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ARCHITECTURE CURRICULUM IN INDIA
Background paper

Prepared by:

USAID ECO-III Project Office
AADI Building
Hauz Khas
New Delhi 110016
India

Draft document

J anuary 17, 2008

ARCHITECTURE CURRICULUM IN INDIA-BACKGROUND PAPER i
Table of Content
1 Preamble ................................................................................................ 2
1.1 Forecasted Future Commercial Buildings Growth.............................................3
1.2 Current Policy and Market Drivers.....................................................................4
1.3 Green Building Rating Systems..........................................................................5
1.3.1 LEED-INDIA......................................................................................................7
1.3.2 TERI-GRIHA......................................................................................................7
2 State of Architectural Education System in India.............................. 8
2.1 State of Architectural Practice in India...............................................................9
3 Architecture Curriculum Survey....................................................... 10
3.1 Survey Results...................................................................................................11
3.1.1 Perceived importance of Environmental Science (ES) and Building Services (BS)
11
3.1.2 Educational background of teaching staff and research....................................11
3.1.3 Existing Environmental Science and Building Services Curriculum...............12
3.1.4 Energy Conservation Building Code................................................................12
3.1.5 Conclusion and suggestions..............................................................................13
4 Architecture Curriculum Enhancement under ECO-III ................ 13
5 Suggested Steps for Becoming World-class Architecture Institutions15
Appendix - A ............................................................................................. 16
Appendix -B............................................................................................... 17
APPENDIX C............................................................................................ 18

Tables and Figures
Table 1 Examples of Green Building Rating Systems around the world...................6
Table 2 Importance of ES and BS................................................................................11

Figure 1 Educational Background of Teaching Staff ................................................12
Figure 2 ECBC Awareness ...........................................................................................13

ARCHITECTURE CURRICULUM IN INDIA-BACKGROUND PAPER 2
Acknowledgements

This background paper on the status of architecture curriculum has been prepared by the International Resources
Group (IRG) under the ECO-III Project. IRG would like to acknowledge the contributions of:

Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency for providing continuous support and
encouragement to the Educational Curriculum Enhancement initiative taken by the USAID supported ECO-
III project.
Alliance to Save Energy and specifically of Ms. Sudha Setty in preparing the many drafts of this document
and for analyzing the results of the architectural curriculum survey.
Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) in doing the background research on
architectural curriculum and in taking the lead in designing the architectural curriculum survey.
Dr. Vasudha Lathey for conducting a thorough review of this paper.
The ECO-III team consisting of Vidhi Kapoor, Ravi Kapoor, and Anurag Bajpai for providing ideas and
working on this document during various iterations.

Most importantly, IRG would like to express its sincere thanks to Dr. Archana Walia, Cognizant
Technical Officer, USAID, for her constant support and guidance and to USAID for its financial
support, which made this document possible.

Satish Kumar
J anuary 17th, 2009 Chief of Party, USAID ECO-III Project

1. Preamble
Over the past decades the world has seen a rapid increase in urbanization. In 1950, less than 30% of the
worlds population lived in cities. This number grew to 47% in the year 2000 (2.8 billion people), and it
is expected to grow to 60% by the year 2025. Urbanization is both an implication, as well as an integral
part of the global economic boom. For example, the construction industry in India directly accounts for
approximately 10% of the countrys GDP and is growing annually at an accelerated rate of 9.2%,
compared to the global average of 5.5%. Although cities contribute considerably to the economic growth
of our country, urban growth and development are also drivers of envirionment degregation trends, that
include global warming, climate change and biodiversity loss due to patterns of sprawling land
consumption.
Cities consume 75% of the worlds energy, and are responsible for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions. The
building heating, cooling and lighting requirements solely account for 30%-40% of primary energy
worldwide. In India, the building sector is currently the third largest consumer of energy, and building
energy use is increasing by over 9% annually, which greatly outpaces the national energy growth rate of
4.3%. This trend has already begun to strain the power sector with energy shortages of over 11.3% in
peak demand and a 7% supply deficit leading to power cuts and rolling blackouts that are endemic in
most cities and towns of the country (CEA 2006).
Due to the sizeable ecological footprints and the energy intensive character of our cities and our building
construction industry, it is imperative that the growth management of cities and building energy use
needs to become centralized in the agenda of sustainability. By reducing building energy consumption,
optimizing energy use in building, the building owners and facility managers can not only aim to reduce
operating costs, but can also contribute to the flight against global warming by lowering greenhouse gas
emissions.
Along with policy and legislative action in favour of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability,
one the ways to address this issue is to train a new generation of building professionals that will be well
equipped to address this enormous challenge. This document highlights the need for reform in the
architecture curriculum in educational institutions in India with an aim to include energy conservation and
sustainable construction as an integral part of the professional training. This initiative is a part of the
Energy Conservation and Commercialization Project III (ECO-III) which is a collaborative effort under
the bilateral agreement between USAID , Ministry of Power in India, International Resources Group
(IRG) and its partners.
This paper is divided into the following sections. Section 1.0 of this paper presents the building growth
scenario in India and the opportunities available for guiding future building construction towards energy
conservation, that include national policy initiatives, ongoing pilot projects for energy efficiency and
green building rating systems available in India. Section 2.0 of this paper presents the current state of
architectural education and practice in India and the need for change in architectural institutions. Section
3.0 presents the results of a survey sent out to all architectural schools in India in order to gain knowledge
of the existing importance of energy & environmental studies in architectural education curriculum in
India. The paper finally ends with summary of on-going initiatives and some recommendations for
improvement of architectural education in India.
1.1 Forecasted Future Commercial Buildings Growth
It is projected that the commercial building sector will grow at 7% annually up to the year 2030 in India.
Currently, India has only 200 million square meters of installed base, and by 2030, it is expected that 869
million square meters of additional space will be constructed. Or in other words, 70% of the construction
of commercial buildings is yet to take place. This enormous building construction boom is underway
amidst a shortfall of qualified professional to supervise building design and construction in India. With

