The college offers a full time two year post graduate program (four semesters) in Masters of Architecture in Urban Design. The course is recognized by the Council of Architecture (COA) and the Government of Maharashtra and affiliated to Rashtra Sant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU)
Masters in Urban Design
About the Course Intent:
The 20th century is referred to as ‘urban century’ as most of the world is in a rapid phase of urbanisation including India. Uptill now the urbanisation process was restricted to megacities , but now small and medium cities are also developing. The physical organisation and design of these cities has taken an inflated role in the world economy.
Architecture and urban planning are two established streams. Urban design is the connecting link between the two often neglected though. It focuses on the nuances of the built environment and the relationship of the physical environment and its users. Thus not just the physical but social aspects are equally important when we talk about urban design. Physical form affects the social environment and vice versa. Sir Wiston Churchill had said ‘we shape the buildings and thereafter they shape us’. Systemisation of space thus provides a framework for the desired social intercourse in a settlement. Civic spaces , social spaces are not just a result of but also provide for the behaviour and civil conduct for any society at a particular time.
In India , Urban design courses are offered in megacities only which deliberate on the issues of those mega or metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, kolkata etc… The design of ‘public realm’ is equally important in small and medium size towns like Nagpur and even smaller towns in the region like Wardha, Amravati etc. The metro cities are overdeveloped and offer little opportunity to do anything about them. But these developing cities are very much in need of good urban design professionals to deal with the design of ‘public realm’. Even the issue of dealing with the ‘public realm’ in rural areas, villages needs to be addressed. Hence the inception of a PG course in Urban Design in a developing city like Nagpur has a strong contextual reference. Through the course we wish to deliberate on the issues related to the city of Nagpur.
Second most important reason to initiate the course is that we have been dealing with our cities based mostly on western norms and theories. The valid and logical interventions in the city can only be based on the understanding of the city. If the understanding is defective, the effects are detrimental. Hence through the course we wish to generate a strong and valid database and the understanding about the city, its citizens, and the value system which will help transform our cities in the most appropriate manner.
- To examine and further conceptualize the definition of the idea of “Urban‟ in the Indian context.
- To deal with larger scale of groups of buildings, infrastructure, streets, public spaces, neighbourhoods, districts and entire city with the goal of making urban environments that are equitable, beautiful performative and sustainable.
- To work to revolutionize our social, political and spatial systems as strategies to produce and reproduce a more equitable and innovative future.
- To gain knowledge from public administration, sociology, law, urban economics and other related disciplines from social and behavioral sciences to create inclusive cities.
- To prepare the students to develop a holistic view for cities through place making, social equity, economic viability & design the built environment.
Our Core Faculty
Dr. Priya Choudhary
Advisor
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Dr. Priya is an Architect, Planner and a Professor, who holds a B.arch degree from V.N.I.T in 1996 and M.Plan in Urban from SPA, Delhi in 1999. She has also holds a degree in M.Sc (Geo-Informatics) from Indian Institute of Ecology and Environment, Sikkim and Manipal University of Health, Medical and technological sciences, New Delhi in 2007. She has completed her Ph.D from V.N.I.T in 2014. She has experience of 26 years in the field actively participating in both teaching and professional practice. She has written many journal papers, conference papers and also co-authored and edited 3 books. She is associated with SMMCA from 2000 and is presently the Head of the Department of Urban Design.
Ar. Namrata Gaurkhede
Head of the Department
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Ar. Namrata is an Architect and Urban Planner, who is a Ph.D. scholar at VNIT working on urban floods and sustainable drainage systems. She holds a B. Arch. Degree from VNIT, Nagpur in 2008 and M. Plan. (Urban Planning) from SPA, New Delhi in 2010. She is teaching B.Arch students in SMMCA, Nagpur for the past five years; has worked in SAI-Systra Group as Lead Urban Planner at Naya Raipur Development Authority, Senior Architect at VK Associates, Nagpur, Assistant Manager (Architecture and Planning) at Dainik Bhaskar City, Raipur and GIFT City, Gandhinagar and as a Research Assistant in SPA, New Delhi. She has been taking up interior designing projects, specializing in hospitals and residences. She has been associated with the Urban Design Department of SMMCA for the last three years. She has co-authored a report on Alternative approaches to Master Plan for MoUD and research papers on disasters and drainage systems. She has an industry experience of eight years and teaching experience of five years.
Dr. Madhurima Waghmare
Professor
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Ar. Madhurima Waghmare did her B.Arch from Pune University, M.Arch (Urban Design) from CEPT, University, Ahmedabad. She has an advanced degree in Development Planning from the University College London, U.K. Her Ph.D. research is in the area of ‘Framework and Strategies for inclusive smart cities in India’ from the TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi. She has over 19 years of experience with consultancy organization like Mott MacDonald Group, academic institutions and think tanks like the National Institute of Urban Affairs. She has worked on projects for central/state/local government and pioneering initiatives funded by leading private sector companies like Tata Power and Shell Industries and multilateral agencies like the World Bank and Cities Alliance. She has led and managed urban sector projects in around 20 cities of India and over 12 regional planning projects in 6 States of India. She is currently associated with M.Arch Urban Design Department of SMMCA from last 3 years.
Ar. Arwa Hussain
Associate Professor
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Ar. Arwa is an Architect and Urban Designer, who holds a B.arch Degree from MIT, Gondia, Nagpur University in 2011 and M.arch in Urban Design from School of Architecture, CEPT University, Ahmedabad in 2014. She has started her own product designing practice named “Naaz Studio” in Nagpur. She has professional experience of 3 years and teaching experience of 2 years as a full-time faculty. She is currently associated with M.Arch Urban Design Department of SMMCA from last 3 year. Her area of interest in urban design involves through a research work towards understanding the behavior pattern of man and woman that affects the urban environment.
