Bachelor of Architecture
The five years long Bachelor of Architecture programme was launched in July 2014 with two faculty members and 14 students. Today the programme has increased to 7 faculty members; 3 female and 4 male and 95 students with 53 male and 42 female. The programme is supported by other departments of the college and external experts from the relevant field to carry out the module delivery.
Unlike other programmes, most of the modules are CA-based where the final projects of modules are assessed by external experts and relevant faculty within the college to ensure the quality of the teaching-learning process. Moreover, to experience the real-field practice, students are taken for a week-long study tour to different parts of the country to experience the sense of place and document it besides carrying out daylong study tour within the locality to do case study and site studies. The six-month-long Internship Programme offered in the fourth year enables our students to execute the planning and designing work independently after they graduate from college.
Beside teaching-learning activities, the programme also carried out works related planning and design of infrastructure for college and outside like designing of RENEW centre in Pekarzhing, Campus extension of CNR, renovation work of SCE and academic and residential design of our college.
Aims and objectives of the Programme.
- To provide excellence in Architectural Education & the design of the built environment.
- To preserve and promote Architecture as an important feature of Bhutanese identity.
- To prepare the student for the professional qualification of an Architect or for subsequent higher education.
- To develop skills in critical thinking, discussions, presentation and teamwork through seminar presentations, case studies, study tours, writings and studio activities.
The Architecture graduates, after their completion of programme should register with Bhutan Institute of Architect (BIA) & Construction Development Board which entitles a person to practice the profession as a registered Architect in Bhutan.
The Curriculum structure for the five year (ten semesters) programme is designed for a vigorous and interdisciplinary approach to professional education which are:
- Design oriented.
- Practical internships.
- Sustainable Technologies.
- Local and Global needs.
- Proper placement of modules with consideration to pre requisite and co-requisites modules.
- Concept of specialization
The Programme comprises of thirteen broad areas: Science and Humanities, Architectural Design, Architectural Graphics, Building Material and Construction, Theory of Structure, Professional training, Building Science and Services, Theory of Design, Building Management, History of Architecture, Computer Application and Electives.
Architectural Design is the central discipline of the programme. The Design studio is the area where the students apply their knowledge and develop design skills while testing out the theories and methods learnt in other modules in the Humanities, Technological and Professional streams. The students will endeavour to acquire an understanding of the determinants of the built form such as social imperatives, environmental concerns and the craft of building.
Architectural Design is seen as a cumulative process where the experience of the previous year is used as a base for increasing the depth and breadth of knowledge and development skills in the following year. The range of design problems shall include projects of progressively increasing complexity from a simple rural habitat to multi-use urban mega-structures.
At least one of the design problems in a semester may be a group design exercise wherein students may take up detailed design of a part of a larger problem to produce a consolidated design solution. This will help students to acquire deeper understanding of smaller areas and also promote the collaborative rather than the competitive aspect. Modules in Design, theory will run concurrently with studio modules at every stage, various aspects of the design problem shall be dealt with lectures, group discussions and library research so as to provide the necessary philosophical and attitudinal background to a rational design approach.