School of Architecture- Dayananda Sagar College of Technology and Management (DSATM), lies in Udayapura in the state of Karnataka in India, opposite the internationally recognised ashram, the Art of Living Foundation. Away from the city’s hustle-bustle, the school lies amidst lush greenery overlooked by hills and connected by a state highway from the city. It provides a scenic and quiet atmosphere which helps students receive an education without any noise and distractions.
Founded in 2011, Dayananda Sagar College of Technology and Management provides various other engineering courses along with architecture and is commonly known as the second campus of the entire Dayananda Sagar Institutions franchise.
Making of the Architects-of-the-Future | DSATM
School Of Architecture, DSATM provides a five-year architectural degree course, which comprises both theoretical and practical learning. The architectural education provided emphasizes the design process, critical thinking, and thinking outside the box and along with everyday classes, provides various other opportunities by organizing workshops and guest lectures, which help in building our knowledge beyond textbooks. All this combined help the students go on to becoming well-informed architects of the future.
Throughout five years of architectural course, the syllabus is divided per semester and added on as years progress. Along with base course structures such as Architectural design studio, Materials and Methods of Building Construction, History of Architecture, Building Structures, Landscape Architecture, Theory of Architecture, Professional Practice, this college provides several Elective subjects as a part of the syllabus, wherein, choice is given to the students to select and learn more in the field they are interested in.
Some of the subjects in the wide bandwidth of course provides are – Architecture Journalism, Heritage Documentation, Biomimicry, Research Writing and Real Estate which not only help the students gain a vast array of knowledge but also to help find their field of interest and be trained enough to go on make it their field of work.
Architecture and Atmosphere
School Of Architecture, DSATM, stands within the campus surrounded by other engineering branches, a library, and a sports court right by the structure for all the sports enthusiasts. Right at the entrance stands a glass gallery where the best works of the students are exhibited throughout the year. The entrance hall is a huge double-height space that doubles up as an exhibition hall during the college’s very own exhibit called the Virtuoso.
The structure is divided into huge studios with windows overlooking the surroundings, where all the design thinking usually happens, and seminar halls for all theoretical learning. The structure is overlooked by an amphitheater which is the chill spot for all the students of this college.
A Road to Design and Creativity
School of Architecture, DSATM, hosts various workshops throughout five years of the course. It includes Pottery, Furniture Making, Tensile Structure Design, Scroll Painting, etc., which enables the students to broaden their horizons and learn art in all its forms, which more often ends up being an added inspiration during the design studios. Apart from workshops, various well-known architects and artists such as Shahrukh Mistry, Ganesh Kattepur, including many others are invited to give talks and this becomes a way for the students to educate themselves outside of the studio.
The students begin their foray into architecture in the initial semesters by understanding basic anthropometry and individual spaces, moving on to a fusion of spaces like primary healthcare centers and restaurants as they head on to further semesters. With the gradual development of their knowledge and skills, and in due course of time, they understand architecture as the art of sculpting space beautifully.
Virtuoso- A Platform for Artistic Excellence
The college hosts an exhibit called Virtuoso which is also their own newsletter launched in the year 2012. Every year all the students from every batch come together to exhibit their artistic excellence and creativity. Headed by the design heads of the student union, students are divided into different groups and encouraged to create art in their choice of form.
Students can be seen working way into the wee hours of the night, and this week is usually the best week of our lives. The structure comes to life with art in every corner and the D-day sees many important people who visit the college as judges and guests, giving the students a platform to network and interact with some important people while also getting the chance for their art to reach way beyond the confines of the college.
To Never Stop Learning- Travel
Travel, as we know, is one of the best teachers, SOA DSATM believes in just that. From study tours to both within India and abroad every semester, it broadens our horizons of learning. The students have been to various countries including Singapore, UAE, Vietnam, to name a few, and to places like Mahabalipuram, Auroville, Pune, Delhi, Agra within India.
Students are taken to various architectural wonders and temples and are also encouraged to explore and understand new places, the human scale, the part architecture plays in forming the image of a city and its lifestyle which help them in molding themselves to becoming good designers in the future.
A Little Bit of Everything | DSATM
Along with learning, participation in various extracurriculars is always encouraged. Various clubs such as Editorial Clubs, Fashion Clubs and Sports Clubs are a part and parcel of your education at SOA DSATM which gives you various opportunities to be a part of and shine in your area.
The fashion team holds a long-standing reputation with a series of wins in the past four Zonal NASA competitions. The sports team has had its share of wins too. Participation in various inter-college design competitions and sports competitions are encouraged in the college. The past years have been amazing in the aspect of design for the students of SOA DSATM as they have claimed many awards and recognition in terms of design thinking, working towards the betterment of the community.
I can without a doubt state that the course of 5 years of architecture, the friendship, the clubs you will be a part of, the late nights, the studios, the redo’s and the tears, the travel is one for the lifetime and this college makes sure you don’t miss out on any of the experience you must have while being an architecture student, while also being a platform of continuous learning and being architects of the future.
If you are interested, do watch:
SOA infrastructure: https://youtu.be/oebdEXj651o
Virtuoso: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-P6BqPGouM (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxpUEwvVWko (2016)
