Anjali Anil

The biannual hunt for suitable firms and offices led by desperate students in the fourth or fifth year of their Architecture degree course has experienced a considerable shift over the last five years. What with Architecture being the next Engineering or Medical course, the field is currently enduring the after-effects of a sudden hike in the number of architecture institutions opened in the country.

Many a time, students are forced to seek refuge in firms in other cities and states and end up lacking exposure as they do not get placements in their hometown or at familiar firms of interest. The lack of being provided with a stipend by some firms hinders students from taking up offers as they become incapable of supporting themselves in another land with no source of income to cover daily expenses.

It is not a rare affair where architecture firms make the pennywise decision of taking in more interns instead of hiring a junior architect. But this game plan often turns out to be extremely exploitative. Students end up doing jobs clearly designated for a junior architect, and sometimes even more, but do not receive as much pay. They get asked to stay for long hours, sometimes all seven days through the week. When students who aren’t paid at all raise demands to receive just enough to cover their travel and accommodation expenses, their pleas are often retaliated with the response that their work will be rewarded with knowledge acquired at the office for free.

The unfair attitude expressed towards interns in many firms results in students becoming hesitant to voice doubts in fear of being denied their training certificate. Often, questions and suggestions are rebuked by seniors. Some even receive threats such that they will be reported to their respective college and sent away because of insufficient knowledge on certain subjects. An important factor that practicing architects must realize is that these interns are students who are still pursuing their journey through this field. They do not come with pre-set expertise and it is the responsibility of the people they encounter at firms to guide these students when they have qualms.

In an article by founder and editor-in-chief of Dezeen magazine Marcus Fairs on the topic of Architectural Internships in India, it was stated that upon contacting the Council of Architecture of India, only the briefest statement was issued in response to their questions concerning with guidelines laid down for students and firms to follow. A CoA spokesperson simply replied with "There are no guidelines framed for internships under the Architect Act".

Another article by Anupriya Saraswat of ArchitectureLive! reports that “The Council has also failed to provide a framework for ensuring the ethical treatment of all employees – including, but not limited to, provisions regarding minimum remuneration – and also not provided a channel for lodging complaints against unethical treatment.”

Such responses often tip the confidence levels of interns and births self-doubt, resulting in a decrease in their passion for the profession. Necessary steps must be taken to bring the issue to light, to brainstorm, and campaign for possible solutions, for without active action, there is little hope for the profession at large.

Works Cited

Fairs, M. (2019, April 29). Dezeen. Retrieved from https://www.dezeen.com/2019/04/29/unpaid-internships-india-architecture/

Saraswat, A. (n.d.). ArchitectureLive! Retrieved from http://architecturelive.in/architectural-internships-india-intern-story/