Ar. Tanvi Burghate
Assistant Professor
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Ar. Tanvi is an Architect and Urban Designer, who is also the alumini of SMMCA. She has completed B.Arch from Smt. Manoramabai Mundle College of Architecture Nagpur in 2015 and M.Arch in Urban Design from Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA), Mumbai in 2018. She has professional experience of 4yrs 2 months and teaching experience of 3 years 5 months. She is currently associated with Urban Design department of SMMCA as a coordinator for the UD Course, Studios & theory subjects. She has worked as an Urban Designer at Ratan J. Batliboi Consultants Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai for an year. She is actively involved in activities related to Urban Design Department of the college. She has participated in NASA, various competitions, seminars and workshops related to the field.
Ar. Divya Tadas
Research Associate
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Ar. Divya Tadas is an Architect and Urban Designer who studied from Smt. Manoramabai Mundle College of Architecture in Nagpur with a B.Arch Degree (2019) and an M.Arch Degree (2021). She established her own practice, ‘Studio V Shastra,’ in Nagpur and Wardha. She has worked as an Urban Designer for Nagpur Smart & Sustainable City Development Corporation LTD (NSSCDCL) under TULIP. She is associated with SMMCA from last one year as Research associate for M.Arch Urban Design Department.
Visiting Faculty
Ar. Ketki Tidke
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Ar. Ketki Tidke is an Associate professor at SMMCA, Nagpur, since 2015. She completed her B.Arch from SMMCA in 2002. She did her Masters in Landscape Architecture from School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi. She has also taken landscape studios at VNIT, Nagpur. Her decade old practice with the name “Grasshoper Design” has completed several landscape projects of various scales from Campuses, Industrial landscapes to small scale landscape design of Bunglows. Currently associated with M.Arch Urban Design Department of SMMCA from last 3 years.
Ar. Poornima Deshpande
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Ar. Poornima is an Architect and Urban Designer from Pune settled in Nagpur. She holds a B. Arch Degree from Vivekanand Institute of Technology, Pune in 2009 and M.Arch in Urban Design from Deakin University Waterfront Campus, Geelong, Melbourne, Australia in 2012. She has a professional experience of 3 years and teaching experience of 9 years. She is a full time faculty in Smt. Manoramabai Mundle College of Architecture, Nagpur for B.Arch. Currently associated with M.Arch Urban Design Department of SMMCA from last 3 years. She actively participates in all college activities from organizing lectures, conducting NATA Exams, attending workshops, presenting papers, managing cultural activities of the college and being the organizer for many of the college exhibitions.
Ar. Kaushal Jajoo
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Ar. Kaushal is an Architect and Urban Planner, who holds a B.arch Degree from Priyadarshini Institute of Architecture and Design Studies, Nagpur, in 2007 and M.Plan in Urban and Regional Planning from Faculty of Planning and Public Policy, CEPT University, Ahmedabad in 2011. He has worked as a Research Associate with Centre for Urban Equity (CUE), CEPT University, Ahmedabad which is a National Resource Centre (NRC) for Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA), Government of India. He has a professional experience of 5 years and teaching experience of 7 years as a visiting faculty in Bapurao Deshmukh College of Architecture, Sevagram. Has published 3 reserach papers. Currently associated with M.Arch Urban Design Department of SMMCA from last 3 years as a Visiting Faculty.
Ar. Anuradha Bhute
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Ar. Anuradha Bhute is an Architect and Urban Planner, who holds a B.Arch Degree from VNIT, Nagpur in 2005 and Masters in Urban Planning from School of Planning & Architecture, Delhi in 2007. She is associated as Head Planner from last 16 years with Concepts Architects & Interior Designers. She is currently associated with M.Arch Urban Design Department of SMMCA from last 3 year as Visiting Faculty for Theory Subject. She is currently pursuing Phd & her research topic is “Investigation & assessment of legal framework in rejuvenating the cities by Urban Redevelopment”
Ar. Ravindra Sonkusare
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Ar. Ravindra Sonkusare is a Practicing Architect specializes in the field of Urban–Design, possesses more than 22 years of experience in India. He holds a B.Arch degree from Nagpur University in 1996 and M.Arch degree from SPA, New Delhi in 1998. Since 2003 he is in independent Practice as Principal Architect of his firm, ‘RAVI SONKUSARE ARCHITECTS‘ an Urban-Design & Architectural Consultancy Firm at Nagpur. He has been practicing Architecture, Urban Design, Green Building and Interior Design consultancy services and has extensive experience in delivering highly successful projects. He has worked with Pioneer Architect A.P. Kanvinde and Sanjay Kanvinde in the firm, “Kanvinde Rai and Choudhary” New Delhi, one of the leading firms in India. Currently he is associated with M.Arch Urban Design Department of SMMCA from last 3 years as a Visiting Faculty.
Ar. Tutu Sengupta
Ar. Sujata Godbole
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Dr. Sujata Godbole is an Associate Professor in Smt. Manoramabai Mundle College of Architecture, Nagpur. She holds a Ph.D. from RTM Nagpur University. Her topic of research was Impact of Urban Heat Island on city of Nagpur – Developing Strategies to reduce Urban Heat Island Effect and Improve thermal comfort. She holds a M.Tech degree in Urban Planning from VRCE now VNIT in 1998 and B.Arch from MIT Gondia in 1993. She has an experience of 23 years in academics. she has published various research papers in national and international journals as well as conferences and one of the editors of book Titled “Vernacular Settlements in Chanderi: Towards innovation and Sustenance”.
Ar. Rashmi Tijare
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Ar. Rashmi is an Associate Professor at SMMCA, Nagpur and has been in academics over 10years. She holds B. Arch from Nagpur University and M. Arch from IIT- Roorkee. After her PG in Architecture, she started her career journey with DLF at Gurgaon and was a part of modern Indian townships projects for 6 years. With her passion towards teaching, she switched her career gears to Academics. She understands the industry needs and utilized her corporate experience to nurture young & fresh talent at SMMCA. She is leading a Training & Placement Cell at SMMCA since 2019 and helped industry to tap right & young talent from the SMMCA campus. Under her leadership, SMMCA has been ranked in top 10 in placements from all over India as per INDIA-Today’s assessment.
