The Masters of Architecture (Housing Design) program is meant for architecture professionals aiming to acquire specialized expertise in housing design, or those who wish to widen their knowledge with respect to housing design for academic purposes.

India is at the threshold of massive urbanization in both big and small cities. This implies already that there is an increase in housing demand over and above the current housing shortage in India. This has led to an increased demand for housing which is further fueled by the rising household income levels in certain classes of the society. This has also led to a reimagination of the traditional housing types to more complex housing typologies that may include density challenges, a mix of uses, economic efficiency, use of advanced construction technologies and management. At the same time, large sector of population has remained marginalized and in that sense, there will be a demand for imagination of housing for the marginalized communities as well. Meanwhile, climate change related concerns pose new challenges for housing designers to rethink the current frameworks of climatology and climate responsive architecture of housing. Along with that the advancements in design tools and technologies present new possibilities and challenges for both housing design and the relevance of architect as professional.

In this context, there is a need for an architectural professional who possesses expertise in housing design in response to the new scenarios, and who can effectively evolve design ideas to include social changes in housing types, technological advancements in construction, the efficiency of land use, building regulations, climate responsive design, and who is also agile to adapt to new technologies in design tools.

The MHD program responds to this evolving scenario to train professional architects in housing design, who can engage with mainstream profession, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, communities, academics, research, and advocacy. The program will provide students with multiple opportunities to interact with representatives and experts from all the above mentioned streams along with leading architects engaged in housing design from across India and internationally.

Design studios are central aspects of the pedagogy of the MHD program and the theory courses are imagined as foundational, supportive and directional aspects of the program. This provides opportunities to combine real-life housing design challenges while exploring new directions in design.