Extraordinary Study Abroad in India
The eight students who went on NYSID’s recent Study Abroad trip to India, from December 28, 2023, to January 13, 2024, are still processing all they experienced. Consciously and unconsciously, they are beginning to integrate what they learned into their design work.
Awe was what MFA1 student David Becerra felt when he and his NYSID study-abroad group peered down into Chand Baori, a stepwell situated in the village of Abhaneri, in the state of Rajasthan. A masterpiece of geometry constructed in the 8th century, the well descends more than 100 feet into the ground, creating access to water in the arid climate of Rajasthan. “The well was a gathering place, where people could come for rituals and daily activities,” says Becerra. “This step well encapsulated so much of what I learned about Indian culture on the trip. It speaks to sustainable design, ingenuity in the face of climate extremes, and conservation of a resource. It speaks to beauty. And it speaks to the importance of community in India.”
The students on this extraordinary journey were Beth Diana Smith, Catriona Howard, Charrli Genovese, Silvia Paez Santos, Obiageli Ukatu, Grace Dowd, Nour Saedeldine, and David Becerra. The two and half-week course to destinations in and around New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Udaipur, and Mumbai was co-taught by Seema Lisa Pandya, an accomplished sustainability consultant and a multidisciplinary artist who teaches NYSID’s Introduction to Sustainable Design course, and her uncle, Yatin Pandya, an influential Indian architect, sustainability expert, and decorated professor of architecture at CEPT University at Ahmedabad. Mr. Pandya studied under B.V. Doshi, arguably the most renowned Indian modernist architect. He was the Associate Director at Doshi’s Vastu Shilpa Foundation for Studies and Research in Environmental Design for 24 years before establishing his own firm, Footprints EARTH. Says NYSID MFA1 student David Becerra, “I began to understand how well-known Yatin is when we were walking on the street in Ahmedabad and a group of architecture students approached, excited to meet him.” Mr. Pandya had a hand in designing some of the iconic structures the group went to see.
NYSID Dean and VP for Academic Affairs Ellen Fisher, Associate Dean Daniel Harper, and Coordinator for Blended and Online Learning Freya Van Saun also accompanied the group on the trip.
Rare Access
Yatin Pandya, who has worked all over India and abroad, was able to provide incredible access to the design industry. The students were particularly intrigued by a visit to a furniture showroom and factory called AKFD in Ahmedabad, where the principal designer, Ayush Kasliwal, partners with artisans and craftspeople to create contemporary homegoods. Says Howard, “We met the owner in the evening, after the store was closed, and he opened it for us. He told each of us to pick up an item we liked, and then he explained, in detail, the design intent behind it. He connected each object to the craft, history, and tradition of the artisan who made it. I picked a candelabra, and he showed us that if you look at it from above, you can see it’s one of the astrological star signs.”
The group visited Amdavad ni Gufa, an underground art gallery in Ahmedabad that exhibits the work of the Indian artist Maqbool Fida Husain. Seema Lisa Pandya describes the structure as “a modernist underground cave,” with multiple interconnected bubbles covered by a mosaic of tiles at the ground level and portals to let the light in. The chief designer of the iconic building was B.V. Doshi, so Yatin Pandya was part of the team that imagined and executed the wild, biophilic, and groundbreaking building before it opened in 1994. He was able to give the students first-person insights into the design history. Says Seema Lisa Pandya, who remembers seeing original sketches for the building on one of her visits to India as a teenager, “It’s modern yet also feels like an ancient cave, or an earth ship. It’s so different from the traditional architecture of India I had previously encountered. When my uncle first showed it to me, it made me think of India in a totally different light.”
Sustainable Solutions in Ancient Traditions
“The lessons about sustainability were so integrated into the experience,” says Seema Lisa Pandya. “Older structures in India are not hermetically sealed in response to the environment. We looked at many examples of passive design: space planning in accordance with the movement of the sun, optimizing natural ventilation, self-shading buildings that have multiple heights so that shade will fall on certain portions in the hottest parts of the day, and more. The aesthetics of these buildings function to meet the comfort needs of the users in response to the environment.”
Seema Pandya pointed to an ancient design solution that is a perfect example of passive design, and ingenuity in the face of climate extremes. The group visited Sarkhej Roza, an ancient mosque and Sufi tomb complex in the state of Gujarat. Says Seema Pandya, “The Western side of the building had jalis, intricate designs punched into a stone wall. This has a purpose. The breeze comes from the West. The builders wanted that breeze, but they didn’t want the heat of the setting sun. Jalis create an amazing mosaic pattern blocking the sun, but letting the breeze in. These are the sorts of details I bring back into my Introduction to Sustainability course at NYSID.”
“Many people in India live without air conditioning,” says Howard, a BFA senior. “I learned about designing around where the sun is going to rise and set, and how to use the heat of the day and cooling of the night . . .Four walls and a door can shut you in. Homes that are open to the outside are open to nature and also, community. I’m taking this concept into my thesis, which will be located in Africa.”
Study Abroad Grants Change Lives and Create Equity
The journeys of BFA student Catriona Howard and MFA1 student David Becerra were made possible by Anne K. Duffy Grants for Non-Western Study Abroad. The Duffy family donated a million dollars to NYSID this year, establishing a fund in memory of NYSID alumna Anne K. Duffy, to ensure that students with financial need would have access to study abroad opportunities, particularly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Says Mackenzie Carr, NYSID’s Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, “At NYSID, we believe studying abroad is an essential part of the academic experience for designers. That means it should not be a privilege, for only those who can afford it; rather it should be available to students of varying backgrounds and economic realities.”
Says David Beccara, “I thought this kind of experience was not possible for me on a student budget. It was amazing and I am so grateful for this opportunity. I will take what I learned into my studies, and into the rest of my life!”
Adds Catriona Howard, “Nothing can compare to standing inside Le Corbusier Mill Owner’s Association Building or outside the Taj Mahal. I got almost teary at those places. I want to say thank you to the Duffy family, and everyone else who has funded the study abroad grants. They have provided me with an education like none other.”
NYSID is expanding its travel study opportunities, with three trips this Spring, including a trip to Mexico that is already completely full. (Several students on that trip will be Duffy grant recipients). Next year NYSID will offer a Study Abroad course in another region of India. NYSID also offers a semester-long study abroad program in Florence, Italy. If you are interested in inquiring about study abroad and study abroad grants, contact Associate Dean Daniel Harper: Daniel.Harper@nysid.edu.
If you are a company or individual interested in giving to the study abroad fund, please contact giving@nysid.edu.