School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi (SPA New Delhi) is a premier higher education federal institute located in New Delhi, India specializing in education and research, and serving as the national center of excellence, in the fields of planning and architecture. It was established by the Government of India with the objective of providing quality Architecture and physical planning education. The institute primarily offer undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and executive education programs. It forms part of the league with other two SPAs, namely SPA Bhopal and SPA Vijayawada.

School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi
योजना तथा वास्तुकला विद्यालय, दिल्ली
Other name
SPAD
Former name
Department of Architecture, Delhi Polytechnic 1941-1959
TypePublic
Established1941 (1941)
Academic affiliation
Institute of National Importance
ChairpersonDr. Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'
DirectorProf. Dr. P.S.N. Rao[1]
Students1,189
Undergraduates717
Postgraduates428
44
Location
New Delhi
,
110002
,
India
NicknameSPAnion
AffiliationsNational Association of Students of Architecture, NOSPlan
Websitewww.spa.ac.in
Planning block of School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

Each SPA is autonomous and exercises independent control over its day-to-day operations. However, the administration of all SPAs and the overall strategy of SPAs is overseen by the SPA council. The SPA Council is headed by India's Minister of Human Resource Development and consists of the chairpersons and directors of all SPAs and senior officials from the MHRD.

History[2]

The beginning of the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi date back to the year 1941, as a Department of Architecture of the Delhi Polytechnic of Delhi University (now Delhi Technological University). In 1959 it was merged with the School of Town and Country Planning (established in 1955 by the Government of India), renamed to its current name and affiliated to the University of Delhi.[3] In 1979, recognizing its national and international eminence, the institute was granted Deemed University status.[4] In 2008, Government of India established two more SPAs, namely SPA Bhopal and SPA Vijaywada. In 2014, Lok Sabha passed a bill to make all the three SPAs "centre of excellence" on the pattern of IITs and IIMs. It was named an "Institution of National Importance" under the SPA Act 2014.

Campus[5]

The current SPA New Delhi campus is split in two blocks one each for Planning and Architecture. Both these blocks are housed near ITO in Indraprastha Estate in New Delhi. The girls hostel is located in the ITO campus itself and the boys hostel and residential campus is located in New Friends Colony, Maharani Bagh, Delhi.

As of July 2013 the final plans for the new campus in Vasant Kunj has been finalised.

Academics[6]

The School offers planning, architecture and design courses both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Admission to undergraduate programs in all SPAs is tied to the Entrance Examination, popularly known as JEE. Candidates who qualify admission via Joint Entrance Examination can apply for admission in B.Arch. (Bachelor of Architecture) and B.Plan. (Bachelor of Planning) courses in SPAs. Admission to most postgraduate courses in SPAs is granted through various interviews and Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering.

While the Bachelor of Architecture course is one of the oldest in the country, highly successful Bachelor of Planning course was started in 1989. Besides, the school offers 10 postgraduate programmes along with the doctoral programmes run by all the departments of studies. Total strength of the students in session 2015-2016 was 1,189 of which 717 were undergraduate students and 428 were post graduates. Presently 44 students are pursuing Ph.D. programme in the School.[7]

Open Amphitheatre at Architecture Block

The Director of the School is assisted by 5 Deans as follows :

Dean - Academics Dean - Research Dean - Student Affairs Dean - Faculty Welfare Dean - Planning and Development

The various Departments in the School are as follows :

Department of Architecture

Department of Urban Planning

Department of Housing

B.Arch Studio Classroom

Department of Transport Planning

Department of Landscape Architecture

Department of Urban Design

Department of Environmental Planning

Department of Physical Planning

Department of Regional Planning

Department of Architectural Conservation

Department of Industrial Design

Department of Building Engineering and Management

Each department of studies has a Departmental Research Committee and Head of the Department of Studies is its chairperson. Academic policy is decentralized to the extent that each department of studies has an Advisory Committee, which makes proposals on department related academic matters. Chairperson of the Board of Studies is Head of the Department.

Student halls of residence
SPA Boys Hostel at Maharani Bagh Campus
Entrance to the SPA Boys Wing

The SPA was one of the first institutions to have mixed hostels for girls and boys, but this was closed in 1993, despite student protests. There are two hostels for students. The planning block of the institution offers residence to girls. The hostel complex in Taimoor Nagar is designed for both boys and girls.

Recognition

SPA New Delhi has a special status as "Institutes of National Importance" under an act of Parliament,[8] due to which the degrees provided by SPA need not be recognized by the AICTE.[9] The JEE and GATE are important factor behind the success of SPA, as it enables the SPA to accept only a select group of meritorious students. This combination of success factors has led to the concept of the SPA Brand. Other factors that have contributed to the success of SPA are stringent faculty recruitment procedures and industry collaboration. The procedure for selection of faculty in SPA is stricter as compared to other colleges offering similar degrees.

Educational rankings

Nationwide, SPA New Delhi is consistently ranked above any other colleges with similar academic offerings. Worldwide, SPA New Delhi is ranked 7th in Asia for architecture.[10] and is also ranked as one of the top 10 graduate planning education institute in the world along with MIT, UCL and others.[11] It is now an established brand name for excellence in planning and architecture education. Within seventy four years of its existence, the School has established a reputation as the nation’s leading institution for imparting professional education in town and country planning,architecture and design.

Notable alumni

See also

References
  1. "Administration:School of Planning and Architecture". spa.ac.in. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  2. "History of the School:School of Planning and Architecture". spa.ac.in. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  3. "About SPA >> About SPA". spa.ac.in. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  4. List of Deemed universities, as of 2008 University Grants Commission
  5. "Campus Location:School of Planning and Architecture". spa.ac.in. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  6. "Courses Offered:School of Planning and Architecture". spa.ac.in. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  7. "Annual report 2015-16" (PDF).
  9. Welcome To AICTE
  10. "The World's Best Architecture Schools". Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  11. http://www.ubmfuturecities.com/author.asp?section_id=234&doc_id=525996
  12. SPA, New Delhi telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  13. "Indian Express News".
  14. Capitally Curious indianexpress.com. Retrieved 16 November 2012
  15. In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones (1989) anupamachopra.com.Originally published in the Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 16 November 2012

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