Speakers 2023
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Neelam Kothari Soni
Actor, Designer & Co-founder, LINK BNK - Luxury Interiors by Neelam Kothari Soni, India
Aman Nath
Author & Co-founder, Neemrana Hotels, India
Aman Nath is a celebrated writer, hotelier, and architectural restorer based in New Delhi. Along with Francis Wacziarg, he co-founded and co-chairs th...Read Moree Neemrana Hotels chain. Aman started his architectural restoring journey in 1991 and is now recognised as the pioneer of India's heritage hotel movement. Nath's extensive knowledge and experience in the field of heritage conservation and promotion, combined with his passion for restoring and preserving historical properties, have made him an important figure in the field of architecture in India. Over 25 historic buildings have been purchased and renovated into hotels that are sensitive to their historical and cultural contexts since 1991. In addition to his contributions in the architectural field, Nath has also co-authored 14 illustrated books on art, history, and architecture, two of which have won national awards. Neemrana Hotels has won prestigious awards from UNESCO, the Indian travel trade industry, and national awards.
Amit Syngle
MD & CEO, Asian Paints Group, India
Amit Syngle, the MD and CEO of the $4 billion Asian Paints group started his journey with the company 33 years ago. Asian Paints is now the second mos...Read Moret valued company in coatings in the world, with a market cap of $40 billion. Over the years he has seen Asian Paints lead the paints and coatings market in India. He has been a game changer and is attributed with bringing colour innovation and organized retailing into the business. Under his leadership the company has shifted gears from ‘share of surface‘ to 'share of space‘ within homes , making a pivotal shift into home décor with innovation in product offerings, distribution and design, by taking calculated risks and making strategic acquisitions. Syngle has been a strong proponent of partnering with the customer in making her dream home, and has been instrumental in establishing the largest organized services framework in the world across industries. His vision is to grow the company into a league of its own at a global scale, paving the way for innovative home products and cutting edge Indian design with a global reach. Among the most recent honors received by Asian Paints Group are the 'Golden Peacock Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance- Third Year in a Row (Mar 2022) and being named one of the Top 30 Most Sustainable Companies in India for 2021-22 by Business World magazine in collaboration with Sustain Labs Paris (Mar 2022)
Arthur Mamou-Mani
Managing Director, Mamou-Mani Architects London, United Kingdom
Arthur Mamou-Mani is a french architect, lecturer and director of the award-winning London-based architecture practice Mamou-Mani. While bringing digi...Read Moretal craftsmanship to architecture in his practice, Arthur frequently delivers lectures on "eco-parametric" architecture practices at several international forums. Among other notable accolades, he was recently honoured with the Pierre Cardin Prize for Architecture. In 2020, the Architects Journal named Mamou-Mani one of it's 100 ‘Disruptor’ practices who are challenging the norms of traditional architecture practice in their drive to bring about sustainable alternatives.
Ashwini Deshpande
Co-founder, Elephant Design, India
A 1989 graduate of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Ashwini Deshpande is co-founder of Elephant Design, India's pioneering independent integra...Read Moreted design consultancy. Elephant has been consistently ranked as the No 1 Design Agency in India by The Economic Times Brand Equity for over a decade. She has lectured across more than 20 countries including ICOGRADA Design Week, Business of Design Week & United Nations Foundation. Some of the design awards include Global ReBrand 100 (USA), A’Design (Italy), Worldstar(Germany), iF Design (Germany), Lexus Design Award, Design for Asia (HK) etc. She has been on the jury of Cannes Lions, New York Festival, The One Show, Design for Asia & Spikes Asia and chaired the juries of D&AD Awards, ADStars & London International Awards. As part of The Design Alliance Asia consortium, Deshpande has collaborated on award winning Colours of Asia project that spanned across 11 countries in Asia. Deshpande is an active member of Association of Designers of India and The Collective, an initiative by women creative leaders to create safe work-places. She is advisor to Indian Creative Women that promotes diversity. Impact Magazine has featured her among 50 Most Influential Women in Media for seven consecutive years. She is on Campaign India’s A-List. Ashwini mentors start-ups through the TiE - The Indus Entrepreneurs platform. She is part of several advisory boards including Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati and Pune University’s Design Masters Programmes.
