Aaron Abraham Thomas

CFP004

U23003

The CEPT Foundation Programme studio is an introduction for students fresh out of school to the rigor and work habits required by an undergraduate degree at CEPT University. The studio is conceptualized as a series of sequentially planned exercises, through which students develop skills and abilities, which are then deployed to address increasingly complex problems falling in four broad categories: visualize and draw, make and learn, anayse and interpret and conceptualise and represent. The exercises are designed to provide foundational skills for students across disciplines at CEPT, between which they maintain a balance. They also reflect an understanding that at the foundation level, these skills overlap to a large extent, and a varied array is of benefit to all students. The studio is taught through intensive 1–2 week long modules, focusing on a particular skill or ability, and a process that emphasizes ongoing feedback in addition to expert faculty lectures.


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As the name suggests, every stroke and colour was conceptualized with the idea of an unlimited imaginative canvas, meaning that we were given free reign to draw whatever we wanted, however we wanted to. As long as it had a “logical” explanation, of course.

Quite the opposite of the previous work, this module dealt with making precise measured drawings of a pre-existing structure, including finer details like doors and windows. Additionally, the utility of the space is showcased using a representation of the same structure.

Surrounded by the Holy Ganga, the spiritual ghats and the confusing gullies, our academic study in Varanasi dealt with finding relationships between the people, their lifestyle and their association with spirituality.

Perhaps one of the more chaotic modules, our group endeavoured to map the relationship between the dynamic elements and the static elements of the site, this relationship highlighted and heightened during the festive period of Ramadan and Holi.

A jam-packed exercise spent mostly in the wood and metal workshop, this module was an exploration in the process of joining 2 elements, which were both similar and dissimilar in nature. There was also an attempt to understand the process of finishing materials, namely sanding and staining wood and buffing and painting metallic elements.

Offering us a peek into the mesmerizing physics of the engineering behind structures, this exercise dealt with understating the basics. A test of this understanding was conducted with the build of a model of a realistic structure (in this case, a spanning member), which was later load-tested.

A fun experiment with understanding the concept of efficient use of energy and an attempt to decode a design process in detail, trying to understand the various steps and concepts used to facilitate the design process.

The exciting culmination of our year at the CFP programme, this module dealt with using the knowledge gained from all the previous modules to design a game from the ground up, set to the context of Varanasi.

The premise of our game, Bramayuga.

Documentation of our game, the packaging and the elements.

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