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Landscaping features and places to hang out mark the CCA.

Laptops are allowed in the studio and the students can choose their mode of designing. The students have also been given the option of arranging their studios themselves. Studios are shared by students of two batches, resulting in a better interface.

The philosophy of the school is to increase a student’s sensitivity to emotional, spiritual, cultural and aesthetic dimensions. It combines instruction with experimentation, information with enquiry, discussion with research, so as to develop learning and deepen understanding.

To raise the pedestal of the school, each year end the student’s feedback is sought through an anonymous format which is collated and discussed in the concerned committees. With an updated website through which the submissions schedule can also be accessed, this college qualifies as one of India’s star attractions.

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CCA (http://cca.nic.in/)
Built in 1961, this campus was set up as a part of the great ‘Chandigarh Experiment’ to impart education in architecture. The college, designed by Le Corbusier, is special as it was the only institution which began with a unique philosophy called the ‘Le Corbusier’s School of Thought’.

The homage to the modular system of proportions on the front facade, flowing corridors doubling up as art spaces, extensive studios with enough light filtering in, the courtyard, an imposing skyline, exclusive landscaping features created by the students, places to hang out, one of the best libraries in the country are some highlights of the college.

The college boasts of a unique material museum which houses samples of building materials, architectural products, structural system models, various kinds of trusses, joinery details, metal doors and windows, etc., for ready reference and for use in the college as teaching aids.

Academically, the college conducts a five-year undergraduate degree in architecture. A number of consultancy projects, site visits, educational trips to different cities, presentations by eminent people in the field are the USP of CCA.

The students feel that the amount of freedom in the curriculum helps them grow. An upcoming field, architectural journalism was also offered here as an elective, something exclusive to this college.

The recent placements have given a positive spirit to the college. The popular annual fest of the college, Archo, with its numerous competitions in the fields of art, architecture, culture and sports, give the right impetus to students.

But the final year students feel that with the senior faculty gone, there is a dearth of good faculty who are ready to interact. What the students miss is an education system that allows students to display the process of design and not concentrate on the final product alone.

They also seem quite miffed by the ‘test series’ every month, which reminds them of a school, and feel that the vivas of any semester should be open to all.