Ayaz Basrai
Co-founder, The Busride Design Studio + The Busride Lab, India
Ayaz Basrai is co-founder of The Busride Design Studio, a leading architecture and interior design firm in India. Busrai graduated in industrial desig...Read Moren, specialising in product design, from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, in 2003. He founded The Busride with his architect brother Zameer (CEPT/MIT) in 2006 as an independent design studio specialising in the design and creation of built environments ranging from hospitality and entertainment to film and production, exhibitions and installations, and institutional and architectural environments.More recently, Busrai heads The Busride Lab in Goa, working with speculative fiction, heritage conservation, and their ongoing India Futures Project, trying to visualise and birth meaningful Indian futures. The Lab follows a promiscuously collaborative model and is an active part of the emerging creative and cultural landscape in Goa, working towards creating meaningful public space and supporting activism and educational initiatives across Goa and India.
Bijoy Ramachandran
Principal Architect, Co-founder & Director, Hundredhands, India
Bijoy Ramachandran is a partner at the multidisciplinary Hundredhands Design studio, a Bangalore-based architectural practice. Directed by Sunitha Kon...Read Moredur and Ramachandran, the firm's work draws on a keen sense of the urban. In their projects, often represented in patiently executed analytical drawings, the architects have redirected their focus on the urban context by returning to the questions of scale, character, spatial and visual impact, and remaking the public domain, all of which are vital to the tempestuous urbanism of Indian cities. Ramachandran currently serves as the Design Chair at the BMS College of Architecture, Bangalore. Hundredhands' design philosophy places an emphasis on urban context, considering factors like scale, individuality, spatial and visual effect, and the revitalization of public spaces. Hundedhands' portfolio includes residential, commercial, and hospitality work. He has not only won numerous awards, including the IIA Award for Excellence, but has also been a part of exhibitions that have shaped the design discourse in the country. Apart from architecture, Ramachandran has also produced two films on the celebrated Indian architect Sri B.V. Doshi. Both films have been screened nationally and internationally at colleges and film festivals.
Biju Kuriakose
Principal Architect & Co-founder, architectureRED, India
Biju Kuriakose co-founded architectureRED, a Chennai-based architecture firm, along with Kishore Panikkar. Ranging from residential to commercial proj...Read Moreects, their projects also include developing master plans for townships in Tamil Nadu, a mixed-use master plan for Salalah in Oman, affordable housing development projects, and multiple institutional buildings within Chennai. architectureRED has won numerous national as well as international design awards, including the World Architecture News Award for the "Best Urban Design Project" for the masterplan of Nordhavnen in Copenhagen as well as the IIA National Award for "Airport City" in Oman. Before co-founding architectureRED, Kuriakose was an associate and design director at FXFOWLE Architects, a leading New York-based architectural, planning, and urban design firm. Kuriakose has been a part of prestigious forums like the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance in New York, the Pratt Institute, and Columbia University in New York as a speaker and studio critic. He currently teaches at the School of Architecture and Planning, Anna University. Kuriakose also holds a USGBC LEED certification.
Boris Berlin
Founding Partner, KOMPLOT Design & ISKOS-BERLIN Design, Denmark
Boris Berlin is founder of Boris Berlin Design and co-founder of Komplot. An industrial and graphic designer based in Copenhagen, his designs focus on...Read More experimenting with new, sustainable technologies and materials. Boris has been the recipient of several prestigious awards such as the Danish Design Award, several Red Dot Awards and the German Design Award 2020 among others. His works are represented in design museums around the world, such as Design Museum Denmark, Design Museo Helsinki, The International Design Museum Munich, Museum of Modern Art, New York and Vitra Design Museum.
