Nishtha organized a Nagari Film Screening attended by second- and third-year students, featuring films such as A Work in Progress, Level Up!, Udta Banaras, Homes on the Line, and Sundari. The screening served as a platform for critical engagement, with in-depth discussions emerging around key themes from select films.
Discussions on ‘A Work in Progress’ focused on the impact of construction and demolition waste on communities, particularly in the context of rapid urban development. Students connected this to their own ongoing design project for a nearby village, where they are exploring sustainable materials like bamboo, rammed earth, and mud bricks, along with the reuse of C&D waste. ‘Udta Banaras’ prompted conversations about displacement and rehabilitation, drawing parallels with similar situations such as the Sabarmati Riverfront development in Ahmedabad and its impact on local communities. Meanwhile, ‘Sundari’ led to reflections on how urban development affects heritage, landscapes, and the livelihoods of local populations.
The screening encouraged students to look beyond conventional architectural concerns of drawings and materials, and instead reflect on the human and environmental consequences of development. It prompted them to question prevailing notions of progress, while reinforcing the importance of ethical responsibility, material choices, and their role as architects in mediating between development, environment, and community.
She also proposed a task of reimagining Charles Correa’s unbuilt works as if they were realized today, retaining their core ideals while engaging contemporary technologies, materials, and environmental strategies. Alongside this, a writing competition with supporting graphics asks whether society still needs 20th-century buildings and challenges participants to communicate their proposals without using adjectives, instead relying on design principles, spatial logic, and user experience to present the building as an abstraction rather than a description.
All photos in this carousel were clicked by Nishtha.