Piloo Mody College of Architecture: Fabricating the Dreams of Future Architects

HER Team
Ar Mohana Das, an alumna of the 2016 batch of Piloo Mody College of Architecture (PMCA) explains her alma mater as an amazing institution and one of the finest places to study architecture in the Eastern Zone of India. In her words, "The Institute is a perfect combination of fun and learning together with great faculty members." Like Mohana, a number of young Architects who have graduated from this Institution have been thankful for the knowledge and training that they have gained from PMCA.

PMCA was conceived in the year 1993 as a dream project of its Founder & Chairman, Ar K B Mohapatra, a veteran alumnus of the J J School of Arts, Mumbai. The college was dedicated to the memory of his mentor & friend, Late Architect and Parliamentarian, Shri Piloo Mody. As the first self-financed Institution in Eastern India, imparting quality education in the field of Architecture, PMCA has a rich pool of faculty members drawn from across pan India. Together, faculty members have created an amalgamation of the rich subject content and teaching methodology they bring from the various reputed Universities of India.

The PMCA strives to impart quality education through an interactive teaching learning process in a creative environment

"Architecture as a stream of education requires the development of original thinking and individual thoughts on design elements as opposed to a pre-decided process and memory based approach. Our methodology focuses on Hands on Workshops, Site visits and Case Study Presentations, complimenting the time tested and traditional approaches in curriculum design," mentions Payal Mohapatro, Director Academic, PMCA.

Ar. Dharitri Das, Principal, PMCA opines that the course content aims at exposure to the latest trends and developments through Joint Studios and periodic contact programmes with leading Architects in the Industry. Such programmes are integrated into the syllabus to keep students well informed about the New Age Architectural practises while at the same time sensitizing them to heritage, culture and tradition. Prof Das adds, "Our objective is to imbibe consciousness about sustainable and inclusionary development practices in the profession of architecture. The syllabus incorporates flexibility in choice of electives and also introduces new subjects of multi-disciplinary relevance to be pursued."

The college strives to impart quality education through an interactive teaching learning process in a creative environment. Architecture at PMCA is a passion, a vocation and a calling to youngsters to design spaces that provide, in the words of Marcus Vitruvius, the great Roman architect and historian, "Firmness, commodity and delight". "We organize Creative Workshops that stimulate lateral thinking in students based on De Bono's philosophy on a regular basis," mentions Ar Dharitri Das. Students are encouraged to think out of the box and to experiment with different materials. She further adds, "We conduct training programs for students in collaboration with Saint Gobain's Glass Academy, IGBC, L&T Skill Development Center and OSDMA on a regular basis. Students are also exposed to Renewable Energy practices through training programs conducted by experts drawn from OREDA."

PMCA regularly organizes international educational tours to countries like UK, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan etc. to familiarize students with global Architecture and construction practices.

The college is a Ph.D Coursework Centre under the BPUT, Odisha. The institute has a number of training collaborations with DA, New Delhi, UDRC, New Delhi, SPARC, Mumbai and ASF, Sweden for Capacity Building initiatives in Sustainability and Low Carbon Construction.

PMCA is working to emerge as a Centre of Excellence for Vernacular Architecture, Documentation and Research in the eastern part of the country and is engaged in setting up a Smart City simulation lab to demonstrate Smart City Design principles.

Today, PMCA has blossomed into Institute of National recognition under the mentorship of its Chairman, Ar Mohapatra and the able guidance of Er Satyadarshi Mishra, Head Governing Board, ABIT-PMCA Trust. Satyadarshi is an IT Professional and Management expert and has been playing a crucial role in leading the institute towards excellence.

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