home was our office, school, and unfortunately, a hospital for some families. This made us confront and at the same time extend the limits of our home and understand the importance of planning and design. This is where architecture steps up to support purposes that could not be foreseen. Such dynamic adaptability seems to have become the key to creating spaces that are coherent with a sustainable lifestyle. This proves how architecture is a timeless profession that qualifies as a need rather than a want.
In a culture where engineering is undoubtedly the dominant technical profession, architecture has been a silent group of select few individuals who possess that rare blend of art and engineering. And with all the green flags waving in the road ahead, this rare set of skills is all set to draw more and more recognition.
The writer is an architect
