Avani Institute of Design conducted its first mid-semester exhibition for their first-year students on February 22nd, 2023, with the theme “Dhi” – Reflection. The students from the foundation studio displayed projects they completed as part of the programme. It included exercises in ink, pencil, and color. It also included perception drawings and film analysis.
The Foundation studio is titled “Thinking hands and performing body”. Professor Neelkanth Chhaya, Ar. Tony Joseph, and Dr. Soumini Raja made up the review panel. The Foundation Studio is directed by Ar. Niranjan C Warrier, accompanied by Ar. Sebastian Joseph, Ar. Anjali Sujat, Artist Anto George, Ar. Anupama V J, Ar. William George, Ar. Pavitra Nelson and Ar. Kailas Unnikrishnan.
The exhibition displayed all of the works created as a part of the interdisciplinary studio education programme from 2022 to 2023, illuminating its framework, ideas, methods, and final products. It offered a singular chance to explore architecture from the viewpoint of first-year studio students. The exhibition served as proof of the studio’s emphasis on learning through exploration in its instruction.
The exhibition is a testament to the studio’s teaching methodology that emphasizes learning through discovery. “Spontaneous knowing-in-action yields unexpected outcomes, and we react to the surprise by a kind of thinking what we are doing while we are doing it”, Schön’s principle of “reflection in action” has been a guiding force for the students throughout the course, helping them to produce unexpected outcomes that have fueled their creativity and problem-solving skills.
“We have learned important lessons about making, crafting, materiality, and collectives all of which intersect across studio domains through the varied and experimental projects presented in “Dhi”. We were exposed to various methods that create connections between the humanities and the arts. This helped us visualize concepts, combine different media to represent ideas, and help us understand the importance of light in space and how we perceive it, which is strictly related to the effects of time,” said Ar. Tony Joseph Chairman and Principal, Avani Institute Of Design.
The “Dhi” exhibition presented a wonderful chance to get acquainted with the field of architecture and appreciate the creativity of first-year studio students. In order to demonstrate how teamwork and collective effort have contributed to the success of the projects on display, Avani emphasized the collaborative nature of the studio education experience.