She is an Environmental-Enthusiast, and is an Accredited Professional of Indian Green Building Council and is a freelance consultant to Ecofirst Services – A TATA Enterprise.
She is an avid researcher and published 8 research articles in various national and international journals and conferences which motivated her to pursue Doctorate in Architecture at VNIT, Nagpur.
Ar. Harshal Bopardikar
Visiting Faculty for Design Studio (Session 2022-23)
Ar. Monali Jaiswal
Visiting Faculty for Design Studio (Session 2022-23)
Allied Faculty
Ar. Sandeep Pathe
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
1) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Between Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Centre (MRSAC), Nagpur & Women’s Education Society’s Smt. Manoramabai Mundle College of Architecture (SMMCA), Nagpur on 15th June 2020
About the Event (MoU):
Memorandum of Understanding is signed between “Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Centre (MRSAC) represented by Dr. Tutu Sengupta and Women’s Education Society’s “Smt. Manoramabai Mundle College of Architecture (SMMCA), Nagpur represented by Dr. Ujwala Chakradeo, Principal of the Institute. Objective was to provide technical knowledge and exposure to the students of Urban Design towards GIS i.e Geographical Information system and its relevant softwares like ArcGIS and QGIS in a holistic manner that can contribute towards urban scale projects. Also to provide exposure to students in the field of Urban Design & GIS by involving them in ongoing urban projects with local bodies, private bodies or with government organizations. Students will be working under the guidance of Dr. Tutu Sengupta, MRSAC, Dr. Priya Choudhary, HOD and Ar. Tanvi Burghate, Assistant Professor from M.arch Urban Design department of SMMCA
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2) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Between Office of the Municipal Commissioner, Nagpur & Women’s Education Society’s Smt. Manoramabai Mundle College of Architecture (SMMCA), Nagpur on Sunday December 21st 2022
About the Event (MoU):
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is signed between “Office of the Commissioner, Nagpur Municipal Corporation” represented by Shri. Radhakrishnan B, Hon. Commissioner, Nagpur and Women’s Education Society’s “Smt. Manoramabai Mundle College of Architecture (SMMCA), Nagpur represented by Dr. Roopal Deshpande, Principal of the Institute. Students of Smt. Manoramabai Mundle College of Architecture will work with Nagpur Municipal Corporation on Urban Design Projects for the sustainable development of the city. The MoU is signed for a period of three years where M.arch Urban Design students from SMMCA will be working in Urban Design Cell formed under Nagpur Healthy Streets Program (NHSP) of NMC. Students will be working under the guidance of Smt. Sonali Chauhan, Ar. Harshal Bopardikar and Ar. Monali Jaiswal from NMC. Dr. Priya Choudhary, HOD and Ar. Tanvi Burghate from M.arch Urban Design department of SMMCA will assist NMC in providing knowledge, technical support and interns for designing and planning of the G-20 Summit ahead.
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Guest Lectures
Title: “Urban Design Guidelines for Architectural Proposition” by Ar. Amit Pimpale
About the Event (Guest Lecture):
Guest lecture was organized by Co-ordinator – Dr. Priya Choudhary and Ar. Tanvi Burghate on 10th December of 2019 from 10:00 a.m to 12pm at First Floor Auditorium, SMMCA, Nagpur. Key Speaker was Ar. Amit Pimpale who gave a lecture on “Urban Design Guidelines for Architectural Propositions” The lecture was organized for the Students of Masters of Urban Design at the end of their First semester where they had a studio assignments to design a site for a public Library with incorporations of urban design guidelines. Students were ready with their architectural proposals but they were not able to understand how to design urban design guidelines to a single plot level with its surrounding context. So a lecture was organised by a practising architect & urban designer of the Nagpur city i.e. Ar. Amit Pimple to make them understand the importance of urban design interventions like edge designing at a plot level, importance of form and surrounding context in designing & planning of such projects which proved to be beneficial later.
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Title: Guest Lecture on “Large Scale Urban Projects” by Shri. P. S. Uttarwar
About the Event (Guest Lecture):
Guest lecture was organized by Dr. Priya Choudhary and Ar. Tanvi Burghate on 21st Jan 2020 from 9:30 am to 11:45 am at First Floor Auditorium, SMMCA, Nagpur. Key Speaker was Shri. P. S. Uttarwar who gave a lecture on “Large Scale Urban Projects”. Aim of this guest lecture was to mainly acquaint the students about the complexities & challenges involved in large scale urban projects. To make them understand how important is the the role of an Urban designer & Urban Planner in designing & planning of such projects. Looking at various urban projects like redevelopment of railway station areas of Nagpur & chandigarh, students got a brief idea about the urban design field, its scope & importance. Participants were M.arch Urban Design students, M.arch Architectural Education students, B.arch 5th year students of SMMCA Seminary Hills Nagpur.
Event Poster & Photos:
Title: Guest lecture by Ar. Sumesh Modi on “Composing Substance: Conserving Surat Castle”
About the Event (Guest Lecture):
A Guest Lecture was organized on 18th August 2020 by Co-ordinators Dr. Priya Choudhary, Ar. Poornima Deshpande and Ar. Tanvi Burghate in online mode on Microsoft Teams. Key Speaker was Ar. Sumesh Modi who is practising as a conservation Architect at People for Heritage Concern. He presented some of his Conservation projects in detail from how a project is undertaken or identified and also what are the steps taken while executing the conservation projects. Specially discussed what are the negative & positive aspects of any project and how they are dealt with. He mainly discussed the majors taken for conservation of a fort. The lecture was quite crisp & interesting that provided a brief idea about the Urban Conservation field. Participants were M.arch Urban Design Students, Smmca faculty members & UD Faculty. This Guest Lecture was mainly for the Students of Master of Urban Design to expose them to the field , pratices & challenges of Urban Design & urban conservation projects.
