PHOTOGRAPHY - AN INTERPRETIVE TOOL TO DECIPHER URBAN CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Photography as a technology and as an art form has been an important medium to explore and showcase the socio cultural traits and behavior of the people and demonstrate the setting/ place where people live. This paper highlights the significance of photography to architects and designers, in providing the information for the ideation of conceptualizing and designing of built environment and buildings which is of cultural competence for them. Various methods of photography which can be used by design creators either student to professionals is highlighted in the paper. The paper states that photography coupled with a process of interpretation can serve as an effective and useful tool in nurturing a new generation of architects to be both materially and socially engaged.