Annual NASA Convention, India (here NASA stands for National Association for Students of Architecture, India) is an opportunity for the architecture students throughout the country to interact, assimilate architectural information and share ideas and experiences. This year, the event themed "Reflections" was held at DC School of Architecture and Design, Vagamon; Kerala from 29th Jan 2018 to 2nd February 2018, which inculcated a diversity of skills and a plethora of knowledge among the participants that hailed from Architectural Schools across the nation.

In an ocean of diverse workshops, presentations and competitions, one such peculiarity this year was a workshop on "Architectural Journalism" that was conducted by architect Pappal Suneja on 1st and 2nd February 2018. The workshop lasted for a total of twelve hours and equipped the 60 participants that hailed from across the nation to gain the necessary knowledge and skills to explore the realm of Architectural Journalism in India. The participants that attended this workshop belonged to School of Planning & Architecture New Delhi, SCET Surat, Guru Nanak Dev. University Amritsar, Dehradun Institute of Technology, JNEC Aurangabad, Dayananad Sagar Bangalore, School of Architecture Akola, Sathyabama University Chennai, Adhiyamaan College of Engineering Hosur and Amity International University, Noida etc.

Analysing Architectural Writing, an Illustration by Ar. Shruthi Shetty

The sessions were highly interactive, involving the participants to the core. The workshop commenced with an Introduction of Architectural Journalism in India, followed by a discussion on the scope and future of the field in India. The curiosities of the participants regarding pursuing a career in this field as well as studying and preparing for the same were all put to rest by the curator Pappal Suneja. It was followed up an explanation of Interpretation of Design, its importance and resourcefulness in the field of Architecture. An emphasis was laid on the application of an Architectural Vocabulary, as it enhances one’s presentation skills as well as allows the client/jury to understand the concept of the design better.

The second day dealt with the concept of Creative Writing. It laid out the basics for Article writing, Essay writing etc. The participants were also familiarised with the novelty of Blog writing and how it enabled their written content to reach the masses globally. Architectural Photography and its importance were also briefly discussed within the session, enabling the participants to understand the importance of Photography as a means of Journalism in Architecture. This session was concluded on a rather interactive note with Design Jamboree, allowing the students to understand the art of Design Interpretation by means of this fun and immersive game.

Design Interpretation, an Illustration by Ar. Shruthi Shetty

Further, post lunch the art of Technical Writing was also discussed in profound detail. Report writing as a means of penning down architectural experiences was also propagated among the participants. Moreover, the distinction between a Dissertation and a Thesis Proposal was clearly demarcated. The participants were made to understand the basics of research methodologies involved in writing an Architectural Dissertation. Similarly, all the steps and procedures involved in leading up to an informative and impressive Thesis proposal were also spelled out.

Finally, the basics of Documentation, Exploration and Research Techniques were also described to the students. The necessities and prerequisites of Paper Writing were also brought into the light. The architect presented the examples of his own published works in order to inspire the participants.

The Workshop concluded with the inception of novel and unprecedented ideas into the minds of the budding Architects of tomorrow.

Top Image © Mayank Gupta