The year of 2021, while challenging, also marked several truly special milestones for our practice. We completed our design-build project in Goa, House with Three Pavilions, our countryside house Navovado won a platinum certification from the Indian Green Building Council, we watched our design for a lovely Lake House take physical shape in the picturesque Western Ghats. As a studio, our team has grown and we have been able to share our knowledge in sustainability through a series of Instagram lives and magazine columns with a diverse range of industry experts. As we begin a new year with a clean slate, looking back at the milestones from the year past, our #topnine2021 ! Giving gratitude for all that has been and here's to a wonderful and prosperous 2022!⠀

In this IG Live session, we speak to Monish Siripurapu, Founder of Ant Studio in Delhi, India. Studio Ant works at the intersection of art, nature, and technology. Through their research and development wing Coolant they have made strides in building sustainable innovations through their all natural air cooling products. In this conversation, we discuss the science and method behind building this cooling system. We understand the system of Evaporative Cooling and the opportunities it presents in different contexts. We also speak about the process of research behind building this product and explore the nuances of parametric design. Tune in to watch our entire conversation.

Goa has a number of good schools that offer an enriching and inclusive academic environment to the students. In this blog post, we have put together a list of some of the most renowned schools in the state for parents who will soon be moving to Goa or are looking at the viability of living in Goa. The list covers a broad spectrum of top schools affiliated with various boards with a focus on holistic learning environments. The following schools are popular for balancing classroom education with experiences and practical application.

Paradise School in Goa

Sharada Mandir School

Founded in 1966, Sharada Mandir School was set up as the first school in Goa affiliated to The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (ICSE).

Sharada Mandir School, Panjim

The institution is made up of five separate sections: Elementary, Junior, Middle, Secondary and Higher Secondary. The school has around 2400 students and 130 faculty members with a low student-faculty ratio to ensures small classes with great interaction. The Sharada Mandir School Campus is green and beautiful, spread over an area of approxiamtely 15,000 sq.mts. It is located opposite the Miramar beach which makes for a serene and idyllic ambience.

The Ardee School

The Ardee School Goa is located in Sangolda. Established in 2008, the school offers the International Cambridge Curriculum and the National Curriculum of England and Wales at Key Stage 2 and 3 and offers the IGCSE at Year 10.

The Ardee School, Sangolda

The campus is split into 2 major blocks - the Junior and Senior School, in close proximity of each other. The school is designed in a heritage building with an open layout. It is built to provide a setting for the child to perceive the world through spatial dimensions, shapes and textures.

Sunshine Worldwide School

Sunshine Worldwide School, founded in June 2003, was one of the first CBSE schools with IB learning methodologies in Goa. Motivated to build a safe and creative learning space for children, the late Mrs. Swaran Khaitan, along with her son Deepak and daughter-in-law Sapna Khaitan brought this school to life.

The school is located in Goa Velha, sprawled over a 9000 sqm plot with a dedicated 2600 sqm playground. The campus is replete with facilities that include a well-stocked library, PC tablet laboratory, IT laboratory among others to promote research and activity based learning among the students

The Gera School

The Gera School was established in 1970. It is a Co-ed school affiliated to Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE).

The school is located in Panjim, Goa and is known as one of the best international schools in the city. The curriculum offers a blend of academics, arts, music, sports and life-skills training in areas such as Entreupreneurship, Communication, and Project Management to ensure holistic education.

Paradise School

Paradise School in Goa is for 6 to 18 year old children who wish to follow the Cambridge International Examinations Board. The school offers personalised learning programs and was accredited in 2017.

The school is situated in Aldona, in a 400 year old beautifully renovated Indo-Portuguese mansion, with large classrooms, big communal work areas, a generous dining room area and outside patio, set in an acre of land with an expansive swimming pool.

Manovikas School

Established in the year 1968, Manovikas School is among the most prestigious schools in Goa. The school has a ‘no exam policy’, with a Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation until standard 7.

In the past 50 years, the school has grown from a single class in a rented house with only two teachers to over 1,600 students, 93 teaching staff, 34 support staff and a sprawling campus measuring 35,000 sqm.

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This past month, amidst anxieties surrounding a sudden drastic change in our realities, I hosted an Instagram live session, especially for architecture students and professionals. We have been receiving a larger than normal volume of job applications and we see this as a sign that the younger architecture community is anxious about their future. It is clear that the construction industry is going to slow down and the availability of labor and material will be in shorter supply. This will directly impact our architecture community, especially the younger architects who were looking to begin their careers at this time. This was our way to communicate with some answers based on our experience.

We directly addressed some questions that had been sent to us beforehand. Some of the questions addressed by us were:

1. What advice would you give a recently graduated architect or designer?

2. What is the relevance of green architecture in India, and what are your thoughts on green architecture in general?

3. Which software would you recommend architects be familiar with?

4. Any advice for designers starting out now, in the midst of COVID?

5. What are somethings you do to keep yourself motivated and productive whilst being in quarantine?

Part 1 of 7:

The session started with a self-introduction, a bit about my educational background and experiences.

Sustainability has always been an intrinsic consideration in my practice, and I decided to discuss this in the following segment.

We dived into discussing the impact of COVID on our world and our industry, considering ways in which we had to adapt moving forward.

This is followed by suggestions based on how I’ve been keeping productive despite having to stay indoors as part of quarantine measures.

This segment highlights job opportunities for students.

I have also compiled a comprehensive list of free and accessible resources for students or professionals who are taking this time to upskill.

We end of this session by considering ways in which our industry as a whole would permanently change as a result of the crisis.

I hope these videos have been useful for you. If you have any lingering questions, do leave them in the comments section.

Below is also a list of free(ish) online resources for architecture students and young professionals that are online and can be used to upskill during this time:

1. ARCH20

2. LYNDA

3. SKILLSHARE

4. COURSERA

5. EDX

6. MIT OPENCOURSEWARE

7. DOMESTIKA

8. ARCHITECTURECHAT

9. MASTERCLASS

Signing off,

Anjali