Brijesh Shaijal
Principal Architect, Director & Co-founder, DAC, India
Brijesh Shaijal is the co-founder and principal architect of Design Ashram, a multidisciplinary architectural firm based in Kerala. The firm, which wa...Read Mores founded in 2005, handles a wide range of projects, and incorporates heritage conservation, adaptive reuse, and urban design in its work. The firm specializes in retaining authentic heritage with modern lifestyle statements. Besides his architectural practice, Brijesh founded the World Architecture Travel, a curated Architecture and travel experience, which has provided architects and designers a platform for networking with the global architecture fraternity through curated travel experiences that help the community explore the local culture, art and architecture. Brijesh is one of the members of Avani Institute of Design's governing council. He is also a member of the Indian Institute of Architects' National Council and the chairman of the Young Architects Committee.
Chitra Vishwanath
Principal Architect & Founder, Biome Solutions, India
Chitra Vishwanath is the principal architect and founder of Bangalore-based Biome Solutions. The firm's primary areas of interest are ecology, archite...Read Morecture, and water. The ecologically and socially sensitive nature of Biome Solutions' work, combined with Vishwanath's commitment to spreading sustainable living practises far and wide, has led to the company's involvement in numerous nonprofit projects to benefit the natural environment and underserved populations. Biome has received several awards, such as the Indian Institute of Architects' (IIA) National Award for Excellence in Architectural Conservation in 2017, the SPA-BCI award for excellence in conservation, and the Charles Correa Gold Medal by the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA), among others.
Emmanuel Gallina
Designer, Emmanuel Gallina Design Office, Bordeaux, France
Emmanuel Gallina, a celebrated French designer and art director, is a creative consultant for acclaimed multinational brands such as Cartier, Accor, B...Read Moreurov, Manade, Colè, Poliform, and San Pellegrino on marketing strategy and brand identity. His work embodies the principle of Constantin Brancusi that "simplicity is complexity resolved" and draws inspiration from both the past and fluid forms of nature. Emmanuel has won many awards throughout his career, to name a few: The Label VIA; Paris, The ID Smartest Products Award; New York, Design 21 Unesco Award; New York, Best of Year Award; New York and multiple Wallpaper Design Awards amongst others.
Habibeh Madjdabadi
Architect, Habibeh Madjdabadi Architecture Studio, Tehran, Iran
Habibeh Madjdabadi, a prominent Iranian architect has been worldwide accredited: Aga Khan Award 2016, Tamayouz Women in Architecture and Construction ...Read MoreAward 2019, Chicago Award 2014, Worldwide Brick Award 2014, MEMAR Award for Architecture 2014. She is Selected by Dezeen Magazine and Pratt Institute, as one of the 100 most innovative and inspiring women architects across the world.
Huzefa Rangwala
Principal Architect & Co-founder, MuseLAB, India
Huzefa Rangwala is the co-founder of Mumbai-based architecture and design practice MuseLab. Rangwala studied architecture at the Academy of Architectu...Read Morere in Mumbai and then went to the Georgia Institute of Technology to pursue his Master's in Architecture with a specialisation in Digital Manufacturing. Before co-founding MuseLAB, Rangwala worked at Urban Studio India, Niles Bolton Associates in Atlanta, and then with Hafeez Contractor. MuseLab's work ranges from micro-scaled furniture to macro-scaled spaces, including residential and public places. Apart from the practice, both co-founders Jasem Pirani and Hufeza Rangwala also spearhead MuseMART (a product design division) and MuseX (a dedicated research arm) of the firm.
Itai Palti
Director, Hume, Tel Aviv, Israel
Itai Palti is a practising architect and researcher from Israel. He founded the Conscious Cities movement in 2015; a new field of research and practic...Read Moree for building environments that are aware and responsive, using data analysis, AI, tech, and science-informed design. For his work in advancing changes in the design profession, he was named by Metropolis Magazine as one of 2020's 'Game Changers' in transformative ideas in Health, Social Justice, Technology, and Urbanism. Itai is the Founder and past Director of The Centre for Conscious Design, a think tank focused on changing mindset and practice in the production of the built environment.