only 4000 architects being certified by the Council of Architecture in India, it is expected that there will
be a growing shortage of architects in proportion to the demand for new commercial buildings in the near
future. This challenge is further compounded by the fact that barely a handful of architecture institutions
have a significant focus on sustainable growth in the construction sector. Thus, without any intervention,
it is likely that the building industry and our urban growth will continue to burden our energy
infrastructure and increase environmental degradation. Notably, 50% of the new construction is taking
place in the public sector, which offers the government a tremendous opportunity to lead by example by
adopting energy-efficient practices.
1.2 Current Policy and Market Drivers
The Government of India has a unique opportunity to lead the energy-efficiency and environmental
movement in India. Given below are some of the policy initiatives that are underway to promote energy
conservation in India.
The Government of India enacted Energy Conservation Act in 2001 (EC Act 2001) to alleviate
concerns over energy security and promote energy conservation through energy efficiency. Since
its establishment under the EC Act 2001, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has been
spearheading energy efficiency activities in the country. BEE released the Energy Conservation
Building Codes (ECBC) in May 2007 as part of a national strategy to ensure that future
construction in the country will meet minimum energy efficiency criteria for commercial
buildings. ECBC applies to all new buildings, including building components that have a
connected load of 500 kW or a contract demand of 600 kVA or greater. It is also applicable to
major renovations/retrofits in existing buildings. Though the implementation of the code is
voluntary at present, it is envisioned to be made mandatory in the near future.
BEE has also instituted the National Energy Conservation Awards in the building sector (under
major categories such as hotels, office buildings, hospitals and shopping centers) to encourage
building owners to pursue energy efficient practices and recognize the efforts of organizations
doing exemplary job. In 2007, Energy Conservation Awards were given to forty-two outstanding
projects selected from 384 nominations received. These units have collectively invested Rs. 2,923
crore (Approx. $59 million) in energy conservation measures, and achieved an annual monetary
savings of Rs. 1843 crore, implying a payback period of 19 months and an avoided thermal
generation capacity of 308 MW.
An initiative was launched by the Prime Minister in August, 2002 for saving 30% of energy
consumption in the government buildings. In order to demonstrate the approach, 9 government
buildings were selected as pilot projects for showcasing the ESCO approach to energy efficiency.
Rastrapathi Bhavan was one of the pilot projects that achieved significant energy savings. The
annual energy consumption of the Rashtrapati Bhavan was 34.1 lakh Kwh and after an energy
audit survey, the BEE found that 23 per cent energy savings is possible every year leading to
annual energy savings of 49.9 lakh. This project showcases the potential for energy efficiency
improvements in buildings that can yield significant financial savings, along with the associated
environmental benefits from avoided energy consumption.
Many national and international organizations have been working within India in partnership with
the Government of India with support of donor agencies and World Bank . For example, under
the Bilateral agreement between USAID and the Ministry of Power in India, IRG with its partners
are working on the Energy Conservation and Commercialization Project III (ECO-III). Bureau of
Energy Efficiency (BEE) and USAID are actively collaborating under ECO-III project to develop
capacity of architects, engineers, and building energy efficiency professionals and architecture
and engineering students to help with implementation of Energy Conservation Building Code

(ECBC). Long-term capacity building goals include developing academic building energy
efficiency courses under a professional advisory group in consultation with selected architecture
and engineering colleges where as short-term capacity building efforts are focused on
professional training workshops, train the trainers, and preparation of unbiased and quality
technical resources (in the public domain) such as Tip Sheets (Envelope Design, Lighting,
HVAC, and Role of Energy Simulation in ECBC compliance and energy-efficiency building
design), ECBC User Manual under the ECO-III project.
1.3 Green Building Rating Systems
Apart from the national policy initiatives mentioned above, there are some other tools available to the
building industry to examine the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability of buildings.
Worldwide, there are hundreds of building evaluation tools that focus on different areas of sustainable
development and are designed for different types of projects. These tools include life cycle assessment,
life cycle costing, energy systems design, performance evaluation, productivity analysis, indoor
environmental quality assessments, operations and maintenance optimization, whole building design and
operations tools, and more.
During the last few years, the world has seen a great increase in different green building rating systems.
By integrating natural resource, human health, and community concerns into building design and
construction, architects and designers can create buildings that are cleaner, deplete fewer resources and
are healthier for both occupants and the environment. A list of selected Green Building rating systems is
provided in table 1.
As is seen in the table below, there are two main green building rating systems that are being used in
India, namely The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system (LEED
TM
INDIA) and
the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), administered by The Energy Research
Institute (TERI).

