Why Architecture?

Why should I do Architecture? Ironically, I found the answer in a question paper. Here’s my story.

It was the summer of 2018, when I just graduated from school and like most of my peers, I was on a quest to find the perfect path to build my career, with an unfettered and open mind. Of all the entrance exams I appeared for, it was only the JEE part 2 (architecture) entrance exam that triggered a spark through the nature of it’s questions. Question after question, I found myself enjoying this exam and by the end of the three hour exam, I knew that this what I was looking for. Though I qualified in JEE Main and the medical entrance (NEET), by then there was no second thought to pursuing my Bachelors in Architecture. My JEE part 2 rank was around 7000 out of 1.5 lakh aspirants who appeared for this exam. This was where I stood without any serious preparation for the entrance exam, and this gave me all the confidence that I needed then to pursue architecture.

My childhood doodles to every creative activity that got me awards and recognition, helped me realise that I possessed creative skills. But my constant exposure to a digitally transforming world, involving AI, robotics, Internet of Things, etc. led me to believe that all my creativity should be channelled solely towards innovation and product development in order to align with the growing startup culture. But here I am, on a career path that is fundamentally built on creativity.

Over the last 4 years of my education, I’ve been introduced to design methodologies, innovation in structural and building materials, conservation of architectural heritage and many other aspects of the field. But moving forward, urban design is what I’ve grown to like and wish to specialise in. As I stay updated with the latest trends in urban design, I’ve come to realise that it is evolving into an interdisciplinary field bringing together computer vision, natural language processing, big data analytics and cloud based technologies in designing the cities of tomorrow.