Poster:
Title: Guest lecture by Ar. Kirtida Unwalla on “Identification of Cultural Significance and Comprehensive Listing Process: A Case of Precinct In Mumbai”
About the Event (Guest Lecture):
Guest Lecture was organized on 25th sept 2020 by Co-ordinators Dr. Priya Choudhary and Ar. Tanvi Burghate in online mode. It was mainly for the Students of Master of Urban Design. Key speaker was Ar. Kirtida Unwalla, Conservation Architect from Mumbai who has an individual Architectural Conservation practice from last two decades. She has been a part of various heritage Listing projects fro MMRHCS, INTACH and many others. She presented one of her Conservation Project to the Students of Urban design. i.e The Conservation Proposal for “Cumballa Hill Precinct”. She explained how they work for such projects in detail in different stages like Study & Identification, Heritage Guidelines, Mapping of important layers & like chronological history, associations, ownership, building use, architectural styles, cessed buildings, image character & their zone wise analysis. She even discussed the different types of proposals formulated for different zones, heritage areas, listed buildings & also suggested regulations & recommendations.
Finally the session was ended by a series of Question & Answer session.
Poster :
Title: Guest lecture by Ar. Sukanya Misra on : “Urban Design & Planning in Practice”
About the Event (Guest Lecture):
A Guest Lecture was organized on 3rd july 20201 for Ar. Sukanya Misra who is an urban designer & works at Nikken Sekkei ltd, Tokyo, Japan in online mode. It was organized by Co-ordinators Dr. Priya Choudhary and Ar. Tanvi Burghate with Convener Ar. Namrata Gaurkhede. Ar. Sukanya Misra first introduced her & her growth till date in the filed. She also explained the range of projects that she has worked on in the field of urban design & public space design. Also explained what’s their core philosophy & the projects they undertake & also the various stages that are involved in the project in detail. She then explained 2 of her important urban projects in detail that she has worked upon i.e “Singapore Rail Corridor Competition” & the other one was “Public space design & Management Plan”. Finally the session was ended by a series of Question & Answer session. Participants were : M.arch Urban Design students 1st years & 2nd years, B.arch Students, Smmca faculty members, UD Faculty.
Poster & Event Photos:
Title: Guest lecture by Ar. Ashutosh Uikey on “Comprehensive Tourism Development Master Plan of Chikhaldara by CIDCO”
About the Event (Guest Lecture):
Guest Lecture was organized on 16th July 2021 for Ar. Ashutosh Uikey, who is currently working at the post of Additional chief Planner at CIDCO, Navi Mumbai in online mode by Co-ordinators Dr. Priya Choudhary and Ar. Tanvi Burghate from 6pm to 7pm. Ar. Ashutosh Uikey has worked as a Town Planning Officer(TPO) for Chikhaldara. He gave a crisp presentation on Chikhaldara from its present population, location, Project Area delineated by CIDCO, Chikhaldara’s famous tourists points, potentials & also explained the concept behind planning of Goal Marg, ecotourism, proposed viewpoints, nature clubs, residential, commercial zone & DP. He also explained the developments in Town Area & other potentials in detail. Finally the session was ended by an intensive series of Question & Answer session. This Guest Lecture was mainly planned for the Students of Master of Urban Design for their studio project on Chikhaldara Town proposed by CIDCO.
Poster & Event Photos:
Title: Guest lecture by Ar. Jasmine Saluja & Ar. Oormi Kapadia on “Design for People: Understanding Placemaking as a ProcessTool”
About the Event (Guest Lecture):
Guest Lecture was organized on 1st October 2022 by Ar. Jasmine Saluja who is a Mumbai Based Architect and Urban Designer from SPA, Delhi in online mode on Teams. Ar. Jasmine Saluja heads the Urban Research laboratory of PLURAL as its co-founding partner, advocates on making urban policies people centric and demonstrates it through real life public projects. Ar. Oormi Kapadia is a Mumbai based architect and urban designer who is an alumnus of University of Mumbai and University of Texas at Austin. She heads the planning policy and project research studio as a Co-founding Partner at PLURAL. Both of them gave an extensive presentations on the work done by them on Urban Level Projects for the City of Mumbai. They had a discussion with students as well as faculty on the various methods adopted by them and also the approach used for the projects.
This Guest Lecture was organized by Co-ordinators Dr. Priya Choudhary and Ar. Tanvi Burghate for the Students of Masters of Urban Design.
Poster:
Webinars
Title: Webinar on “Holistic Urban Design for Democratisation of cities” by Ar. P. K. Das
About the Event (Webinar):
M.Arch Urban Design Department of Women’s Education Society’s Smt. Manoramabai Mundle College of Architecture hosted a Webinar on “Holistic Urban Design for Democratization of Cities ” on 27th of May 2020 on Zoom (Online Mode). This webinar was organized for the students and professionals of the field of Architecture and Urban Design. In a diverse populous and unevenly developing country like India, Architecture and Urban Design needs to be connected with larger public aspirations. This is the first in the webinar series on urban design issues hosted by Urban Design Department of SMMCA followed by other interesting sessions in coming weeks.
Key note speaker was Ar. P.K. Das from Mumbai is a renowned Architect, Urban Designer and Activist. He has an experience of more than 37 years of working in the field of architecture and urban design. Ar. P K. Das through his works has been able to establish a very close relation between architecture, urban design, city and its people by involving them in a participatory planning process. He has been widely published and has also delivered talks & lectures across the world. His wide spectrum of work includes organizing slum dwellers for better living and evolving affordable housing models, engaging in policy framework for mass housing, conservation projects, urban renewal reclaiming the public spaces in Mumbai by developing the waterfronts, re-envisioning the city involving urban planning, urban design and architecture assignments across the country. He shared his views, experience in the field and also presented some of his projects in the Webinar.
Dr. Shyamala Nair, Director , Women’s Education Society (WES) and Dr. Ujwala Chakradeo, Principal, SMMCA had urged students, academicians, professionals from the fraternity to attend it. And a good response was received with around 500 registrations for the event.
