Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVS), Karachi

History

In 1988, the Asian Congress of Architect held in Seoul Korea was attended by a delegation of architects and their spouses from Pakistan. Pakistani architects got an inspiration of developing an art and architecture school in Karachi from that event. Architects Arshad and Shahid Abdulla, Zaigham Jaffery, Shahab Ghani, Shama Usman, Akeel Bilgrami. came up with a concept of building an institution at Karachi that could provide an environment to nurture the young artists and architects.

A temporary premises for Murshid Hospital‘s Nursing School was chosen first then Philanthropist Haamid Jaffer, the 10th Founder Member, offered a large family house for a period of three years. The original school comprises a drawing studio, constructed under a wooden trellis, a makeshift lecture hall built with a tin roof. A printmaking studio constructed in the garden, ceramic studio under the porch, and the textile design studio located in the servant quarter over the garage. The academic session began in September 1990 with 45 students.

Shahid Sajjad’s suggested the name “Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture”, which was unanimously accepted. The first faculty members were Meher Afroz, David Alesworth, Dr. Akbar Naqvi, Shahab Ghani, Tariq Hassan, Shakeel Asghar Ali, Samina Mansuri, Naheed Yahya and Ishrat Suharwardy.

Later, the School was relocated in KDA Scheme No. 5, Clifton, and became operational in 1994. Shortly afterwards, the School moved into a hundred-year old building of Karachi, the Nusserwanjee Building.

Infrastructure

The new campus includes a four-storey East Wing and a three storey West Wing. The two wings give the School a further 25,000 sq. ft. of space, The Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture entails all the modern facilities and state-of-the-art infrastructure. Marium Abdulla Library houses approximately 12,000 print books, an online database consisting of about 2,500 research journals along with a Digital Library. At the library, public computers are available with Wi-Fi Internet connectivity. Furthermore, the Agha Hasan Abedi Computer Lab is a showcase of most modern techno-oriented learning space.. AHA Lab integrates 30 new Core i3 personal computers and the uninterrupted Wi-Fi facility serves approx. 300 students at a time. Other most modern equipment and infrastructure facilities are available for the students to work in a stress-free working atmosphere.

Mission

IVS mission is to comply with current social, technological and aesthetic transition, IVS is preparing their students with creative abilities that help them to become outstanding members of the society, both personally and professionally.

Each department at IVS is associated with other departments to develop the core visual arts concepts. A team of qualified artists, architects, scholars, archaeologists, and designers help students to nurture their creative ideas. Moreover, the research and creative learning aim to transform a simple student into a competent professional.

Core Values

A member of the IVS community is intertwined with passion for Learning. He/she always strives for excellence in studies and personal development . The ethical values are followed with dignity and humility. The students welcome positive criticism and struggle hard to bring a positive social change.

Vision

Indus Valley School is foreseeing a learning atmosphere where art, design and architecture is taught under the most innovative and scholastic environment. The research and innovation, taught at the school will help the students to become a prominent member of the society.