Should You Be An Architect By Pietro Belluschi Analysis

“I cannot, in whole conscience, recommend architecture as a profession for girls ... the obstacles are so great that it takes an exceptional girl to make a go of it. If she insisted on becoming an architect, I would try to dissuade her. If then, she was still determined, I would give her my blessing … she could be that exceptional one.” - Pietro Belluschi in “Should You Be An Architect?”, 1955.

At the risk of sounding cliché, I begin my personal statement with this quote in lieu of a formal introduction, only because it mirrors the sentiment my beloved grandfather expressed when I spoke of pursuing architecture as a young girl. Not to discredit Belluschi or my grandfather; after all their advice stems from the social ideals of their time,
Mumbai is still in its intermediate stage of rapid urbanization, and at this vulnerable stage, it is slowly falling prey to practices that blindly ape the West. My interest in the conflict between “change versus identity”, in an urban context, gained renewed impetus during my research and design for the adaptive reuse of an old and defunct Parsi Zoroastrian Sanatorium. This independent proposal to the F.D.Petit Trust, the owners, sensitized me to craft, context, historic form and materiality. The Parsi Zoroastrian diaspora is probably one which has most successfully reinvented its sense of place and identity across various parts of the world, after migrating from Persia to avoid religious persecution. As a member of this rapidly declining Parsi Zoroastrian diaspora, I was keen to re-acquaint myself with my community’s substantial contributions in Mumbai during the British Colonial era, and its influence, which is intricately woven into Mumbai’s Heritage architecture. Mumbai’s culturally diverse heritage; be it Parsi, Christian, Konkani, Gujarati or Marathi; is symbolic of its identity, which rapid urbanization has distanced us from. To this I ask myself, is the only solution to this looming identity crisis a mere nostalgic reform, or can a contemporary design approach emancipate Mumbai from its state of architectural
The interdisciplinary nature of graduate studies in architecture will help me revisit and review my original assertions. My never ending quest for an architecture which is sensitive to its history, and simultaneously embraces change will lead to new trajectories during my graduate studies. In architecture school, we were always taught to pursue unbiased knowledge; however, my experiences have revealed otherwise. Strive as we might, we will always have a unique perspective, filtered through the lens of our gender, our community and our background. Berkeley’s graduate program promises a chance to investigate such notions with its diverse and rigorous courses, and will be a platform for the architectural dialogue which I sincerely yearn