Poster, Event Photos & News Articles:
Title: Webinar on “Master in Architecture: Prospectus & Options” by SMMCA Faculty members
About the Event (Webinar):
Webinar on “Master in Architecture: Prospectus & Options” by SMMCA Faculty members organized on 1st August 2020 in online mode on Microsoft Teams aimed to discuss about the various options available to pursue Masters course along with future prospects after completion. It is important to make informed decisions while choosing the right Post Graduation course. Thus this webinar was mainly focused on sharing information regarding various post graduate programs nationally & internationally. Key speakers for the webinar were Dr. Ujwala Chakradeo, Prof. Laxmi Rao, Dr. Priya Choudhary, Dr. Sampada Peshwe & Ar. Kaushal Jajoo. Organizers were Dr. Priya Choudhary, Ar. Amit Pimpale, Ar. Sampada Peshwe and Ar. Tanvi Burghate. At the end of the program a detailed presentation was given by M.arch Architecture Education & M.arch Urban Design department. It was concluded by Question-Answer Session.
Poster:
Official Meetings
Title: Meeting with Dr. Ramnath Sonawane for Nagpur Smart city Development T.P. Scheme for our P.G. Urban Design Studio (Academic Project)
About the Event (Official Meeting):
The Meeting was conducted at Mr. Ramnath Sonwane sir’s office at Nagpur Smart & Sustainable City Development Corporation Ltd. (NSSCDCL) by Dr. Ramnath Sonawane, CEO, NSSCDCL. Major participants were M.arch Urban Design students, Urban design studio faculty members i.e. Ar. Amit Pimpale, Dr. Priya Choudhary, Ar, Arwa Ali and Ar. Tanvi Burghate. Meeting was co-ordinated by Ar. Amit Pimplae, Dr. Priya Choudhary and Ar. Tanvi Burghate. The meeting was focused on discussion of the concept of Smart City Project, Area Based Development under Smart City Initiative and the proposed Town Planning Scheme for Pardi, Bharatwada & Bhandewadi area. TP scheme has been planned by HCP.
This was a start for a collaboration of M.Arch Urban Design Department with NMC with a view of providing a good exposure to the students of urban design on live projects of the city.
Event Photos:
Title: Meeting at NSSCDCL Office, Nagpur for T.P. Scheme proposal presentation Academic Project work to NSSCDCL CEO Ms. Bhuvaneshwari
About the Event (Official Meeting):
The Meeting was organised at Nagpur Smart & Sustainable City Development Corporation Ltd. (NSSCDCL) on 6th Nov 2020 from 1pm to 2:30pm by co-ordinators Dr. Priya Choudhary and Ar. Tanvi Burghate. It was conducted specifically organised to discuss & present the proposals made by the Urban Design Department of Smt. Manoramabai Mundle College of Architecture. The proposals were made for the T.P. Scheme for Bharatwada, Pardi, Punapur & Bhandewadi areas that is a part of Area Based Development under Smart City Initiative. Proposals were in the form of Master plan interventions, area specific interventions for gaothan areas & overall guidelines for the TP Scheme.
This was a start for a collaboration of M.Arch Urban Design studios of SMMCA with the Nagpur smart city initiatives to provide a good exposure to the students of urban design on live projects of the city. Participants in the meeting were M.arch Urban Design students, Urban design studio faculty members i.e. Dr. Priya Choudhary, Ar. Tanvi Burghate, Ar. Neeta Lambe & NSSCDCL CEO and officials.
Event Photos:
Title: Meeting at NSSCDCL Office, Nagpur for presenting M.Arch Urban Design Department work to NSSCDCL CEO Mr. Gotmare
About the Event (Official Meeting):
The Meeting was organized at Nagpur Smart & Sustainable City Development Corporation Ltd. (NSSCDCL) on 28th June 2022 by co-ordinators Dr. Priya Choudhary and Ar. Tanvi Burghate. Meeting was conducted to present the work done by M.Arch urban design department of SMMCA on identified urban level projects of Nagpur City. Projects which were presented were: Understanding the City & its Commons: Blues, Greens & Browns, Smart Streets of Nagpur:Japanese garden s to orange city sq junction, City and its Communities: Mehdibagh Area, Bohra Community area, Parsi community area & tailor community area. Also Urban Regeneration of Taj Bagh area, Cotton Market, Hingna & Kamptee Areas. Participants NSSCDCL officials, CEO, SMMCA Faculty members Dr. Neeta Lambe, Dr. Priya Choudhary and Ar. Tanvi Burghate with M.Arch Urban Design 1st & 2nd year students.
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Exhibitions
Title: “Reinvigorating the Cultural Landscapes of Nagpur: Case of Mominpura, Hansapuri & Empress Mill Colony”
About the Event (Exhibition):
M.arch Urban design Department & INTACH Heritage Club of Women’s Education Society’s Smt Manoramabai Mundle College of Architecture had organized the exhibition on “Reinvigorating the cultural landscapes of Nagpur: Case of Mominpura, Hansapuri & Empress Mill” on Sunday 18th September 2022 from 10am to 7pm at 3 different locations as mentioned. The work done on Mominpura , Hansapuri & Empress Mill were exhibited at their respective locations for the locals so that they can understand their neighbourhood from past to present and be aware and responsible decision makers of its future. In Mominpura, the exhibition was inaugurated by Dr. Sarfuddin Sahil. In Hansapuri, the exhibition was inaugurated by Mr. Sanjay Jhawar. In Empress Mill colony, the exhibition was inaugurated by CA. Nitin Betharia.
The Vice Chancellor of RTMNU Dr. Subhash Choudhar, Dr. Mahajan, Placement cell incharge, Dr. Anant Pande were amongst the few prominent persons who visited the exhibition & congratulated the students for the good work. Exhibition was visited by large number of people from local communities also. Dr. Priya Choudhary, Head of the department along with Ar. Tanvi Burghate & Ar. Divya Tadas guided the students along with Ar. Sandeep Phate & Ar. Akash Baraiya.