Table 1 Examples of Green Building Rating Systems around the world
Rating System Agency Countries following it
Asia
Green Rating for
Integrated Habitat
Assessment (GRIHA)
The Energy Research Institute
(TERI)
India
Leadership in Energy
and Environmental
Design (LEED) India
Indian Green Building Council
(IGBC)
India
Green Mark
Building and Construction
Authority (BCA)
Singapore
Comprehensive
Assessment System for
Building Environmental
Efficiency (CASBEE)
Japan Sustainable Building
Consortium (JSBC)
Japan
Hong Kong Building
Environmental
Assessment Method
(HK-BEAM)
Hong Kong Building
Environmental Assessment Method
Society (HK-Beam Society)
China
Europe
BRE Environmental
Assessment Method
(BREEAM)
UK Green Building Council
(UKGBC)
UK
ESCALE
Centre Scientifique et Technique du
Btiment (CSTB)
France
North America
LEED US
US Green Building Council
(USGBC)
USA, Thailand, UAE, Sri
Lanka, Israel, New Zealand,
South Korea
Green Globes US Green Building Initiative(TM)
LEED Canada Canada GBC Canada
Australia

*For a short summary and links to the rating systems see Appendix B
1.3.1 LEED-INDIA
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED
TM
) was developed as a voluntary green
building rating system for the United States by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The
Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Green Building Centre in collaboration with the Indian Green
Building Council (IGBC) adopted and revised the U.S. rating system in order to develop the LEED
TM
INDIA. This is a Green Building Rating System that is a nationally and internationally accepted
benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. It aims at
providing building owners, architects, consultants, developers, facility managers and project managers the
tools they need to design, construct and operate green buildings. The certification builds on a rating
system where the building get points for their achievements within 6 areas: site selection, water
efficiency, energy & atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation
and design process. Based on the points given, the building receives one out of four certification levels:
certified, silver, gold or platinum, where platinum is the highest.
The India Green Buildings Anthology report released in February 2008 by J ones Lang LaSalle Meghraj,
real estate consultancy states that in terms of Green Building space in India, there are 17 LEED certified
buildings and according to eight buildings are located in Chennai. Chennai therefore leads India with
67.3% of volume of certified green building space in the country. Chennai is followed by Kolkata with
15.7% of volume certified green building space. The one Green building in Kolkata occupies 6,50,000
square feet. The National Capital Region ranks third with an 8.7 per cent share in the total area spread
over three projects. Mumbai is fourth with just one project and a share of 2.9 per cent. Green buildings are
built in Kochi, Hyderabad and Gulbarga. Apart from the major metropolitan cities, projects registered for
green building certification are spread far and wide across the country in 12 smaller cities and towns. It is
also predicted that more than 20% of the 80 million sq. ft of new commercial real estate in the seven
metros in India in the next two years will be dedicated to green buildings. In addition 22 buildings with
varying degrees of eco-friendliness are expected to come into the market by 2009.
The LEED certified buildings number in India is increasing at a faster pace than previously predicted by
the CII Green Business Centre. Currently, there are 239 registered buildings under LEED-India; 26 LEED
certified buildings covering a total of 147.5 million sq. ft. of green building footprint (ICBC, 2008).
1.3.2 TERI-GRIHA
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) also has a voluntary rating system for green buildings called
Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA). TERI's green building rating system (TERI
GRIHA) has been developed after a thorough study and understanding of the current internationally
accepted green building rating systems and the prevailing building practices in India. It has derived useful
inputs from the upcoming mandatory building codes/guidelines being developed by the Bureau of Energy
Efficiency, the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources, MoEF (Ministry of Environment and
Forests), Government of India, and the Bureau of Indian Standards. The rating system aims to achieve
efficient resource utilisation, enhanced resource efficiency, and better quality of life in buildings.
The objective for this program is to help design green buildings and help evaluate the greenness of the
buildings. The rating system follows best practices along with national/international codes that are
Green Star Green Building Council Australia Australia
Australian Building
Greenhouse Rating
(ABGR)/ NABERS
New South Wales Department of
Environment and Climate Change
Australia

applicable to achieving the intent of green design. They are looking at the three main stages of
construction: pre-construction, building planning and construction, and building operation and
maintenance. The rating system aims to achieve efficient resource utilization, enhanced resource
efficiency, and better quality of life in the buildings (TERI, 2008).
2 State of Architectural Education System in India
There are more than 130 architectural schools in India training a new generation of professionals to direct
the future of built environment in the country (COA , 2008). The Council of Architecture (COA), which
operates under Indian Architects Act is responsible for the development and maintenance of quality
education in architecture. Presently, education in architecture is subject to approval by the COA. All
educational institutes imparting training in the field of architecture are monitored by COA. COA works
very closely with All India Council of technical Education (AICTE) which is a larger body responsible
for administering all types of technical education in India. State funded as well as self financed
architectural educational institutes also come under the purview of State level body like Directorate of
Technical Education (DTE). At the national level, the Ministry of Human Resource Development
(MHRD) recognizes educational institute and guides them in their functioning by implementing broad
policy integrating the various national issues. any architectural institutes also have collaborative programs
with international universities and institutes. Student exchange, faculty exchange as well as combined
international design charrettes are also one of the major activities at premier institutes.
Architectural institutes in India can be divided in three types based on their organizational and
administrative structure: a) where the organization/school of architecture is an autonomous body, self-
driven and self-sustaining b) where it is a part of a larger institute/organization while retaining its
existence as an independent department/school, and c) where it is part of another department (for instance
civil engineering in many institutes) sharing common infrastructure and facilities and driven by forces
other than those of its own making.
Current architectural programs have evolved from the experience of the industrial enterprise of the 19th
and early 20th century. In most instances, the eligibility for enrolling in architecture undergraduate
program is Higher Secondary Certificate (+12). So the entrance criteria are both the Higher Secondary
Certificate Examination percentage as well as a competitive aptitude test conducted by architectural
institute to evaluate the candidates aptitude and general knowledge in the field. In some institutes,
admissions are given on the basis of a state or national level engineering entrance exams.