Jasem Pirani
Principal Architect & Co-founder, MuseLAB, India
Jasem Pirani is the co-founder of architecture studio MuseLab, a leading design firm in Mumbai known for its innovative and sustainable approach. Pira...Read Moreni studied architecture at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Upon graduation, he worked with Gensler in New York and then with Pinakin Patel in Mumbai. Along with Huzefa Rangwala, Pirani has led MuseLAB for the past 11 years. His design philosophy is centred around creating spaces that are not only functional and efficient but also inspire and uplift the human spirit. Pirani and Rangwala also spearhead MuseMART (a product design division) and MuseX (a dedicated research arm) of the firm.
Madhav Raman
Architect & Co-founder, Anagram Architects, India
Madhav Raman is an architect and co-founder of Anagram Architects, a New Delhi based multidisciplinary architecture firm. Anagram Architects, founded ...Read Morein 2004, is internationally recognized as one of the world's top emerging practices, with a commitment to delivering deeply contextual designs that encourage sustainable lifestyles. Over the years the practice has garnered much international acclaim including a nomination for the Aga Khan Award 2010 and inclusion in the Wallpaper* Magazine's "Architects Directory 2009". Thefirm's work has been recognized by the Architectural Review's World Emerging Architecture Awards in 2007, multiple Cityscape Architectural Awards, the Wienerberger Brick Awards in 2010, multiple SAIE Bologna, the Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction in 2011, the Asia Pacific Design Awards in 2012, the International Design and Architecture Awards in 2013, the Institute of Indian Interior Designers Awards National Winner in 2017. Anagram Architects has also been featured in the International Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam in 2010 and the Biennial of Design (BIO23) in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2012. Raman's firm has also been recognised among the most influential South Asian designers multiple times across the years.
Mallika Sarabhai
Activist, Classical Dancer & Director, Darpana Academy, India
Dr. Mallika Sarabhai is an activist and a celebrated Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam dancer, performer, and choreographer. Dr Sarabhai, a Padma Bhushan rec...Read Moreipient, is also the co-director of Ahmedabad's Darpana Academy of Performing Arts.In addition to her Ph.D. in organisational behaviour, she holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. Dr. Sarabhai has relentlessly advocated for education, human rights, and the empowerment of women and has consistently channelled her work for social change. Shakti: The Power of Women, the first of her influential solo theatrical works, was created in 1989. Since then, Dr. Sarabhai has created countless theatre productions that have raised awareness, highlighted significant issues, and advocated for change. Many of these productions have toured internationally and throughout India. She has been recognised by the World Economic Forum as a cultural leader and global citizen (Recipient of the Crystal Award at Davos, 2009). Dr. Sarabhai has also collaborated closely with UNESCO on the UNESCO Heritage Project, while affirming the Gandhian values of nonviolence, honesty, and truth.
Manju Sara Rajan
Editor-in-Chief, Beautifulhomes.com, India
Manju Sara Rajan is a journalist, editor and arts manager. Her main areas of expertise are aesthetics and lifestyle trends. She is presently a Senior ...Read MoreAdvisor at Asian Paints and the Editor-in-chief of beautifulhomes.com, India’s largest design and décor content platform by Asian Paints. She is the former CEO of the Kochi Biennale Foundation, where she oversaw the management of Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016. She was the founding editor of the Indian edition of Architectural Digest, which set new benchmarks for the coverage of design in India by featuring spaces that had never been open to the public and visualizing a design style that is uniquely Indian and contemporary. Rajan began her career in 2002 as a Reporter in Time newsmagazine’s Asia bureau in Hong Kong, before moving to India and other media publications like Indian Express, Mint Lounge, and Open magazine. Almost two decades of experience in media and arts management has provided Rajan a great deal of insight into the creative and commercial parts of the fields of design, art and media.
Manuela Gatto
Director, Zaha Hadid Architects ZHA London, United Kingdom
Manuela Gatto, director of Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), oversees several notable projects in China and Europe. Under her leadership, ZHA has executed ...Read Moreground-breaking projects like the SKY SOHO mixed-use development in Shanghai and the Leeza SOHO tower with the tallest atrium in the world. Manuela is an active speaker and has co-authored a book named "Negotiate My Boundary! Mass Customization and Responsive Environments." Currently, she is leading the Genzon Headquarters, a cluster of nine skyscrapers including a supertall tower in Wuhan, as well as the Shenzhen Headquarter and Life Long Learning Centre for Yidan, Tencent’s Charitable Foundation.’