Posters, Photos, Media:
Educational Tours
Title: Report on Visit to PVP College of Architecture, Meeting with Ar. Prasanna Desai & Visiting streets like ITI Road, Aundh & JM Road, Pune
About the Event (Educational Tour):
1. About the Visit to PVP College :
Tour was planned for the students of Masters of Urban design. Main objective was to expose the students to the field of urban design & its practices in the academics. To understand the approach & working in PVP college. Since PVP college has its own way to proceed in urban design which is through social consciousness. It was interesting to know their working style, approach towards live projects like metro & streets upgradation. The college tries to have vertical grouping to maximise the interaction between the students from first year to final year and even with the masters students. They impose more attention towards understanding the city through documentation and analysis right from 3rd year. Faculty members were also experienced as they have worked in the field from 15 to 20 years. Some faculty were freshers with their latest knowledge & ideas, which is equally important for the students. Overall it was a great learning from the institute, their work, faculty & students.
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2. Interactive session with Ar. Prasanna Desai sir & other faculty members :
Ar. Prasanna Desai had a great interactive session with the students regarding their thoughts for the field, their experiences, challenges he faced while executing urban projects. He shared his ideas, his projects, design and approach which was applied after the execution for the upgradation of the ITI road & JM road. He also had a brief talk on urban design career opportunities, constraints, politics and how challenging it is at every stage for executing an urban project.
One of the faculty was Ar. Anubandh sir who shared his experiences working for Lavasa for 18 years. How the Lavasa city was planned, idea behind the city, its present condition, political background and overall planning. Other faculty members discussed about their course curriculum, studio programs and activities which they carve out for the students.
Event Photos:
3. About the Visit to ITI road, Aundh & JM road,Pune :
Visit to ITI road was accompanied by four trainee architects of Ar. Prasanna Desai sir’s office. They explained us where the major interventions were executed, which were the different street elements used for the designing of the streets. The streets were planned for the pedestrians specifically with some pause points for the public to seat near kattas, open library, seatings, green spaces etc. Material change was observed at various places to demarcate a particular use of the space. Local material is adopted majorly which is stone. Play areas were also designed for kids like snaked & ladder and skating ground space on the footpath. Footpath purposely widened for the pedestrian use. Space thought had been given in designing of the seating areas, utilty boxes, level change, road bump etc. Many such interesting interventions and detailings were observed on our visit.
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Title: Report on Visit to Magarpatta City, Pune.
About the Event (Educational Tour):
The visit was planned for the students of Masters of Urban design at Magarpatta City on 31st jan 2020 from 4pm to 6pm along with – Faculty member: Ar. Tanvi Burghate. Main objective was to expose the students to understand the planning of a large scale township project. To understand the planning of various zones like commercial, residential , offices, recreational, community spaces etc. To look after the detailings in zoning as well as to the planning of landscape areas, street design, junction design, entry, exit points etc.
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Title: Visit to Magarpatta City, Pune.
About the Event (Educational Tour):
Visit was planned for the students of Masters of Urban design along with their faculty Ar. Tanvi Burghate to Aayojan School of Architecture and Design, Pune on 1st feb 2020. Main objective was to expose the students to the field of urban design & its practices in the academics. To understand the approach & working in Aayojan college. They have a simple and straight pattern. First Semester students are taught to document & analyse an urban area basically reading the city. Second semester students work on a green field project. Third semester students work on brown field projects. Training is done in 40 days between 3rd & 4th semester. Fourth semester students work on thesis project. They have a systematic approach in their learning. UD Faculty & Students had a great interaction with Aayojan students and their faculty.
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Title: Educational Tour to Chikhaldara Hill Station
About the Event (Educational Tour):
Chilkhaldara Study Tour was a part of 2nd sem studio project for which site study was needed. Studio Project was for “Comprehensive Tourism Development Plan for Chikhaldara Town”. Study tour was planned from 26th July to 28th July 2021. Students did a thorough research on the Chikhaldara Town, identified potential zones for studio project with the help of faculty members . These zones will be further developed for tourism & also for proposing a comprehensive tourism development plan. They visited the site on all the three days, documented the areas & different zones, identified various issues & also identified potential aspects of the site. They were accompanied with urban design faculty members Dr. Priya Choudhary, Ar. Arwa Hussain & Ar. Tanvi Burghate. They also visited Nagar Parishad’s office and also had a meeting with CIDCO official regarding the Development Plan proposed by CIDCO. Students were divided into 4 groups for documenting 4 different zones of the Chikhaldara town area. First day was all about visiting the Chikhaldara town & its famous tourist spots. Second day the students worked on assigned zones & also attended meetings with different stakeholders & the third day was again reserved for remaining site study. Everday discussions used to take place in the hotel after dinner for the progress of the work. Overall it was a fruitful study tour to gain maximum information.
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Workshops
1. Workshop by Ar. Rohan Chopde & Ar. Aashirwad Korde on “QGIS Beginner course”
About the Event (Workshops):
The Workshop was organised for M.arch Urban design students on “QGIS Beginner course” by Dr. Priya Choudhary and Ar. Tanvi Burghate. It was a held from 6th july to 10th july 2020 in online mode on Zoom. Ar. Aashirwad korde & Ar. Rohan Chopde, Assistant Professor at D. Y. PatilCollege, Akurdi, Pune conducted the workshop, Which covered major topics like Introduction to QGIS, its characteristics, QGIS tools, Vector Data management & Tables, working with Raster Data, QGIS Plygins, creating maps & related products etc. It was quite an intensive workshop which benefited the students & also some interested faculty members of SMMCA. Finally concluded with uestion answer sessions and vote of thanks by Ar. Tanvi Burghate.
