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Interview series - What after B.arch? #5

Interviewee: Vedalaxmi Naik Post-graduation: M.Arch in Urban Design | CEPT, Ahmedabad, India

What prompted you to take up M.Arch in Urban Design at CEPT?

It was two things. First being, the moment I had stepped into CEPT during our B.Arch study tours, I felt an ambience I knew I wanted to be a part of, something like a‘Gurukul’ kind of environment back then.

Secondly, it was my field of interest - Urban Design, which grew on me as we took up our planning studio and urban design studio during B.Arch. These studios ignited that first spark of interest. I researched more about it, took it up as an experiment through my thesis as well as pursued work in reputed organisations/NGOs like Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI), Mumbai where I learnt a lot about the practicalities of a field like Urban Design. This exposure along with my spirit of inquiry for the subject, gave me a good base work and perspective. It developed to be my core area of interest and helped make up my mind to take it up as my Master’s course.The deciding factor for the choice of University was the ideologies of CEPT as a school and how it looked into the Indian contexts. The Urban Design course at CEPT as well as other faculties were all focused on Indian living ensuring awareness of global practices, yet always centred around Indian society, systems, practices and culture. This intrigued me best as I have always been curious about what our nation needed -designwise! Hence, it never occurred to me to take up a course abroad and was determined about pursuing it at CEPT University itself. If we pay attention to matters that earn our curiosity, try and enquire, experiment and experience and end up feeling more curious – I think that’s how we figure out our true calling!

What about the university/program appealed to you?

The learning culture and environment … It reflected an essence of the gurukul culture back when we toured it. We saw that the lawns, the canteen, and the sit outs were all equally considered classrooms and it awed me the most. I personally had a great experience being a part of CEPT’s learning culture. It was beyond walls, probably how design schools should be. Moving away from family and cut off from your social circle for those two years seemed like an additive to the experience of it!

The exposure at CEPT has been tremendously influential in grooming my thought process. People from a multitude of arenas have held seminars, workshops, juries, etc and helped not just academic but extra-curricular development on a creative front. It helped in evolving our thought processes to be more conscious and to nurture our creative instincts helping design attempts to be more intentional, aware, feasible yet radical and unique.

How was the experience at the university?

It was great and definitely opened new doors for me. New exposures to varying kinds of courses and workshops and not to forget the wide spectrum of enthusiasts was a thrilling experience. Interacting and experiencing expertise of people from across the globe surely opens up your mind. I sometimes still want to go back and have those intense design / philosophical / life discussions over chais / tiffins or simply over music in studios. Oh yes! Also not to forget, studios of all fields had access to other studios. You could just pop into another studio if the topic interested you and you didn’t need permission to learn more than your chosen fields. I found this really great unlike the typical protocol of Indian education institutions. Also, the studios used to be open 24 X 7 and it was a good thing because you require that kind of time and academic resources for an intense course as Urban Design. Sometimes it did bog us down to not be able to participate in on-campus events unlike your friends from other faculties. Urban Design as a course was pretty intense with design juries itself scheduled at two ends of the week (Mondays and Fridays). The other courses/lectures/electives etc,.took up the rest of the week. This rarely gave us time to do anything else as the rest of the hours, we got busy into team discussions and trying to speed up conclusions and get going for the next jury of the week.

How was the teaching at your university?

It was definitely a lot of discussion sessions. Our course ensured emphasis on a panel of jurors from varying backgrounds like environmentalists, conservationists, journalists, artists, researchers and eminent architects from other cities and countries. This enabled us to argue and ponder over matters that may not be directly related to what we had done, to firstly be able to comprehend and then debate the repercussions our design may have on these varying fields, directly or indirectly. I am lucky to have shared discussions with some eminent minds like Prof. Neelkanth Chaya, Prof. Yatin Pandya and Prof. Riyaz Tayyabji to name a few. It was these people who kept us at the edge in our design quests.

A lot of group works and presentations involving a lot of library time in studio free hours helped us to explore beyond academics and faculties. The CEPT Library was my favourite, with access to genuine research works and a treasure telling tales of Indian cities.

