For many architects who graduated, Basic Design was enjoyable, done over with and left behind. Not for the few who perceived the necessity of the subject and took it along in their journey as designers. Shirish Sukhatme's work "artinarch" (which is the short for "Art in Architecture") is the milestone in that route. It is a pioneering effort that lays the footing for the inclusion and essence of Basic Design in the learning of Architecture.

Though the author believes that this work is measured to gear students into strengthening their foundations for architectural design through the perception of art, I see the benefit of this project in a mutual manner. It is a vital aid for teachers of the subject while practitioners in the field may have it going easy in understanding the basics in the principles of composition, balance and harmony in the built environment. Perception of art aside, it is the art of perception that "artinarch" launches in the mind of the designer, teacher and learner alike.

The site is inclusive in the sense that the text is quite local, supported by familiar images, apparently striking as related visual messages. Each word or term that usually plagues the exhaustive vocabulary of an artist designer is explained in a paragraph or two at most, thereby keeping the attention span of the reader. The three sections are distinct in their purpose as well as open for cross dialogue and entry. In short, the site is easy for reading, relating, referencing and reinforcing in many ways on the subject.

Mr. Harshad Bhatia
Urban Designer, Architect, Writer & Conservationist, March 200

We had a look at your CD on Art & Architecture. It is indeed a nicely and painstakingly prepared exercise, which will help students as well as teachers, to a great extent. Please accept our congratulations.

Prof. Madhav Deobhakta
Hon. Director, Indian Education Society's College of Architecture

ART IN ARCH is undoubtedly the essential foundation course for a student aspiring to study architecture. It is also a ‘thesaurus’ of visuals for the teacher to communicate concepts to the students.

A few step by step progressive examples in the workshop section to display how a composition is arrived at through process of elimination and addition of elements of composition, will be of great help as a spark plug to begin the journey of exploration of ART IN ARCH

A section on art materials, different type of papers, boards etc. would add to the information content of the site, leading perhaps to site getting sponsorship from art material manufacturers!

Prof. Harimohan Pillai. Architect
H.O.D. MES School of Architecture. Kuttippuram, Kerala

Shirish Sukhatme has performed an outstanding service to students and faculty of architecture and visual arts by his excellent website? Art in Arch?. He has painstakingly organized material collected from the last two decades as a teacher of Basic Design in Architecture schools in Bombay. What is most commendable is his respect and affection for students, whose work he has photographically preserved over this long period.

Basic Design for students of architecture has always been a somewhat tricky subject to teach. Our lives are dominated by signifiers, visual/ symbolic images bombarded at us all the time. To break them down into elementals (or abstract concepts) for different visual applications is no easy task for the fledgling student of architecture in the first year. This is where Sukhatme?s website becomes a road map through the visual thickets and intricacies of design, particularly in establishing the relationship between art, architecture and design.

Art in Arch is comprehensive, and yet easy to navigate. The copious examples are proof enough of the success of the exercises that Sukhatme has formulated for the Basic Design student. He not only describes the assignments, but also makes an analysis of the completed work, topping this off by displaying examples from design in the real world, thus making the understanding of the student complete. The theoretical portions on various topics also help in giving the reader an in-depth sense to aspects of visual and formal design. It is, of course, the slide gallery that any aspirant will first seek, and be fully compensated.

I have been privileged to know Shirish Sukhatme in the years we were Basic Design teachers together in Sir J. J. College of Architecture, and have been witness to his efforts to organize this wayward subject. It has always been an enjoyable and enriching association. What makes me especially happy is that now I can still access his experiments and explorations through this excellent website. As a teacher of Basic Design I can ask for no more.

Mustansir Dalvi
Principal, Pillais College of Architecture, New Panvel