Sketching Chhaya 2025
On the precise measure of things, and the immeasurable.
Neelkanth Chhaya is an architect and academician. He
retired as the Dean of the Department of Architecture at
CEPT University in Ahmedabad. His practice has
emphasised adapting built form to physical and social
contexts. He is deeply interested in the cultural factors that affect architecture, especially in societies of rapid change.
This film chronicles Chhaya’s ideas on Life and Architecture.
Neelkanth Chhaya has been a practising architect and educator. He was brought up in Nairobi and moved to Ahmedabad in India to learn architecture. He graduated from the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology, a school of architecture founded by Pritzker Laureate Balkrishna Doshi and went on to teach there for decades, retiring as the Dean of the School of Architecture, CEPT University. He was taught architecture by stalwarts like Balkrishna Doshi, Anant Raje, and Hasmukh Patel and has been a contemporary of Professor Kurala Varkey.
Generations of students have been mentored by Prof Chhaya, and their work and practices remain deeply influenced by his worldview. His work personifies his ability to straddle the domains of the rigid and precise, along with the fluid, natural and humane. His buildings are cherished by the people who are fortunate to inhabit them.
Sketching Chhaya touches upon the ideas of life, learning and architecture from the unique vantage point of Prof. Chhaya. The film intends to render a sense of the protagonist’s persona through an intimate portrait loosely scripted in five chapters. Chhaya’s buildings and the spaces he is deeply associated with form the backdrop of the conversations in the film.
INFORMATION
Film: Matter.
Shot and Edited by: Gasper D’Souza (White Brick Post)