The course is of 10 semesters spread over a period of five years. The first two semesters (first year) is a
foundation course where the focus is on skill development; the next two years are devoted to developing
and enhancing creativity and knowledge of the students. The seventh semester is a practical training at
some institutes when the student goes to work at an architectural firm either in the country or abroad. At
some other institutes, tenth/last semester is dedicated to practical training after which many students
continue working at the same office once they graduate. One unique aspect of the architectural education
is the requirement to undertake a design or research thesis which requires the students to spend a semester
working on the design/research topic and coming up with a comprehensive solution. In the past, most
students went abroad to do a masters program. In recent times, masters and even doctoral programs are
being offered by the Indian institutes and they have started to gain favour from the student community.

After attaining the degree from the University, the candidate becomes eligible to procure a practicing
license from the Council of Architecture and seek membership with the Indian Institute of Architects.
COA for maintaining of the quality of architecture has issued a notification stating that The degree will not be
considered if the students do not submit their NATA score held before admission to the five year degree course.
COA president has announced this to Times of India published on 16/06/2008

Typically, fresh graduates work under master craftsmen and leading architectural firms before going on to
establish their own practice.
(The COA and architecture schools in India may want to study the process of obtaining Professional
Architect certificate around the world and work on modifying the current certification practise in India to
turn out high calibre architects to cater to the increasing demand in the country See Appendix C)
2.1 State of Architectural Practice in India
The history of architecture as a profession in India has a long lineage. On one hand, we have historical
architecture that speaks volumes of the creative potential of its unknown maker, while, on the other, we
have this sudden shift where buildings came to be known and identified by the name of the architect.
And this happened with the institutionalization of architecture. Sir J . J . School of Art was the first
institute that started offering courses related to architecture sometime around 1907. That was the
beginning of architecture as an organized profession India. It was the students of Sir J . J . School who
founded the Architectural Students Association in 1917. And in 1929 the Indian Institute of Architects
was formed aimed at promoting the profession in the country, now having more than 15,000 professionals
as its members according to the IIA statistics (IIA-India, 2008).
During the 1930s all the British-headed government organizations were facing a severe shortage of
officials and badly needed fresh recruits. Indian draughtsmen had worked with the PWDs but now fresh
architecture graduates were beginning to head them. And this was where government started patronizing
Indian architects and the architectural practice in India. It started with bringing-in foreign architects for
high-profile projects some of whom settled in India and started their own practice. In fact, most of the
architectural practice in independent India had started off from foreign architects (most of them British)
and their establishments during and following the British rule in India. These firms either had Indian
professionals as partners or as employees who came into position in the same firms later and carried
forward the architectural legacy of those practices.
Later as better educated graduates from a number of schools became active on the architectural practice
scene in India, more and more independent offices, initially a single-person establishment, started
appearing. These offices would work on the architectural designs and then consult with other services
through professional tie-ups and relationships. Eventually some larger offices also started organizing in-
house consultancies or divisions for services.
The Architects Act was enacted in 1972, which stated that to provide for the registration of architects
and for matters connected therewith. Accordingly the Act specified the constitution of a Council of
Architecture which would recognize architectural qualifications granted by authorities in India and in
foreign countries, and which would prepare and maintain the register of such qualified architects. The Act
also empowered the Council to prescribe the minimum standards of architectural education required for
granting recognized qualifications by colleges or institutions in India. Further the Council was
empowered to prescribe standards of professional conduct and etiquette and a code of ethics for
architects.
The Council of Architecture Directory of Architects Seventh Edition-2007 contains a comprehensive list
of licensed architects (eligible to practice architecture). In 2007, as per this directory, there were 29,085
qualified registered architects (66% male and 34% female architects).
In recent times, the architectural profession has seen the role of the architect evolve from the sole design
head of the team into an integrator, who has to coordinate multiple service consultants that include
HVAC, landscape, lighting, structural and etc. Such a practice is not only practically more viable but also,
eventually, leads to a more holistic design where architecture becomes more than just a formal exercise
and attains socio-economic and cultural dimensions.

