Page 69 - EducationWorld May 2021

SPECIAL ESSAY

The built environment isn’t

pandemic-proof — can the right

education change that?

he deadly new wave of the dignity, care and harmony with nature, not
Covid-19 pandemic that is ravaging just convenience, efficiency and economy
India has brought us face-to-face of space. Architects across the globe
Twith the dangers of not paying are reckoning with the pitfalls of the built
enough attention to building robust healthcare environment, as they are pushed to reimagine
infrastructure. As images of people scrambling a new approach. So formidable has been
to get a hospital bed or an oxygen cylinder the impact of Covid-19 that the road ahead
for their loved ones overwhelm us with grief, will require people to look at everything from
they also tell us to introspect where we, as a the vantage point of safety and sustainability.
society, went wrong. Simple changes in the built environment to
Does this catastrophic lack of paradigm shifts in design thinking can together
foresightedness stem solely from build sustainable solutions. Professor Arjya B. Majumdar
misgovernance? Or does it run deeper into the How should we start then? The scope that
philosophies that govern us as a civilisation? educational institutions have in this regard but they will also get to know the nuances
Why don’t we have the basic preparedness is immense. As a leading private university of legality, policy-making, environmental
to deal with a pandemic like this in this 21st in the country, O.P. Jindal Global University issues, questions of economics, technology,
century? The pandemic has revealed cracks (JGU) has taken many steps that prepare our sustainability and ecology. After all, an
in both the metaphorical building blocks students for dynamic, unpredictable times. architect who ignores the relevance of
of our nation and quite literally, the “built The unique offering of Jindal School of variables outside of aesthetics, engineering
environment” around us. Art and Architecture (JSAA), as India’s or economics alone, cannot really be capable
This built environment that lays the first interdisciplinary school of the built of building a truly sustainable world. It is a
foundation for human life—from buildings to environment, is one such step that is holistic, multidisciplinary education that has
open spaces, parks, streets and so on—is immensely relevant to today’s context. the potential to combine and create knowledge
simply not prepared for a pandemic. Big Through its various programmes in from different perspectives that could pre-empt
corporate offices are becoming redundant; architecture, built environment, and design, some of the consequences of such crises.
densely-packed spaces are leading to a faster JSAA has the capability to train young minds It is worth mentioning that faculty at
spread of the virus; many living spaces are to navigate the challenges of pandemic- JSAA comprises a pool of globally qualified
strained to accommodate the “new normal”; proofing the built environment of the future. academicians and professionals from different
sewage systems, transport systems, public JSAA’s curriculum has been developed domains. Architects, historians, engineers,
spaces, and so many more aspects that keeping in mind the need to study architecture geographers, lawyers, artists, conservationists
touch our everyday lives are facing serious and the built environment from the perspective and more work in tandem to guide students to
challenges. of social sciences and humanities. This is become agents of change who can question
Alongside the healthcare crisis, the ways because the built environment needs to the status quo and reshape the world in the
in which we live, work, learn and play have combine design thinking and engineering face of unprecedented challenges.
been dramatically disrupted. As concepts like brilliance with elements of care and thoughtful At JSAA, students work on live projects,
“social distancing” or “work from home” and considerations to withstand complex problems thereby gaining hands-on experiences that
“online classes” have woven their way into like a pandemic. offer a chance to make a real impact in the real
the foreseeable future, people are faced with The mess that our cities have become world. Internship opportunities in global firms
struggles every step of the way. amid the pandemic only validates the wisdom will further bolster their confidence to become
We must wonder, then, how our homes, of that vision. No one can deny the need to changemakers when they enter the job market
hospitals, schools, and our cities, towns, make our spaces functional even during such or pursue higher education.
villages and neighbourhoods have been built difficult times. To achieve that, we will have As the ongoing pandemic changes the
until now—and how they can evolve to be to reimagine the spaces that we use. We will course of architecture, JSAA offers a platform
resilient to the dangers of a pandemic. For have to make them more humane. For, a built for young people to become a part of rewriting
experts have already warned that Covid-19 environment that is humane need not render the narrative of the built environment of the
will definitively not be the last pandemic that an elderly person or a young one completely future, to come together and build a more
the world will fight. So, the message is clear. idle even during a possible temporary isolation resilient world that can be better prepared to
Even after we overcome this, the threat of period during a future pandemic or drive deal with a pandemic.
another pandemic still looms large. the migrant labourers out of the city when a
Lessons from the pandemic suggest that lockdown is announced. Professor Arjya B. Majumdar
the edifice of the future built environment Students of JSAA will not only learn the Dean, Admissions & Outreach
must be created on the foundation of fundamentals of architecture and design, O.P. Jindal Global University

EDUCATIONWORLD MAY 2021