Pune: SMEF’s Brick School of Architecture bagged three prestigious awards as a part of the MASA Convention 2021- ‘SHOWCASE-2021’- A Students work exhibition and Competition.
Maharashtra Association of Schools of Architecture (MASA) is an organization that was established to stimulate learning and catalyze the betterment of pedagogical processes in Architecture. MASA holds an annual convention every year and the MASA Best Teachers’ Award is the highlight of this convention. This award was initiated since 2007, to showcase appreciation and encouragement to the contribution of Teachers and extend a platform for sharing their innovative experiments and experiences in Architectural Education.
Among the 3 awards won by SMEF’s Brick School of Architecture, two were in ‘Best Teachers’ Awards’ category. The first, the Best Teacher Award winner 2021 for E-Content Creation, was bestowed upon Ar. Sudhir Deshpande. This award was an addition to the convention in the online learning context and the need for creating immersive content in the online medium.
Prof. Deshpande created demonstrative videos, layout drawings and very detailed graphical content for various technical subjects as E content. The expertise, innovation and attention to detail that he brought to the content made him the clear winner in this category.
The second award- MASA – Best Teacher Award winner 2021 for Technology, was presented to Ar. Shraddha Mahore Manjrekar. Prof. Manjrekar brought innovation to make Technology subjects (Building Services and Surveying and Leveling) interesting. Her classes were not just restricted to the four walls of the studio but were also conducted outside, on site. Students were also contextually updated with current trends in building materials and technological applications as practiced by professionals.
The third award was a part of the Online Exhibition that showcased select, best student output from the entire spectrum of work, of Colleges across Maharashtra, for the Academic year 2020-21. The exhibition was divided into three categories– Design, Technology and Allied. In each category there were top two positions to grab. SMEF’s Brick School of Architecture won FIRST POSITION IN MASA STUDENTS WORK SHOWCASE FOR TECHNOLOGY LAB.
The Core team of the Technology Lab at Brick comprises- Ar. Manali Deshmukh, Er. Hemant Joshi, Ar. Abhang Kambale, Ar. Sudhir Deshpande, Ar. Anurakti Yadav, Ar. Jaya Deshmukh, Ar. Anuradha Wanaskar, Er. Gurudatta Ingale, Ar. Nupur Rugvedi, Ar. Kanchan Shinde. Visiting Faculty – Ar. Swati Vaidya, Ar. Sumedh Gete, Ar. Rajdatta, and Ar. Bhavna Gaikwad.
The Pedagogy followed by the Technology lab at Brick is that the Institute believes in instilling learning of basic principles & theories of construction, developing the ability to research, innovate and adapt to the ongoing technological changes at the global level. There is also an emphasis on understanding the appropriate structural systems for sustainable construction contextual to the needs of the environment alongside requirements of comfort, function and aesthetics.
MASA Best Teacher Award 2019 for Architectural Design was awarded to Ar. Divya Mallavarapu. She has been a part of Brick since 2014 and a part of the Second year design studio since 2016. Through these years, she has explored how students assimilate the design process and have tried to make the process simpler and enjoyable. The design process was split into smaller segments that focused ranging from context, climate, history, geometry, user type etc. They introduced principles and elements of design through basic design exercises like while connecting to past knowledge and the students presented their work through documentaries, videos and skits. They also helped ease the design process, made it fun and contributed to the final Design outcome.
The MASA Convention provides a wonderful opportunity to recalibrate the best pedagogical practices in Architecture. It motivates Institutes, Teachers and students to continue exploring and innovating fresh and contextual perspectives in the Teaching- Learning journey.