This practice of integration and collaboration among different players involved in the building industry
becomes particularly crucial when clients are interested in a sustainable solution:- where knowledge for
sustainable building design is dispersed among the various members of the team. This is forcing a
fundamental shift in the way buildings were traditionally designed, and is requiring increasing high levels
of technological input in the building design process.
More recently, the ideological and academic discussions in the field of architecture have started involving
issues like climate change, global warming, environmental degradation and energy efficiency. The
importance of building energy efficiency and resource management is being realized at all levels of
building sector, starting with design conceptualization to the building management. The cause and the
consequence of haphazard building practices have also led the building owners and developers to pay
attention towards rising energy costs and demand energy conservation measures in buildings. Thus, the
emphasis of the global design community to seek ways to reduce energy costs at all levels of building
construction. Employing energy efficient practices and retrofits is an effective way to achieve operating
cost reductions.
To further the cause of environmental sustainability, government bodies, non-profit organizations,
research and educational institutions have joined hands in addressing these critical issues in the form of
policy and legislative response. One such initiative in India is the formulation of the Energy conservation
Act of 2001 and the ECBC (Energy Efficiency Building Codes). The ECBC is still at a nascent stage and
is currently not mandated by law in terms of its application. But, in the coming years, it is destined to
have a huge impact on the building practices and will go a long way in governing the way buildings will
be constructed in India.
Although there has been national policy response in India in favour of energy conservation, there still
remains a huge gap amongst the architectural community in the understanding of building physics and
energy efficient building technology. There is also a lack of technical and professional expertise (energy
managers, consultants, energy service companies, etc.) that is increasing demand to perform more
sophisticated analysis and work on complex energy efficiency programs. In order to cater to a set of
newly emerging energy and environmental needs, both students and professionals are in need of
knowledge and technological up gradation in order to respond to the constantly changing, divergent and
fast developing processes that go into building design. Furthermore, they have to be introduced to the new
technological advances in the research and professional arena, to be able to play a more proactive role as
a building designer in the context that we are placed in today.
Under the ECO-III, a cursory review of the current architecture syllabi was done through a survey with an
aim to obtain an overview of the state of environmental science and building service courses currently
taught in Architecture institutions. The results are described in the following section.
3 Architecture Curriculum Survey
As mentioned earlier in the paper, the ECO-III project is assisting BEE in implementing the Energy
Conservation Building Code (ECBC). One of the initiatives under this project is building long-term
capacity of building professionals to design ECBC compliant buildings by reforming the existing
architectural curriculum in order the include relevant courses that impart to the students, an understanding
of the environmentally sustainable energy efficient design and construction theories and practices.
In order to identify potential improvements in the curriculum, a preliminary survey was structured in
order to gain understanding of the current status of courses in environmental sciences and building
services within existing architecture curriculum in India. The questionnaire was sent out to 136
architectural institutions in India. The main aim of the survey was to evaluate the perceived importance of
environmental issues, existing technical expertise of staff and faculty to address these issues and to
identify gaps and scope of enhancement of current educational system.

3.1 Survey Results
The questionnaire was sent to 136 architectural institutions in India and a response rate of 22% was
achieved. All the respondent institutions offered Bachelor of Architecture while 40% offered additional
Masters in Architecture or specializations such as urban planning. The main findings are:
3.1.1 Perceived importance of Environmental Science (ES) and Building Services (BS)
The schools were asked to rank the importance of specific topics in their curriculum on a likert scale (5
being most important and 1 being least important). The results below are presented as mean and ranked
by mean.
Table 2 Importance of ES and BS
Topic Importance Rank by Mean
Design and Philosophy 4.55 1
Materials and Methods of Construction 3.93 2
Climate and Environment 3.83 3
Building Services 3.69 4
History and Theory 3.48 5
The table shows that design and philosophy is the most important area while environmental science and
building services ranks 3
rd
and 4
th
. It is not a surprise that the main focus in architecture is on design and
materials, but, the encouraging news is that a fair amount of importance is also attached to environment
and building services.
The mean of the perceived difficulty in recruiting faculty in the areas of climate and environment and
building services was 3.82 (where 5 were most difficult). This high score indicates that the schools face
significant challenges in identifying well-qualified professionals interested in teaching courses in these
subject areas.
3.1.2 Educational background of teaching staff and research
Questions specific to the teaching staffs educational background revealed that most of the current faculty
members had a post-graduate education. Only 9% of the faculty in building services had educational
qualifications limited to a graduate level. However, there is a shortage of faculty with advanced degrees at
the doctorate level. Only, 26% of faculty in environmental sciences and 35% of the faculty in building
services had doctorate degrees. The low proportion of faculty with advanced degrees was reflected by a
low number of research documents (theses and dissertations) under the subject theme of energy efficiency
and management. In the last 5 years, out of the 12 universities, only a total of 26 masters thesis and 10
doctoral dissertations under the theme of energy efficiency or energy management have been submitted


Figure 1 Educational Background of Teaching Staff
Lack of faculty with advanced degrees in environment related subjects highlights a need to encourage
enrolment of students at the post-graduate and doctorate level. In order to do so, it is imperative that
students be exposed to these subject matters early on in their architectural program . Additionally, there is
need for increased research and funding in educational institutions in the areas of environmental sciences
and building services in order to fill this gap and increase the interest at all levels.
3.1.3 Existing Environmental Science and Building Services Curriculum
The results showed that at the graduate level, most educational programs offered courses related to
climatology and environmental sciences, but, few included energy efficiency in the curriculum.
However, only 18% of the programs offered a theoretical course that targets energy efficient architecture.
Similarly only 18% of graduate programs offered a design-based course focussing on energy and
environmental concerns. At the post-graduate level, there seem to be more options regarding environment
and energy efficiency courses; with 75% of the respondents offering at least one course in energy
conservation or green buildings
Building services courses were found to be common to all programs, and focus on the different services
such as water and drainage, electrical systems, lighting, acoustics, etc. However, little or no mention of
energy efficiency has been found in the building services curriculum. Some exceptions are natural
lighting or passive ventilation, but energy efficiency is not the main focus of any course at the
undergraduate or graduate level.
3.1.4 Energy Conservation Building Code
The awareness of Energy Conservation Building code (ECBC) was found to be high along with the
enthusiasm for involving staff in training in the ECBC.


