Like Art, Architecture has the potential to impact people. Art is often considered the process of consciously arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. Architecture can also be described similarly. However, the key difference between Art and Architecture is that while Art is pure personal expression, Architecture carries with it a certain accountability towards its immediate context and inhabitants. While a painting begins and ends on a canvas, Architecture cannot stop at a whim; it must transform from imagination to tangible reality.

This process brings with it, a set of constraints imposed by structural, climatic, socio-economic aspects, construction methodologies and material properties, amongst others. These constraints call for fine-tuning of the design. The sophistication and elegance used to handle these constraints differentiate a "building" that poses as a mere visual sculpture in isolation, from "architecture" that evolves as a response to its context and people.

Matthew Frederick (2007) says, "being genuinely creative requires something different from conventional, authoritarian control; a loose velvet tether". The "velvet tether" possibly represents the constraints that need to be navigated through, during the realization of the project. The central focus of this thesis is to explore how to address some of those constraints, through the design of a school campus for students of music and dance. The program includes practice, rehearsal and classroom spaces for music and dance, administrative spaces and a library. Themes explored as part of the design development process include architectural form, materiality and detailing.