1. Chhaya's Architectural Process

And this Chhaya calls it as a kind of the architectural process of the world, the process of ordering time, space and forms, this process is called panchi karan and becoming the world’s where the man is a micro reflex of the universal totality at all the existence levels of idea, process and medium of macro-level universe, so it starts with I and how your responsibility goes back to a much more macro level is very important.

Chhaya describes an architectural process that encompasses much more than just buildings. It's about how we order our experiences of time, space, and forms in the universe. The term 'panchi karan' refers to the idea that each person's existence, or 'I', is a reflection of the totality of the universe. This means our individual actions and responsibilities have larger implications in the fabric of the world around us. Understanding this interconnectedness helps us appreciate the broader impact of our roles in life.

Think of a small pond in a vast forest. Each ripple created by a stone thrown into the pond not only affects the water in the immediate area but also the animals that drink from it, the plants that grow around it, and even the larger ecosystem of the forest. Similarly, our actions, starting from a personal level, can influence much larger structures and systems in the world.

And that is where your roles you know, how this I, myself and me and how your roles reflex the body and mind, how your relationships and how as your role plays like an explorer as an observer, how it keeps interchanging with it and how the attributes you know so, this whole thing is a very theoretical concepts, though I am not going in-depth of it but at least one has to understand that the God’s universe is complete only with man without him, it is incomplete.

In architecture, our identities ('I', 'myself', 'me') shape our roles both as individuals and as part of a community. These roles are constantly shifting as we observe and interact with the world. The idea here is that each person contributes vital attributes to the universe, which would be incomplete without human involvement. This requires us to reflect on our relationships and responsibilities towards our environment and society.

Imagine a team of musicians in an orchestra. Each musician plays a different instrument, and without any one of them, the music would be incomplete. Just like in the orchestral setting, our roles in architecture and life blend and create a harmony that shapes the overall experience of existence.

So, in an education process, there are 3 things; one is the cognitive aspects and the psychomotor aspects and the affective aspects. So, cognitive is talking about the mental capacities which talks about the skills and the knowledge which you learn through the brain and whereas a psychomotor, how you learn through the hand and effective which you learn which goes into your heart you know which had some value of your education.

Architectural education encompasses three key aspects: cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. The cognitive aspect involves the mental processes of learning architectural knowledge and skills. Psychomotor involves hands-on skills, like drawing or model-making, while affective refers to the emotional understanding and values that tie learning to one’s personal and professional ethics. A well-rounded architectural education needs to integrate all these elements for true understanding and skill.

Think about learning to ride a bicycle. You start with cognitive aspects—learning the theory of balance and mechanics. Then, you practice (psychomotor) by physically learning to balance on the bike. Finally, the joy and sense of freedom you feel when you ride is the affective aspect of that experience. All these elements combine to make you a skilled rider.

A lot of taxonomies which has been developed; Bloom's taxonomy is one of it, Blooms have developed 1956, where there is a lower order to higher order, the evaluation was on a peak but in 2002, he brought the synthesis and then the creation into the top in the summit.

Bloom's Taxonomy outlines various levels of understanding and learning in education. Initially, it ranged from lower to higher orders of thinking, with evaluation as the peak. In its revision, synthesis and creation were elevated as top levels, indicating that true understanding and capability involve creating new ideas based on knowledge. This reflects the modern emphasis on creative thinking in education, especially in fields like architecture.

Consider cooking a meal. At first, you learn basic cooking techniques (lower-order thinking). As you improve, you start assembling these techniques into dishes (synthesis), and eventually, you create your own recipes by combining flavors in innovative ways (creation). The process shows how learning deepens and expands into creative and complex thinking.

And now, in the present generation of architecture, we are talking about not only the digital forms because of various fabricated models, where technology has been advanced and also we are looking at the digital processes as well.

Today's architectural education heavily incorporates digital technology and processes thanks to advancements in fabrication and design models. While digital tools offer students new ways to visualize and create architectural structures, there is a concern that reliance on these methods may detract from understanding the physical realities of architecture. Challenges arise when students favor digital solutions over hands-on, experiential learning.

Imagine learning how to play a sport with virtual reality instead of actually practicing on the field. While VR can be helpful in some ways, it cannot replicate the real-world challenges of teamwork and physical presence that come with playing in an actual game. Similarly, an over-focus on digital tools in architecture might lead to a lack of understanding of real-world scenarios.

But in this process, what we are missing is the ground realities, in fact, there are many models like CAD simulation model, like this is one of my students work where they try to simulate the lighting aspects and as well as you know the climatic aspects of it.

There’s a critical gap in understanding the real-world implications of architectural designs despite advancements in tools like CAD simulations. Students can visualize aspects, such as lighting and climate effects, but this often does not give them a complete experience of the real-world context where the architecture will be placed. It highlights the need for practical experiences that ground theoretical learning.

Think of a scientist conducting experiments in a lab without ever considering how those results apply to the natural world. If the scientist only studied theories and simulations, they might not understand how the scientific principles work in practice. This shows the difference between theoretical knowledge and real-world application.

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