Figure 2 ECBC Awareness
As seen above 93% of the responding schools were aware of ECBC and 100% was interested in training
their staff and incorporate ECBC as a part of a new course. This indicates that there is a widespread
interest in learning more and incorporating ECBC in the curriculum.
3.1.5 Conclusion and suggestions
The results of the survey highlight the following key points:-
There is an increased interest in subject matters of climate and environmental issues.
The results illustrated that most programs are offering traditional courses focussing on
climatology and environmental sciences. Few undergraduate programs incorporate energy
efficiency in the curricula and only 18% has regular courses on energy efficient architecture. Due
to lack of course options in energy efficiency, it suggests, that the curriculum has not been
updated in recent times to address current global problems. There is need to identify opportunity
to introduce energy efficiency and related technical courses at the undergraduate level in order to
get the students interested in these aspects of the built environment early on in their professional
life.
It has been found by this survey that schools find environmental science and building services
important but have problems in recruiting technical faculty with expertise in these areas. Only
26% faculty in environmental sciences and 35% of the faculty in building services subjects had
doctorates.
The awareness of ECBC is high and 100% of the respondents were willing to participate staff in
ECBC training and incorporate it as a part of a new course. The high interest in the ECBC
highlights the potential and the need of educating existing faculty in order to help them update
their technical expertise to align with the current policy and legislative environment in the
country.
Scholarships and funding for research projects need to be increased the areas of energy
efficiency, environmental sciences and building services.
4 Architecture Curriculum Enhancement under ECO-III
With the survey results in mind the ECO-III project has focused on developing two courses to enhance
the architectural curriculum regarding energy The objective is to assist colleges to train the next
generation of architects and engineers to be better equipped to design energy-efficient and sustainable

buildings by learning more about the following areas encompassing different aspects of energy
conservation in buildings.
1. Building materials
A majority of the energy transfer in buildings takes place through the building envelope. Optimization
of heat gain or loss across buildings in response to the local climatic needs can lead to consideration
energy conservation and cost savings. However, understanding the complex thermal process that take
place inside a building requires an understanding of building physics and building material properties.
Educational courses on building materials will impart knowledge on material properties and the
building thermodynamic processes that take place through the walls, roofing materials, windows and
other construction materials of buildings.
2. Building systems
Modern day buildings are equipped with sophisticated building systems that control the lighting,
heating, cooling and other services, and account for significant energy consumption. Educational
courses on building systems will teach participants about t complex hese technologies and impart
expertise for decision making and specification and selection of energy efficient building systems.
3. Energy modelling tools
Building energy simulation or modelling is the key to the design development of energy-efficient and
cost effective buildings. Energy modelling is a way of pre-expressing the building design through a
simulation software with a goal to quantify the building energy consumption, thermal/visual/acoustic
comfort, passive/active solar potential, indoor air quality, environmental impact, and etc. Energy
modelling allows the design team to evaluate a range of energy efficiency measures in order to
optimize energy usage along with cost effectiveness. Several building simulation programs have been
developed for design, analysis and prediction of the distribution of temperature, airflow and heat
transfer between the inside and outside of a building, and/or between different zones of the building.
Some of the most popular tools are DOE-2, EnergyPlus, Equest, Trnsys etc.
To achieve this goal, the ECO III project has constituted a high level International Advisory Committee
of 13 academics and 6 professionals to refine existing educational curriculum and pilot-test this
curriculum at two institutes. ECO-III project selected only those colleges that placed heavy emphasis on
energy efficiency and sustainability through their curriculum. These institutions are also committed to
recruiting trained and experienced faculty members along with undertaking up gradation of their
computer labs to accommodate the energy simulation software energy modelling as a new course as part
of its curriculum. Under this initiatives the following activities are being organized by the ECO III project
team
There are two new educational courses being developed:- Building Science for undergraduate
programs and Energy Modelling for post-graduate programs. These courses are being developed
in collaboration with an international educational committee. These courses are anticipated to be
introduced in the academic curriculum from J anuary 2009. There will be pilot-tested in
collaboration with appropriate organizations like the AICTE, Council of Architecture, BEE, etc.
A train the trainer workshop will be organized for updating the technical expertise of academic
professionals in various institutions across India. This capacity development of faculty is being
undertaken with an aim of curriculum enhancement at other academic institutes. A roadmap will
be developed to integrate the new courses as part of the educational curriculum so that it can be
implemented at an all-India level.
ECO-III project has provided 16 colleges and 13 Non profits (list in Appendix A) a five- volume
Technology Atlas. This atlas is a comprehensive up-to-date reference work on energy efficiency