Marek Obtulovič
Co-Founder, Oddo Architects, Hanoi, Vietnam
Marek Obtulovič is a partner and co-founder of ODDO Architects, an architectural firm based in Vietnam and The Czech Republic. He has created a vari...Read Moreety of outstanding and innovative designs throughout his career. ODDO, the multi-disciplinary firm has won the Dezeen Award for the best new architecture studio of 2021. Marek has worked on a variety of international projects, including those in Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and the Czech Republic, among other places. In addition, Obtulovic teaches architectural design at the Brno University of Technology's Faculty of Architecture. His work focuses on repairing the urbanized living environment, emphasizing cultural origins in projects, and preserving the local character and customs. Through the mediums of urbanism and architecture, the company's overarching goal is to reawaken people's long-lost connection to the natural world.
Mrudul Pathak
Editor, ELLE Decor, India
Mrudul Pathak Kundu is the editor of ELLE Decor India. A Fine Arts graduate from MS University, Vadodara, she has been an integral part of shaping the...Read More magazine for the last 20 years. Her Major in Applied Arts has given her a lifelong love for graphic compositions and solid colours. Interacting with the design community and producing house shoots is what she considers the best part of her job while her long-term goal is to bring Indian design fore to global as well as Indian audiences. While her love for art and design are a given—she is also an ardent world cinema watcher and enjoys cooking nostalgia-inducing food with recipes that have been passed down through generations. When not busy with all things design, you’ll find her watching old art-house movies with a glass of single malt.
Neelam Kothari Soni
Actor, Designer & Co-founder, LINK BNK - Luxury Interiors by Neelam Kothari Soni, India
Neelam Kothari Soni is a celebrated actor and a jewellery designer, and has recently stepped into the field of interior design. Known for her sublime ...Read Morework in the film industry and recently on shows like The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, each of Neelam's endeavours exudes a high level of elegance and sophistication. She has appeared in numerous Bollywood films, where she was known for her roles in movies such as "Afsana Pyar Ka" and "Hum Saath Saath Hai". Aside from acting, Neelam is also well-known for her jewellery design work, where she has been credited for reviving the traditional Indian art of Meenakari. Her designs often incorporate colorful gems and intricate patterns, and she has collaborated with multiple high-end fashion brands. Neelam has forayed into the interior design world via a new venture called LINK BNK, which is based in Mumbai and has joined forces with one of India’s well-established interior design and architecture firms, BNK Group. BNK Group has been the recepient of numerous awards like Asia Pacific Property Award and IIID Award.
Nguyên Đúc Trung
Co-Founder, Oddo Architects, Hanoi, Vietnam
Nguyên Đúc Trung is a partner and co-founder of ODDO Architects, an architectural firm, based both in Vietnam and The Czech Republic. Nguyên h...Read Moreas produced numerous creative and avant-garde designs during the course of his career. ODDO, the multi-disciplinary firm has won the Dezeen Award for the best new architecture studio of 2021. Nguyen has worked on a variety of projects in Vietnam and overseas. Before founding ODDO Architects, Nguyên worked with renowned Vo Trong Nghia Architects. His work is wide - ranging, from residential and commercial projects, to large-scale exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale. His work at ODDO Architects focuses on preserving the local culture and traditions, rebuilding the urbanized living environment, and reinforcing cultural contexts in projects. The firm aspires to revive humanity's long-forgotten connection to environment through architecture and urbanism.