Tell us more about the mentors.

The mentors we had were from a diverse range of expertise and specialisation. The experiences they shared, varying approaches to the same design enquiries, styles of imparting knowledge across the table, did do us a lot of opening up of our minds. Besides studio hours, they have been more than approachable. Some were always there even for midnight discussions with a cup of Chai. Design schools need such informal interactions in order to exchange ideas, sometimes question and sometimes develop them to extremes and discover new possibilities. Some mentors even invited us over to their homes for group discussions, etc and they have always been accessible to students. My favourite time again was when all these mentors sat across for juries and you could instantly experience their varying approaches to what you had done. All valuable inputs at once – what a crash course for the brain!

The mentors who took up electives were great in terms of exposing you to new dimensions given the short duration allotted to them within the course.

What lessons/insights did you gain from the experience?

Since I had some practical work experience prior to joining CEPT, I somehow had learnt to try and relate academia to practicality. But yes, CEPT taught me the depths, extents and multi-disciplinary relevance to projects. It definitely made us all leave with a strong quiver of multiple dimensions and approaches to our fields as a profession as well as a discipline. The course developed a deep sense of inquiry, informed design decisions and coming out as responsive and reflective of the world around. My approach has definitely been versatile and clearer ever since.

Which semester did you attend?

It was a two year long course, split in four semesters back then. I guess it now follows the Fall and Spring system as updated recently.

How did you plan the entrance exams?

Oh yes! I did prepare for GATE Exams; missed it by one mark. But no regrets as I still managed a merit seat. To my surprise, there was nothing and literally nothing you could find online or books on it back then. I had a tough time planning out the study matter. But I ensured I gather the past question papers and learnt about the kinds of questions, the ways and lengths you are expected to answer, etc. I also attempted CEED prior to GATE exams and I would say that preparation did help me in the background. There were books available for that too!

How did you manage the finances?

It was totally financed by my mother who believed in me pursuing it more than anything else. I owe a lot to her definitely. Financially, what goes unseen during the course is the expense through the course besides the fees. For people interested in pursuing Master’s, I would like to point out that being in a design field, do ensure financial arrangements for expenses besides the tuition fees on paper. That would include expenses like printing, buying stationary and sheets, copying of entire books, model making materials, etc. The course being so extensive, it requires a lot more expenditure and at least a bi-weekly frequency as your design studios.

Did you work a part-time job while studying?

Well no. I wish I could, but nope! There is no time for anything else in the Urban Design Studio. Infact, it was unsaid yet agreed upon across the university that UD students have no life beyond the studio. We were known to not be proactive about extracurricular activities. I remember how we used to sacrifice lunch hours etc sometimes to just catch a glimpse of workshops, or the popular garbha nights, etc that CEPT had to offer. That’s one thing about the UD course I wish changed. Workshops at CEPT were amazing and so were guest lectures from varying fields. I regret not having utilised these opportunities to full potential only because my course was so rigorous that there was no time for these.

Were you involved in research work/competitions while studying?

Yes and No. The research was at a personal level. I would say my thesis was a result of it and I am still looking to take it forward. Competitions were a strict no-no given the exhaustive course Urban Design had to offer.

Did you travel while/after studying? (Ex: Where? For what purpose? How did it help you?)

Yes, I did. We were a group of friends who loved impromptu outings with our DSLRs and sketchbooks.  We called ourselves ‘the joyriders’ (giggles). We went around the city and sometimes beyond. It kind of broadened our design abilities as they lead to quite a many discussions/arguments, relating to what we were doing and reflecting on insights.

Could you tell us in brief what your thesis was about?

My M.Arch thesis was my quest for informal spaces, especially in an Indian context – informal street vending in particular. It was about seeking a balance in urbanising cities and yet maintaining the inherent beauty of street vending in an Indian context. The National Law for Street Vendors had just been passed then and my thesis was an exploration of whether this is what Indian streets really needed! A lot of inquiries on the “Indian”ness of spaces in our public places kept me on the thinking edge. The Dadar Flower Market, Mumbai was my site of interest where I visited quite often during my thesis semester trying to understand the nitty-gritties of such informal systems and relating it to a newly laid out law trying to formalise such systems.