in buildings containing technical information and practical case studies, covering lighting,
heating, cooling, appliances, and drive-power prepared by highly respected E-Source group from
Colorado, USA. This is one of the most comprehensive and high-quality reference materials that
are now available for students to explore and learn more on building energy efficiency.
ECO III project has also negotiated with DesignBuilder software of United Kingdom to provide
Educational Site Licenses to all architectural/engineering colleges associated with the project.
DesignBuilder uses EnergyPlus (developed by the US Department of Energy) as the simulation
engine and complements it with an easy-to-use user interface for helping users learn a state of the
art Building Energy Modelling Tool that can be used to design ECBC- compliant, LEED-
certified, or TERI-Griha certified commercial buildings.
5 Suggested Tips for Improving the Standards of Architecture
Institutions
Introducing the aforementioned courses into the current architectural curriculum is only one step in the
direction towards incorporating sustainability into architecture in India. To chart out a sustainable
development path for the nation with regard to the built environment, visionaries and entrepreneurs that
are willing to take Indian architecture one step further are needed. ECO-III recommends that the
architecture institutions take this initiative further and pave a road for others to follow. Lessons from
excellent colleges around India, gathered from India Todays cover story on "Best Colleges in India"
(2008-05-22), has been drawn upon to address some of the larger issues that needs to be considered to
enhance sustainable practises in architecture in India.
To develop and analyze the next generation of building materials and tools, research and innovation is
needed. Architectural colleges and other recognized institutes are recommended to set-up Centre of
Excellence for Research and Analysis and focus their research on sustainability issue. For example, The
Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT), Ahmedabad, Gujarat, is setting-up a Center
for Sustainable Environment and Energy which aims to intgrate building design with energy-efficient
practices, and bring the engineers, architects and designers up to speed with the latest technology for
energy efficiency in buildings through training and workshops,
Research, internship opportunities and exchange programs are important pieces to provide students with
diverse knowledge. It is important to get the best researchers in the areas to teach the courses and make
sure that syllabuses are evolving continuously to incorporate changes in the field. Also, to encourage
learning about green buildings and energy efficiency, students should be encouraged to seek internship
opportunities within organisations such as BEE, IGBC, TERI, ECO-III offices and institutions working
on energy/environmental concerns, instead of solely considering design firms, should be offered.
Exchange programs with reputed international institutions can also provide students with new knowledge
and new ways of thinking in these and other areas.
Innovative ideas on designing the programs could also be a way of awakening interest in sustainability
issues. Practical training programs could be developed in cooperation with BEE, IGBC and ECO-III that
promotes new ways of learning and practicing architecture.
Facilities such as state of the art laboratories and libraries with access to journals and magazines are also
important to encourage students to explore, get update and learn. In addition, focus should be put on
generating interest to go for higher studies in specialized areas. Nationally renowned alumni can also
make a difference and colleges should not be shy of asking them to share their expertise and experiences
which will enable the students to think in different ways with practical & innovative way.

Appendix - A
List of Educational Institutes:
1. School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi
2. Center for Environment Planning and Technology (CEPT) University, Ahmedabad
3. Malviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), J aipur
4. International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad
5. Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
6. National Institute of Technology (NIT), Hamirpur, HP
7. Devi Ahilya University, Indore
8. D.C. Patel School of Architecture, Arvindbhai Patel Institute of Environmental Design, Vidhyanagar,
Gujarat
9. School of Architecture, Vallabhai Patel Institute. of Technology, Anand, Gujarat
10. School of Architecture, Vadodara Design Academy, Vadodara
11. J .J . School of Architecture, Mumbai
12. Goa College of Architecture, Alto Porvorim, Goa
13. Rachana Sansads Institute of Environmental Architecture, Mumbai
14. Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Architecture, Pune
15. Chandigarh College of Architecture, Chandigarh
16. Government College of Architecture, Lucknow
17. Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
18. National Institute of Construction Management and Research, (NICMAR),Mumbai
19. J adavpur University, Kolkata

List of Non-Profit or Government Organizations:
1. CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, Hyderabad
2. The Energy Research Institute, (TERI), New Delhi
3. Punjab Energy Development Agency, (PEDA), Chandigarh
4. Electric Lamp and Components Manufacturers Assocaition of India, (ELCOMA),New Delhi
5. Alliance to Save Energy (ASE),Bangalore
6. Haryana Energy Development Agency, (HAREDA),Chandigarh
7. Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Airconditioning Engineers, (ISHRAE)
8. Gujarat Energy Development Agency, (GEDA), Gandhinagar, Gujarat
9. Maharashtra Energy Development Agency, (MEDA), Pune
10. Central Public Work Department , CPWD, New Delhi
11. Development Alternatives, New Delhi
12. International Institute of Energy Conservation, (IIEC), Mumbai