Event Poster & Photos:
2. Workshop on “Graphic in Urban Design” by Ar. Dipti Shukla
About the Event (Workshops):
A two day workshop was organised for the first year & second year students of M.arch Urban Design students by Dr. Priya Choudhary, Ar. Amit Pimpale, Ar. Sampada Peshwe and Ar. Tanvi Burghate in online mode on Microsoft teams. Ar. Dipti Shukla, Assistant Professor & Program Coordinator for School of Design & Architecture, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Dubai was the Guest speaker, who has coordinated & organised the workshop with the help of Assistant professor of our Urban design department to make the workshop successful. Aim of the workshop was to make the students understand how an urban design graphics should be created to make them more interesting, readable & legible. So what kind of steps they should follow for different scenarios were discussed. Even which types of websites & softwares can be used was suggested by Ar. Dipti Shukla. First day of workshop was an introductory session & also a presentation was given by Ar. Dipti Shukla on “Graphics in Urban Design”. Which followed by Group formations of masters students for the activity allotted for the next session. Vertical grouping was done with the first years & second year students. They were allotted in 6 groups for 2 sites selected i.,e. Bardi & mahal. 3 groups per site were divided into following areas i.e. Macro level study, Meso level study & Micro level study.
The Day 2 session was a good product of what the task was given to the students. As all the 6 groups presented their work in the workshop. Ar. Dipti Shukla guided each group regarding the graphics required. Workshop was attended by masters students of urban design, fifth year students of B.arch & some faculty members. Attended by 141 participants. The workshop was concluded with a vote of thanks.
Event Posters & Photos:
3. Workshop by Ar. Shreya Shetty on “Human Centric Approach for an Accessible & Inclusive Smart City”
About the Event (Workshops):
A 2 day workshop was arranged for 1st year students of M.arch Urban Design by Dr. Priya Choudhary and Ar. Tanvi Burghate in online mode . Speaker was Ar. Shreya Shetty who is an Architect, Urban Designer & Academecian & works at Independent Collaborative Consultant, Banglore. On the first day of the workshop, She first introduced herself & the tried to know all the 15 students individually to know their interests and how they respond to the urban environment. She later explained the importance of human centric approach and how that can be achieved. She had planned some small interesting exercises in between the sessions of the workshop for the students as well as for the faculty. Which created an interesting dialogue. She then introduce them on some important aspects that’s need to be taken care of while dealing with an urban project like “Smart Streets”.& also allotted them a series of work to be done before next session. On the second day of the workshop, students work was seen & discussed. Some suggestions were also suggested by Ar. Shreya Shetty.
Finally the session was ended by a series of Question & Answer session.
This workshop was mainly organised for the 1st year Students of Master of Urban Design as they were working on the live project of “SMART STREETS”. Attended by 20 partcipants.
Event Poster & Photos :
4. Workshop by Dr. Ramchandra Mangrulkar on “Applications of Research Tools for Scientific Writing & Publishing”
About the Event (Workshops):
The Workshop was organised by Dr. Tarika Dagadkar, Dr. Priya Choudhary and Ar. Tanvi Burghate in online mode on Google Meet on 17th April 2021 from 10 am to 6pm. It was conducted by Dr. Ramchandra Mangrulkar, Associate Professor for the Department of Computer Engineering, Mumbai. The workshop covered the basic LATEX required for writing scientific documents. The goal of the workshop was to provide a practical approach from scientific writing to publishing including various research tools such as Overleaf, Mendeley, Elsevier, Springer & Clarivate. It was 8 Hrs session, which covered some major components from Introduction to Latex, fonts, formatting, listing, figure insertion, report writing & also understanding journal formats, IEEE, Springer, Elsevier, Research Academy & Overleaf as cloud based approach. Total 73 people had registered for the workshop, out of which 58 participants had attended the complete session.
Event Posters & Photos:
Students’ Achievements
Design and Build Competition
Under Design and Build Competition conducted by @nmengp and @nagpur_2025, architecture students of various colleges gave presentation of projects they had designed to Municipal Commissioner and Administrator Hon. Radhakrishnan B. at MC Headquarters in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Administrative Building at Commissioner’s Meeting Room on Thursday (4th May).
Our M.Arch Urban Design Students also got the opportunity to get shortlisted and present their ideas for Mominpura Area of Nagpur.
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Event Video:
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Participation in: “Auto-Rickshaw stand Design Competition”
About the Event (Student’s Achievements):
“Auto-Rickshaw stand Design Competition” Competition was organized by Department of Sociology, SPPU, Pune and PVPCoA, Pune supported by Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan [RUSA]. The brief was for the design of an AutoRickshaw Stand as a coherent community space linking the everyday life of Auto Rickshaw drivers and the neighbourhood. Apart from addressing the functional requirement of parking for Auto-Rickshaws, the program includes a comfortable and safe space for the drivers to rest. Additional amenities like provision of clean drinking water, a newspaper reading space, washrooms with changing facility, and seating spaces for people needs to be envisaged.
Results were announced on 6th Sept 2021.
Group 1: Shankar Nagar Auto Stand, Nagpur (FIRST PRIZE WINNING TEAM)
Group Members: Kapil Kawale, Divya Tadas, Gaurav Bajaj & Sakshi Pandya
Group 2: Kargil Chowk Auto Stand, Betul (SPECIAL MENTION TEAM) in top 5
Group Members: Shivani Soni & Vaidehi Deshmukh
Event Photos (Results):
Paper Presentation in international Design Research Conference 2020
About the Event (Student’s Achievements):
Ar. Krutika Band, M.Arch Urban Design Student of Batch 2019-2021 (1st Batch) with her Mentor Ar. Namrata Gaurkhede had participated in the international design research conference on “Architecture through Repurpose” organized by Aditya College of Architecture, Borivali on 11th and 12th December 2020.
She had submitted a paper titled “Current trends in decentralization of waste management”. The paper discussed about current practices in decentralization of waste management in India. Amravati City in Maharashtra was taken as study area for proposal of a pilot project for the same.
Photos (Certificate & Students Photo):
Faculty’s Achievements
Faculty Name: Dr. Priya Choudhary
About the Achievements:
- She is appointed as Editor-in-Chief of journal International Journal of Architectural Design & Management for year 2021. It is a publication by Center for Construction and Architectural excellence, India.
