SPA Delhi had a modest beginning in 1941 as a Department of Architecture of Delhi Polytechnic. It was later affiliated to the University of Delhi and integrated with the School of Town and Country Planning which was established in 1955 by the Government of India to provide facilities for rural, urban and regional planning. On integration, the school was renamed as School of Planning and Architecture in 1959. Fully funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE), Government of India the School has today emerged as an apex premier national level institution in the fields of architecture, planning and allied areas. SPA was declared as an Institute of National Importance in 2015 through an Act of Parliament under the SPA, Act 2014 supported by the MOE.
The school is a specialized University, only one of its kinds, which exclusively provides training at various levels, in different aspects of human habitat and environment. The school has taken lead in introducing academic programmes in specialized fields both at Bachelor’s and Master’s level, some of which are even today not available elsewhere in India. The school, in striving for excellence, has always been in the lead in extending education and research to new frontiers of knowledge. Human habitat and environment being the basic concern of the school, the spectrum of academic programmes is being continuously extended by providing programmes in new fields and emerging areas for which facilities are not available, as yet, anywhere else in the country.
The current SPA Delhi campus is located near ITO in Indraprastha Estate in New Delhi. The SPA Residential Campus and Hostel is located at Maharani Bagh, New Friends Colony, New Delhi and a girl’s hostel at Indraprastha Estate. A site of 20 acres has been acquired south of JNU by the school adjacent to Hotel Grand for developing a new campus.
It offers two Undergraduate Courses in Architecture and Planning and ten Postgraduate Courses including Urban Planning, Regional Planning, Transport Planning, Environmental Planning, Housing, Urban Design, Architectural Conservation, Landscape Architecture, Industrial Design and Building Engineering and Management. All departments offer Ph.D. programs. SPA, NEW DELHI offers an option of Integrated M. Planning Degree of five years duration to the students admitted to Bachelor of Planning Programme. The student can take the option for Integrated M. Planning Degree after Seventh Semester
The Sports Cell of the School primarily deals with the various sports related activities of the students across all departments. The cell organizes the annual sports meet ‘ATHLOS for the students and the annual sports meet of the staff members of the school. The school offers sports facilities for a basketball, badminton, volleyball. multi gymnasium, garden gym, table tennis and billiards table. The Sports Cell has also been encouraging informal sports activities such as cycling city tours, inter-class matches of improvised cricket matches. School aims to provide a wholesome sports opportunity that contributes significantly to the personality development of the students.
Student life at the institute revolves around academic, recreational and extra- curricular activities. The students run a series of clubs and associations, which centre on SPANDAN the dramatics club, SANKALP the Indian music group and CODA the Western Music group, SEPIA is the photography club etc. SPAKRITI exclusively organizes several Spic-Macay concerts each year featuring the nation’s most eminent performing artists. FEAT (Forum for Exchange of Architectural Thought) regularly organizes lectures and interactions with eminent persons in the fields of architecture and allied disciplines. UTOPIA, the annual cultural festival conducted by students, features art and craft competitions, debates, discussions, and a variety of cultural events. EXPRESSION, the biannual student exhibition, gives an opportunity to the students to exhibit their work, both academic and spontaneous statements of creativity in the form of photographs, drawings, paintings, sculpture, and other media. Students of Planning are members of the NOSPLAN, the National Organization of Students of Planning. Students of Architecture are members of NASA, the National Association of Students of Architecture. Through these activities, the students get opportunities to interact with their contemporaries from all over the country and to view work approaches in sister institutions for mutual benefit and learning. All these student activities are managed by Students’ Council and Students’ Associations, whose members are elected annually by the students.
To know more details, click official website: www.spa.ac.in