Appendix -B

1. BREEAM: The BREEAM family of assessment methods and tools are all designed to help
construction professionals understand and mitigate the environmental impacts of the developments
they design and build (http://www.breeam.org/page.jsp?id=66)
2. CASBEE An assessment tool based on the environmental performance of buildings
(http://www.ibec.or.jp/CASBEE/english/index.htm)
3. LEED: The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating
System encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development
practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and
performance criteria (http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=222)
LEED-India:http://www.igbc.in/igbc/index.jsp
LEED-Canada:http://www.cagbc.org/leed/what/index.php
LEED-US: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=222
4. TERI-GRIHA: A Green building rating system to facilitate design, construction, operation and
evaluation of environment friendly buildings
(http://www.teriin.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=73&Itemid=32)
5. ESCALE: A method for assessing the environmental quality of buildings at the design stage.
http://international.cstb.fr/departements/ddd.htm
6. Green Mark: An initiative to move Singapore's construction industry towards more environment-
friendly buildings. It is intended to promote sustainability in the built environment and raise
environmental awareness among developers, designers and builders when they start project
conceptualisation and design, as well as during construction
(http://www.bca.gov.sg/GreenMark/green_mark_buildings.html)
7. Green Globes US: A green management tool that includes an assessment protocol and a rating
system and guide for integrating environmentally friendly design into both new and existing
commercial buildings (http://www.thegbi.org/home.asp)
8. Green Star: A comprehensive, national, voluntary environmental rating scheme that evaluates the
environmental design and achievements of buildings (http://www.gbca.org.au/green-star/what-is-
green-star/1539.htm)
9. NABERS/ABGR: A performance-based rating system for existing buildings. NABERS rates a
building on the basis of its measured operational impacts on the environment, and provides a simple
indication of how well you are managing these environmental impacts compared with your peers and
neighbours. http://www.abgr.com.au/
10. HK-BEAM: A voluntary initiative to measure, improve and label the environmental performance of
buildings (http://www.hk-beam.org.hk/general/home.php)

APPENDIX C
Professional Architect Certification Process around the World
The COA and architecture schools in India may want to study the process of obtaining Professional
Architect certificate around the world and work on modifying the current certification practise in India to
turn out high calibre architects to cater to the increasing demand in the country.
Canada
Architects in Canada must meet three requirements to be registered as Professional Architects a) M.
Arch degree certified by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB) b) Once the student has
obtained the Architecture degree, the student has to complete the Intern Architecture Program (IAP).
According to the Provincial Architects Act Interns have to gain 5,600 hours of work experience for
ensuring that they have gained adequate experience, practical experience and competence needed to
practise as an architect. This experience is diversified into four main categories and 16 sub-categories,
and must be completed working under the direct supervision of a registered architect. C) The student has
to also take the Architect Registration Examination (ARE), a series of nine computerized exams
administered by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). Upon completion
of the educational requirements, IAP, and examinations, the architect can apply for registration/license.
For maintaining a license to practise, the architect has to pay annual fees and meet continuing education
requirements.
Singapore
In Singapore, once the student has obtained a 5 year degree in Architecture, he/she has to
undergo a practical training by working for two years under a registered architect. Post training
he/she can register as an architect. Singaporean law governs the use of the term "architect" and
prescribes the requirements to be listed in the Register of Architects. Membership in the
Singapore Institute of Architects is a voluntary professional credential.
United Kingdom (UK)
In UK, a person can be called an Architect only by being registered at the Architects
Registration Board. It generally takes 7 years to obtain the necessary qualification and
experience to register as a professional practicing architect. In order to qualify as an architect, a
student must go through three stages a) on completing the Bachelors degree in Architecture,
the student gets exemption from Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Part I. Then the
student has to work in an architects office for one year b) the student then must finish his/her
Masters degree of two years. On completion of the course the student receives exemption Part II
from RIBA process c) The student must work for one more year before being eligible for RIBA
Part III examination in Professional Practice and Management.
United States
The requirements for a professional architect certification in the United States are very similar to
Canada. Each state in the US has its own requirements and a registration board and students
wishing to obtain a professional license have to comply with those requirements. The National
Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) was created in 1919 to ensure parity

between the states' often conflicting rules and all state registration boards and five territories are
its members.
The three common requirements for registration are a) education - about half of the States
require a professional degree from a school accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting
Board (NAAB) b) The experience requirement for candidates with degree is typically the Intern
Development Program (IDP), a joint program of NCARB and the American Institute of
Architects (AIA). IDP creates a framework to identify for the intern architect base skills and
core-competencies. The intern architect needs to earn 700 training units (TUs) diversified into 16
categories; each TU is equivalent to 8 hours of experience working under the direct supervision
of a licensed Architect c) All jurisdictions use the Architect Registration Examination (ARE), a
series of nine computerized exams administered by NCARB. All architects licensed by their
respective states have professional status as Registered Architects (RA).

References
i. Building and Climate Change Status, Challenges and Opportunities published by United
Nations Environmental Program 2007 under Asia Pro Eco Program of the European Union
ii. Indian Institute of Architects (http://www.iia-india.org)
iii. Council of Architecture (http://www.coa.gov.in)
iv. http://www.clintonfoundation.org
v. Energy Assessment Guide for Commercial Buildings published by ECO III program under
USAID program
vi. http://www.eeb-blog.org/wbcsd.html
vii. www.architexturez.net
viii. IGBC (2008), Scorecard, Retrieved from: http://www.igbc.in/igbc/index.jsp
ix. IGBC (2008), LEED-India, Retrieved from: http://www.igbc.in/igbc/tests.jsp?event=5518
x. TERI (2008) What is TeriGriha?, Retrieved from: http://www.teriin.org/bcsd/griha/griha.htm
xi. http://www.karmayog.org/environmentnews/environmentnews_11951.htm
xii. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=c5472e78-efb2-4616-8893-
7afb3d986873
xiii. Chengappa, R., (2008). Indias best colleges, India today 2008-05-22
xiv. Professional Requirements for Architects from Wikipedia
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 2006. Sustainable Building Rating Systems
(http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=1915

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