Architecture and Planning

Architecture is the design of buildings and the spaces between them, and planning is the same discipline at the scale of neighbourhoods, cities and regions. It sits between art, engineering and law — a building has to be beautiful, has to stand up, and has to comply.

How you get in. A five-year B.Arch after Class 12 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, through NATA or JEE Main Paper 2, at a college approved by the Council of Architecture. Approval matters absolutely here: only a degree from a COA-approved institution allows registration, and without registration you cannot call yourself an architect or sign drawings. Planning is entered through a B.Plan, or an M.Plan after architecture, civil engineering or geography.

Where the work is. Architectural practices, from two-person studios to large firms; real estate developers and construction companies; government bodies such as CPWD, urban development authorities and municipal planning departments; interior design and fit-out; architectural visualisation, which has become a substantial specialisation of its own; conservation and heritage work; and independent practice, which is where a large share of architects eventually land.

The honest part, and it is about time and money. This is a five-year degree followed by mandatory practical training and registration, and the early years in practice pay poorly relative to that investment — often less than a three-year engineering graduate earns, for longer hours. Site work, revisions and client changes fill more of the job than design does. It is a genuinely rewarding profession for people who want to make buildings, and it asks for patience that nobody warns students about at seventeen. Verify COA approval before you pay a rupee in fees, and expect the first professional decade to be a slow build rather than a fast one.