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Career in Architecture

Construction Management

Construction project management (CM) is a professional service that uses specialized, project management techniques to oversee the planning, design, and construction of a project, from its beginning to its end. The purpose of CM is to control a project's time, cost and quality. CM is compatible with all project delivery systems, including design-bid-build, design-build, CM At-Risk and Public Private Partnerships. Every construction project features some amount of CM. However, professional construction managers, or CMs, are typically reserved for lengthy, large-scale, high budget undertakings (commercial real estate, transportation infrastructure, industrial facilities, military infrastructure, etc...), called capital projects. No matter the setting, a CM's responsibility is to the owner, and to a successful project.
The functions of construction management typically include the following:
  • Specifying project objectives and plans including delineation of scope, budgeting, scheduling, setting performance requirements, and selecting project participants
  • Maximizing the resource efficiency through procurement of labor, materials and equipment.
  • Implementing various operations through proper coordination and control of planning, design, estimating, contracting and construction in the entire process.
  • Developing effective communications and mechanisms for resolving conflicts

Architectural Conservation

Architectural conservation describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of humanity's built heritage are prolonged through carefully planned interventions. The individual engaged in this pursuit is known as an architectural conservator-restorer. Decisions of when and how to engage in an intervention are critical to the ultimate conservation-restoration of cultural heritage. Ultimately, the decision is value based: a combination of artistic, contextual, and informational values is normally considered. In some cases, a decision to not intervene may be the most appropriate choice.
In addition to the design and art/science definition described above, architectural conservation also refers to issues of identification, policy, regulation, and advocacy associated with the entirety of the cultural and built environment. This broader scope recognizes that society has mechanisms to identify and value historic cultural resources, create laws to protect these resources, and develop policies and management plans for interpretation, protection, and education. Typically this process operates as a specialized aspect of a society's planning system, and its practitioners are termed built or historic environment conservation professionals.
Functional definition Architectural conservation is the process by which individuals or groups attempt to protect valued buildings from unwanted change.

Environmental Architecture

This field encompasses sustainable architecture and environmental design Sustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space and the ecosystem at large. Sustainable architecture uses a conscious approach to energy and ecological conservation in the design of the built environment.The idea of sustainability, or ecological design, is to ensure that our actions and decisions today do not inhibit the opportunities of future generations
Environmental design is the process of addressing surrounding environmental parameters when devising plans, Programs, policies, buildings, or products. Classical prudent design may have always considered environmental factors; however, the environmental movement beginning in the 1940s has made the concept more explicit. Environmental design can also refer to the applied arts and sciences dealing with creating the human-designed environment. These fields include architecture, geography, urban planning, landscape architecture, and interior design. Environmental design can also encompass interdisciplinary areas such as historical preservation and lighting design.

Landscape Architecture

Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor public areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and soil conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions that will produce the desired outcome. The scope of the profession includes landscape design; site planning; storm-water management; environmental restoration; parks and recreation planning; visual resource management; green infrastructure planning and provision; and private estate and residence landscape master planning and design; all at varying scales of design, planning and management. A practitioner in the profession of landscape architecture is called a landscape architect.
Landscape architecture is a multi-disciplinary field, incorporating aspects of botany, horticulture, the fine arts, architecture, industrial design, soil sciences, environmental psychology, geography, and ecology. The activities of a landscape architect can range from the creation of public parks and parkways to site planning for campuses and corporate office parks, from the design of residential estates to the design of civil infrastructure and the management of large wilderness areas or reclamation of degraded landscapes such as mines or landfills. Landscape architects work on structures and external spaces with limitations toward the landscape or park aspect of the design - large or small, urban, suburban and rural, and with "hard" (built) and "soft" (planted) materials, while integrating ecological sustainability. The most valuable contribution can be made at the first stage of a project to generate ideas with technical understanding and creative flair for the design, organization, and use of spaces. The landscape architect can conceive the overall concept and prepare the master plan, from which detailed design drawings and technical specifications are prepared. They can also review proposals to authorize and supervise contracts for the construction work. Other skills include preparing design impact assessments, conducting environmental assessments and audits, and serving as an expert witness at inquiries on land use issues.

Urban Planning

Urban planning is a technical and political process concerned with the development and use of land, protection and use of the environment, public welfare, and the design of the urban environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportation, communications, and distribution networks. Urban planning is also referred to as urban and regional planning, regional planning, town planning, city planning, rural planning or some combination in various areas worldwide. It takes many forms and it can share perspectives and practices with urban design.
Urban planning guides orderly development in urban, suburban and rural areas. Although predominantly concerned with the planning of settlements and communities, urban planning is also responsible for the planning and development of water use and resources, rural and agricultural land, parks and conserving areas of natural environmental significance. Practitioners of urban planning are concerned with research and analysis, strategic thinking, architecture, urban design, public consultation, policy recommendations, implementation and management.
Urban planners work with the cognate fields of architecture, landscape architecture, civil engineering, and public administration to achieve strategic, policy and sustainability goals. Early urban planners were often members of these cognate fields. Today urban planning is a separate, independent professional discipline. The discipline is the broader category that includes different sub-fields such as land-use planning, zoning, economic development, environmental planning, and transportation planning.