- She is invited as a reviewer for a research paper for the international Journal, ‘Open House International’ published by Emerald Publishing.
- She is the Advisor for the research Journal, ‘The Urban Rhetoric ‘ Published by Innovative Research and Design Studio, Banglore. “The Urban Rhetoric” is a bi-annual initiative by innovative Research and Design Studio [IRDS] to create a platform for discussion and act as a catalyst in recreating the future of urbanism and urban development in India.
- She is the Certified Professional and also an Evaluator for GRIHA and is working as a green building consultant.
- Part of webinar series “Women in Architecture” 2022
- Contributed as a “Research Paper Reviewr” for “National conference on Built Encironment and Beyond: Theory & Practice” on 18th & 19th October 2022
Photos of the certificates:
Faculty Name: Ar. Tanvi Burghate
- COMPETITION :
- Secured a position in Top 20 & a SPECIAL MENTION for Site A in top 5 for “C. R. Park Participatory Public Space Reimagining competition” organized by Multilogue Collective & Trust for Regeneration of Indian Settlements & C. R. Park Green Initiatives.
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- Secured First prize for the Neighnourhood Site of Sakkardara of “Streets for people challenge competition” organized by NSSCDCL, MoHUA in collaboration with Fit India, ITDP for (Winners, secured first prize for the Neighbourhood Site of Sakkardara: Dr. Priya Choudhary, Ar. Tanvi Burghate & Ar. Gauri Rananaware)
- COLLABORATION :
“Attractive Public Realm & Public Art Installation Project” in collaboration with Nagpur Smart & Sustainable City Development Corporation Pvt Ltd from 2021.
Her Role as an Urban Designer: Research, Concept Development, Designing, Presentation Drawings & Working Drawings.
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- PARTICIPATION:
2021: Participated for “Streets for People Challenge”: To reimagine the streets of Pune organised in Feb 2021organised by Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) & ITDP.
2021: Participated in “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” form 1st Oct to 3rd Oct 2021 for Pilot Intervention at Sakkardara site, Nagpur.
Faculty Name: Ar. Ketki Tidke
Awarded “Best Teacher Award” in recognition of er Excellence in Teaching Academic Year 2020-21
Faculty Name: Ar. Anuradha Bhute
Paper published on “Analyzing the Legal Framework in tow tier city of Nagpur” in International conference on ” Rediscovering Cities 2K20 (July 2020)
Faculty Name: Ar. Kaushal Jajoo
Was selected & invited at RACHNA training program about Thermal Comfort, an initiative of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
Faculty Name: Ar. Arwa Hussain
2021: Paper published on “Reclaiming Urban Spaces for Women through Gender Inclusive Approaches in Scribd and Academia (2021
Faculty Name: Dr. Madhurima Waghmare
Completed PhD from Teri Schoold of Advanced Studies, New Delhi in recognition of research work on “Multidimensional assessment of inclusiveness attributes and barriers to inclusion in Smart Cities” -2021
PAPER PUBLISHED :
- Chapter (October 2023) in a book titled impact of COVID on Cities and Regions, published by Elgar publishing, U.S.A.
- Expert speaker in FDP titled Livable Indian Cities, Jan 2023 by Dehradoon Institute of technology (DIT) for CoA.
- Waghmare, M., Singhal S. (2021) ‘Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for Inclusive Smart Cities in India.’ Development in Practice. Routledge. DOI: 10.1080/09614524.2021.1907535
- Waghmare, M., Singhal S. (2021) ‘Inclusive Planning Techniques for the Sustainable Revitalisation of Vernacular Settlements in India.’ Paper presented on February 13, 2021, at the International Conference on Vernacular Settlements (ISVS-10), 2021, Re-Domestication of the World after the Pandemic: A re-visit to the origins and manifestations of domesticity in vernacular architecture, hosted by the School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal, India and partners on February 12-14, 2021.
- Waghmare, M., Singhal S. (2021) ‘Critical Assessment of Factors of Quality of Life of the Urban Poor: Case Study of Nagpur Smart City, India.’ Paper presented on April 21, 2021, at the 4rth International Graduate and Ph.D. seminar organised by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad.
- Waghmare, M., Singhal S. (2021) ‘Inclusive-Cities Decision Matrix based on a Multidimensional approach for Culturally Responsive Smart Cities.’ Paper presented at the International Conference on Cities in a Changing World: Questions of Culture, Climate and Design, New York. Organised by City Tech, CUNY, June 16-18, 2021.
- Waghmare, M., Singhal S. (2021) ‘Examining the Multidimensional Challenges for Inclusiveness in the Smart Cities of India.’ Paper presented at the National Conference on “CITIES 2050: Planning, Governance and Management” held on 23-24 July 2021 at MNIT Jaipur, India
- Waghmare, M., Singhal S. (Forthcoming) ‘Reimagining Planning for the Smart Cities – An Inclusive and Resilient Growth Approach.’ Paper will be presented at the 2021 UK-Ireland Planning Research Conference on 8-10 September 2021, hosted by the Newcastle University, the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape.
Faculty Name: Ar. Sujata Godbole
Holds a Ph.D. from RTM Nagpur University on research topic “Impact of Urban Heat Island on city of Nagpur-Developing Strategies to reduce Urban Heat Island Effect and Improve Thermal Comfort.
Faculty Name: Ar. Namrata Gaurkhede
Co-authored a report on Alternative approaches to Master Plan for MoUD and Research papers on disasters and drainage systems.
Faculty Name: Ar. Poornima Deshpande
Participated in Online training Program on “ Sustainable Habitat: Design, Planning & Management” from 28th nov to 2nd dec 2022 organised by COA-TRC
Details on Eligibility, How to apply, Who can apply and Seats can be found in the admissions sections of our website. Prospectus is available with our office.
Full time M.Arch-(Urban Design) Co-ordinator – Ar. Namrata Gaurkhede