“Architecture is a social action as every single building either ‘gives’ or ‘takes’ from the social milieu. Architects create public domains or spaces that stimulate learning.” This is triggered by the institutes which offer the proper teaching-learning experience to the students and hence prepare them preserve the sanctity of the profession as well as the society. Guwahati College of Architecture is one such institute which has already set its foot in this field of imparting educational as well as socio-cultural values to its students and make them ready to face every emerging trend and challenge.
GCA, established in 2006 by architect Abani Das has visualised this very aspect for the need of such a course in architecture and strived all his way towards the first architectural institute for the whole of North East India. The college was developed with a purpose to provide an academically strong platform to students who not only wanted to make a good career but also wanted to leave an enduring impression in the field of architecture.
The college has recently been shifted to its new campus named as Sri Sarbeswar Das Knowledge Campus, after Late Sarbeswar Das, father of the Managing Trustee Ar.Abani Das. The campus envisions a wide range of vibrancy in education, physical as well as intellectual aspects of the students.
The authority believes in bringing together aesthetics, design, comfort, planning, endurance, and solid technical expertise in amalgamation. The college also strives to bridge the gap between raw talent, and skilled experts, putting together Technology, Humanities and Aesthetics into a special curriculum, most suited for the students of today and tomorrow, as we focus on holistic development.
GCA aims to provide its students with all the needful facilities and a campus, which is amidst the beautiful region of Assam, allowing them to grow and harness their skills.
GCA has been able to make a career in architecture, attainable by providing the necessary platform to foster the upcoming talent. After B.Arch, the students are encouraged to pursue higher education and other research work. To provide the scope of higher education, the college also has M.Arch course in Urban Design. Other postgraduate courses are also to start in the near future.
The Urban Design Department of the college aims to address various city level issues occurring in the present context and thrives to provide solutions for them. The Department has taken initiative in raising public awareness for various social issues too for the development to the society and the city as a whole.
With the concept of smart city approaching fast to our own city of Guwahati, there has emerged a need for smarter design solutions to all sorts of urban problems arising in the city.
Smart city encompasses various spheres of development such as smart infrastructure, smart governance, smart technology, smart transport and communication. But for a smart city to remain smart, it is necessary for the inhabitants to be smart. Hence education of the citizens should be provided in a way to create public awareness. In this, the institutions play an active role in creating public awareness.
Guwahati College of Architecture is one such institution, which is preparing its students with the required knowledge to deal with urban problems in a smarter way. The college has initiated surveys of various city parts sorting out various issues which are going to create havocs in the long run and thus are required to provide smart design solutions. The Urban Design cell of the college seeks to identify issues occurring in the city and find what possible solutions shall best be designed to tackle those problems.
The students are also arranging certain rallies, walkathon in order to create public awareness about the disorders in the society and how to deal with them. Thus as a whole, the college is offering a holistic approach to the problems of the physical city and its inhabitants, while preparing the students to stand apart in the long run.
In 2015 the college has started with another department named as Guwahati College of Design which provides courses like B.Sc in Interior Design and B.Sc. in Fashion and Textile Design. The North-East Regions of India is famous for its Arts and Crafts and fascinating nature.
We work on the personalities of our students to enable them to be creators and independent thinkers. Our vision is to train and educate budding architects of high caliber, and to become the center of perfection in architectural studies.
GCA has collaborated with a number of institutes to give its students the correct exposure and experience. Collaboration has been formed between Guwahati College of Architecture and Kamala Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environment Studies, Mumbai, for combined study tours to various heritage places, which are documented and used as library resources for academic purposes. Guwahati College of Architecture in collaboration with KRVIA, Mumbai has documented various places and their architectural heritage such as the Satras of Majuli, Barpeta Satra, Monasteries of West Sikkim, Panchmura villag in West Bengal, Shillong, Allahabad and the structures of Lucknow.
The documented structures are then recorded in the form of architectural drawings which are then exhibited in the college campus. A publication named ‘Imprints’ is then done each year based on the exhibition work which is further used for various academic and research purposes.
The college also have signed an MOU with CEPT University, Ahmedabad to enhance the educational programme and are looking forward to having a student/ teacher exchange programmes in the near future.
Foresighted with learning environment in the field of architecture as well as various other related areas, the campus is located in a 10 acre site, surrounded by lush greens of the Deepor Beel and the beautiful hills all around it, the best Nature could provide.
The current academic building is designed considering the surrounding environment and is energy efficient with proper natural light and ventilation. The campus has vast open areas for extra-curricular activities for the students as well as many more experimental informal teaching-learning areas for the students as well as the faculties.
The sense of harmony and peace within the campus, as merged with the surrounding, it enlightens the young minds to grow up into sensible architects and in a way to be grounded human beings.
(Dr. Hesheto Y. Chishi)