Environmental Planning

Environmental considerations are assuming an increasingly important role in planning and development of human settlements. Alarming consequences of ozone layer depletion, global warming, desertification, and air pollution, pollution of the oceans, species’ extinction, deforestation and flooding are some of the manifestations of nature’s reactions to human activities on the planet Earth. Implications of such environmental degradations have been the subject of growing concern to people all over the world, and has resulted in various initiatives and actions taken at global, regional, national and international levels.
Environmental Planning degree Programsme is specially designed to train students in methods for scientific evaluation of various factors for planning environmentally sustainable development of human settlements and regions. Environmental considerations at the planning stage would prevent many of the degradations that result later on. Land use planning, to be meaningful, has to take cognizance of the legislation enacted in the field of environment as well as advanced techniques and tools currently available for analyzing and predicting environmental problems.
The main objective of this Program is to impart adequate skills and exposure to the students to enable them to handle the complex challenges of environmental planning, design, impact assessment, and mitigation and preventive measures. The focus areas of the Programmer are environmental planning and design, techniques of measurement of water, soil, air and noise pollution, environmental management, environmental impact assessment, auditing and risk assessment, environmental economics, and environmental legislation.

Housing Planning

This Program offers comprehensive exposure to various facets of habitat development viz. elements of housing policy and finance, infrastructure and technology, design and project formulation, real estate and housing markets, disaster mitigation and management and legislation. The Program was started in 1958 on the recommendations of the United Nations, and has since been updated several times to keep abreast with latest developments in habitat studies. The ITPI and other institutions around the world have recognized the Program for their membership.
Housing is an area of special emphasis in India. The National Housing Policy, setting up of NHB, HUDCO, HDFC, the emphasis of the UNCHS, World Bank, and USAID, as well as entry of major public and private corporations and multinational companies are some of its manifestations.
The main objective of this Program is to impart necessary skills and understanding to the students for participation in the real world practices in this multi-disciplinary field with local and central urban authorities, housing finance companies, private and public sector organizations, as well as research institutions and consultancy firms. Graduates from this Program have continually secured employment in national and international agencies.
Program contents are designed to cover international perspectives on housing development, national housing policies and Programs, housing finance, housing design, building materials and technology, housing project formulation, housing development and construction industry, real estate planning, design and development, non-formal housing development and slums, and housing for disaster affected areas.

Theater and Exhibition Designer

An Exhibition Designer is a professional who creates fixtures and display stands for events such as large public exhibitions, conferences, trade shows and temporary displays for business, museums, libraries and galleries.
An exhibition designer's work can include:
  • presenting their ideas as sketches, scale plans, computer-generated visuals and models
  • discussing their ideas with clients
  • producing final specifications
  • in smaller companies, overseeing the construction of the components (usually in workshops) and assembly and installation at the exhibition venue
  • handling orders for supplies
  • liaising with technical specialists such as lighting staff
  • understanding and interpreting the correct materials and costs involved in constructing the design
  • creating large format artwork for backdrops and stand components
  • designing vector based artwork for portable displays such as popup stands

Set / Scenic Designer – Films or Museums

A Set / Scenic designer looks at the details searching for evidence through research to produce conceptual ideas that’s best toward supporting the content and values with visual elements. The subject of, “How do we generate creative ideas?” is a very legitimate question. The most consuming part of expanding our horizons toward scenic concepts is much more than witnessing creativity, and creative people. It starts with us opening our mind to the possibilities. To have an attitude toward learning, seeking, and engaging in creativity and to be willing to be adventurous, inquisitive and curious. Our imagination is highly visual. Whether outside or inside, colorful trees or concerts, star lit skies or the architecture of a great building, scenic design is a process of discovery. Discovering what will best clarify and support the story being told.
The scenic designer works with the director and other designers to establish an overall visual concept for the production and design the stage environment. They are responsible for developing a complete set of design drawings that include the following:
  • basic ground plan showing all stationary scenic elements
  • composite ground plan showing all moving scenic elements, indicating both their onstage and storage positions
  • section of the stage space incorporating all elements
  • Front elevations of every scenic element, and additional elevations or sections of units as required.
  • All of these required drawing elements can be easily created from one accurate 3-D CAD model of the set design.