National Award recipient Prof Vijayalaxmis quest to teach and build better

In todays world shaped by Google and AI, teachers remain irreplaceable. Why? Because search engines can hand us endless answers, but only a teacher can kindle the curiosity to ask the right questions. While algorithms may process data, it is teachers who invoke empathy, imagination, and the courage to think differently, and so their relevance is not measured by the information they carry, but by the wisdom, patience, and human touch with which they shape lives. Recognising this and honouring educators year after year, the Government of India confers the National Award to Teachers, bestowed annually since 1958. The Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, selected 21 teachers in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Polytechnic this year. Among the recipients was Professor Iyer Vijayalaxmi Kasinath, a Chennaiite who teaches in the School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. From admitting she stumbled into architecture before falling in love with it, to playing a vital part in shaping climate-resilient and sustainable architecture curricula in India, her journey now aligns with the countrys international climate commitment. Here are excerpts from her candid conversation with CE . What inspired you to choose teaching as your path? Do you remember the teacher who inspired or made an impact on you to fuel that dream? I was in class 8. My brother had finished Engineering and cracked JEE, while my sister had joined MBBS. At that time, when my father asked what I wanted to pursue, I said I wanted to be a teacher. I didnt know what I wanted to teach, but I think the decision came from the reverence and respect I had for my teachers in school. Later, in my undergraduate programme, I noticed certain traits in my professors that further inspired me to become a teacher myself. I had a professor named Ravi at Anna University. He taught me Basic Design in the first semester and Urban Design in my ninth semester. He was able to come down to the level of a first-semester B Arch student and also managed to relate to us in our final year of undergraduation. His way of teaching was fantastic that one could not take their eyes off the board. He was very punctual to class, and I have also never seen him lose his temper with his students. He would also never go out of his way to cajole students, but if you spoke to him, he would give you time. He was prepared before he came to class, and one could see his preparation, which means he respected his students and their time. All this was at a time when there was no real accountability system in education. There was no NAAC or NBA. I appreciated his passion and he was my biggest inspiration. So, the month I finished my post-graduation, I took up a teaching job. What led you to architecture? How did your interest evolve towards sustainable design? Frankly speaking, I wasnt very passionate or keen on studying architecture. I had admission letters from multiple institutions outside Chennai after I finished school, but due to certain family situations, I wanted to be closer to home. Hence, I applied to Anna University and I got into the Architecture programme. Within a few weeks, when Professor Ravi taught us, I developed an interest in the subject. I was always very good at Mathematics. What I do today sustainable architecture has a lot of math in it. We have to calculate so many things how energy transfer happens in buildings, how to make buildings comfortable, and so on. I think I found that sweet spot where my liking for architecture, which I had developed over a period of time, and my aptitude in Mathematics came together. What keeps you passionate about teaching after almost three decades in the profession? As teachers, we have the responsibility of training the next generation. When it comes to my domain of architecture, I believe that my generation has done immense damage to the environment. Now it is our duty to help the next generation mend that damage. This aligns with the agenda of the Government of India, which is to make India carbon neutral by 2070. But we have buildings that consume 40 percent of energy. So this gap of traversing to a net carbon-zero country is where, I think, I, as a teacher, am aiming to help students with. That keeps my fire burning. The National Award for Teachers winners with Prime Minister Narendra Modi In promoting sustainable architectural practices in India, what major challenges do you think architects are encountering, and how should they address them? Firstly, compared to a decade ago, every architect has become aware of sustainability. Even clients have become aware of sustainable architecture, climate-responsive architecture, and that we need to be less energy intensive. But when a client invests his earnings of 30-35 years in a home, he has specificities that he would expect an architect to deliver, which might not be sustainable or help in keeping the building energy-intensive. So there is always the issue of meeting clients expectations. To tell them that they will have to live a slightly compromised life to have a sustainable building that doesnt consume much energy is an issue for architects. That is the challenge they have of convincing clients. But on the other side, there is a lot of work being done to make energy-neutral building materials. Materials are echo-labelled where the label says how much energy a product has consumed, carbon dioxide it has emitted, and so on. With such products, architects are quantifying the energy that they are consuming, but the confluence of everything isnt happening today. It will take some time. Are there challenges when it comes to institutional mindsets of evolving architecture curriculum to accommodate sustainability? If you had asked me this question six months back, I would have said that there needs to be a great shift in the mindset. But recently, the Council of Architecture, which is the governing body for architectural education in India, made a separate team of experts to address the question of how to bring in sustainability and address climate change issues in the curriculum, especially the undergraduate one. I was a member too, and I think we have done as much to bring in three aspects climate change, climate justice, and climate-based rehabilitation into the curriculum of architecture. The National Award considers teaching-learning effectiveness and outreach. In your view, what makes your teaching effective and impactful? I believe that when a student learns, he shouldnt just learn to write answers on a question paper. When he leaves, he should carry something significant in his hand. So I make every student go to the site and ask them to investigate the field, applying whatever was taught in theory. They should collect data, and it has to be interpolated. During this process, I also teach them technical writing. I facilitate their study by helping them procure instruments to study the data. Similarly, if there is a building that a student wants to study, and the owner refuses permission, I request them and facilitate the study. I end up handling each student on a one-to-one basis. I get WhatsApp messages at 2.30 am or 3 am saying Maam, the instrument isnt working or The weather was warm till yesterday and now due to thunderstorms the temperature has changed. Should I continue my reading? My work is 24/7. Almost every student at the end of my course or subject has a technical paper worth publishing. It is then up to them how they want to take the paper forward publish in journals or books, present it in conferences, or take it up as their PhD. Almost 80% of the students also end up taking the same topic as their dissertation and final thesis because they have invested so much thought, time, and energy into this work for my class. We often focus on new energy-efficient or climate-resilient buildings, but how does your work address making existing structures more sustainable? I teach sustainable architecture because India is a developing country and there is a huge demand for new buildings. In the next 50 years, there will be double the number of buildings. So there is a scope for them to be sustainable. But I also teach students how to retrofit old buildings with technology. That is a work in progress. For instance, how can we use nanotechnology or nano coatings to ensure heat from outside doesnt come in? This becomes very important for heat-wave-prone places like Andhra Pradesh because disaster management guidelines ask people to stay inside, but the inside is so hot, and people who suffer are mainly women and children. Even those who work in industries like the cottage industry, for example, are already tackling heat stress. How do we make those buildings cool? We cant say demolish and rebuild; that is where retrofitting comes into the picture. A large part of my research is about retrofitting. I also encourage students to study possibilities of retrofitting the buildings they study because if they take baby steps in one course and take it forward in their dissertation or thesis, when they start moving into the industry, they will think more about retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency. Can you imagine yourself doing anything else besides teaching? I am extremely passionate about my profession. You cannot make me do anything else, and one cannot shake me out of it in exchange for anything in this world.