Do you think the country/city one studies in, matters? Does the city one studies in, play a major role in master’s experience?

It depends on the individual. Any experience is good experience as long as you are open to ideas from any side of the world. Personally speaking, I always intended to do my Masters in India, especially with CEPT on my mind. I thought it would chisel our minds for an Indian context of practice. It is very important to consider the context! As for Ahmedabad, it is a vibrant city in itself. I swear by it for it seems to have caught up with the balance in urbanising vs. culture that I seem to chase through my experiments in design.

Are there any notable incidents/ anecdotes from post-grad studies that you wish to share?

Oh yes! I cannot forget how we assembled at 10 pm once post dinner on short notice for a lecture!! We sure thought life’s hell was here (laughs). But it turned out just fine! All the GATE students used to be gathered up weekly to make contributions to the UD Journals and publications at CEPT. Some envied it and some found it to be a burden.

Please tell us about your current work and future plans.

I currently run my own design firm - The Indian Freelance Creative and Design Studio (tifCDS). It’s still in the start-up phase being only established this year. We aim to be an Urban Design Consultancy primarily, especially encouraging women to freelance. I also pursue a wide array of creative and design ventures that you would eventually see in my social posts soon.

What message would you like to give to future students of Post-graduate studies/B.Arch students?

B.Arch is definitely the backbone but M.Arch gives you that extra edge and opens new possibilities. Do ensure as many interactions and exposures to ideas and venture into multi-disciplinary learnings. Learn up digital aids / softwares. That’s sure to boom and expand as a practice in the near future. Be open to varied approaches, experiment as much as you can before you define your own ideology and enjoy the two years. It’s always going to be the last bunch of school life (unless you want to pursue higher education).

Thank you very much for sharing your experience at CEPT with us. We, at Doodle Dialogue, wish you all the luck in your future endeavours!

On finally graduating and the joys of fulfilment and of completions. We loved the Shawls with the old CEPT logo back then but unfortunately, it was from our batch onwards, the logo changed.

A panoramic view of the Urban Design Studio (2012-2014)

Juries after three sleepless nights were still a joyride for all the adrenaline rush you have upon meeting your classified panel of jury members and to share your work amongst them, arguing as well as agreeing with them. It is definitely missed!!

Creating one design solution as a group with creative minds from across the country and abroad. Well, that’s a learning in itself ! Cheers to groupie times with my CEPT besties Arati Chandrashekhar, Mumbai and Tara Pandala, Kollam.

A class picture upon graduating! A memorable day indeed!

  On one of the many site visits, interviewing, surveying, mapping and analysing the urban issues.

Festivals at CEPT were a multidisciplinary get together with traditional celebrations and very much awaited for through the year.

A thesis site visit at 2am in Mumbai – The M.Arch Thesis was a rigorous exercise personally too, involving travelling and exploring your sites at odd hours.

Model making was an extensive practice for all design juries, involving a lot of time, effort and resources.

A view from the balcony of the Urban Design Studio overlooking the campus ambience

Some significant impromptu detours (joyrides as we called them) in and around the city of Ahmedabad

About the interviewee:

Vedalaxmi Naik is an Urban Designer and Architect. She completed her B.Arch degree from K.L.S.G.I.T, Belgaum and M.Arch degree in Urban Design from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. She is currently the Founder and Principal Designer at her own freelance design firm – The Indian Freelance Creative and Design Studio (tifCDS) and currently shuttles between Belgaum and Agra post marriage as she pursues her startup. She has previously worked at Jana Urban Space Foundation (JUSP), Bengaluru; Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI), Mumbai; Kham Design, Bengaluru and Thirdspace Architectural Studio, Belgaum. She is soon to be an Associate of the Institute of Urban Designers India (IUDI) as well as a member of  INTACH. Besides a passion for good design, her other interests lie in oil painting, photography, sketching, travelling, reading and cooking.