Nida Mahmood
Fashion Designer & Founder, Nida Mahmood, India
Nida Mahmood is a fashion designer, and founder of her Delhi-based eponymous label. Mahmood is renowned for her quirky, eclectic style - under her lea...Read Moredership her label continues to follow her design philosophy “art translated” in more ways than one, drawing influences from Indian culture. Indian Kitsch being her muse and forte, her collections showcased in India Fashion Week have met with rave reviews, critical acclaim and commercial success. She has collaborated with many prestigious Indian and International brands for a variety of projects. Some of them are: LADY GAGA, Victoria & Albert museum, ABSOLUT for art installations, NIKE, ADIDAS, BLENDERS PRIDE, VH1, SWAROVSKI; NDTV GOOD TIMES; GODREJ Design Lab, TAJ VIVANTA, Satya Paul for a limited-edition collection. Renowned as the "Queen of Kitsch," she has dressed celebrities like Lady Gaga, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Parineeti Chopra, Kajol, Karishma Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut, Kalki Koechlin, Jacqueline Fernandez to name a few.
Paola Navone
Architect, Designer and Founder, OTTO, Italy
Paola Navone is a much celebrated and renowned Italian architect, and founder of OTTO, a Milan-based design studio. Navone is also an interior designe...Read Morer, product designer and art director. Her approach is direct, visionary and eclectic with a passion for the flavours and colours of the much-loved and much-travelled southern hemisphere, alongside tastes and styles from the western world with its wealth of tradition, open mindedness and creative energy. All of this has fuelled her boundless curiosity to seek out materials, forms and structures, from the present, past and future. OTTO (also directed by Gian Paolo Venier, Cristina Pettenuzzo and Domenico Diego) has curated a vast number of exhibitions worldwide and worked with top names in Italy and abroad. Navone has worked on a wide list of projects for hotels, restaurants and public spaces in South East Asia, the United States, Italy, France and around the world. She is the recipient of many international accolades including, Osaka International Design Award, several Elle Decor International Design Awards for product design, the Red Dot Design Award and the Good Design Award, as well as a nomination for induction to the Design Hall of Fame received from Interior Design Magazine in New York.
Premjit Ramachandran
Filmmaker, Hundredhands, India
Premjit Ramachandran (as Dara Okat) is a musician, filmmaker, and graphic designer based in Tiruvannamalai. Over the past 15 years, he has worked on v...Read Morearious illustration and branding projects for noteworthy organisations such as OgilvyOne (in Mumbai and Dubai), Landor Associates (in Dubai), and Turquoise Branding (in London). His debut film, "Look Here, Kunigunda," was officially selected for the Rome International Film Festival in 2006. After returning from London in 2007, he decided to delve deeper into the cinematic process. They started working on a feature-length video portrait of Balkrishna Doshi with his brother Bijoy Ramachandran. He lived in Wayanad for a few months in 2009 and directed nine short films on tribal culture, ritualistic temple dances, and other lesser-known folklore of the Malayali Hinterland. In 2012, he made two documentaries: one on Svaram, a musical instrument workshop and Sound Education and Therapy space in Auroville, and "Colours of Hope," a short documentary film on a free school for underprivileged children in Nagwa, Varanasi. In 2019, ten years after the Doshi project, Bijoy and Premjit worked with B.V. Doshi again and got the opportunity to chronicle more magic, myth, and metaphor from the 92-year-old Pritzker Prize-winning architect, poet, and philosopher.
Riyaz Tayyibji
Principal Architect & Founder, Anthill Design, India
Riyaz Tayyibji is the founder and principal architect of Anthill Design, an Ahmedabad-based architecture and design practice. Under his direction, the...Read More firm has curated global exhibitions on Ahmedabad's architecture and urbanity. "The Stepwells of Ahmedabad: A Conversation Between Water and Heritage," which debuted in 2016 at the Kanoria Centre for Arts and the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, are some of the many. He recently authored a guidebook on Ahmedabad's architecture and supervised the formulation of NIUA's heritage restoration plan for the city's mediaeval walled city after it received recognition by UNESCO. In addition to the practice, Tyabji also lectured at the Faculty of Architecture at CEPT University Ahmedabad and was a visiting faculty member at the École Spéciale in Paris.
Sabine Marcelis
Founder, Studio Sabine Marcelis Rotterdam, Netherlands
Sabine Marcelis, a Dutch designer based in Rotterdam, operates her studio in the intersecting disciplines of product, installation, and spatial design...Read More. Her works have been acquired for permanent collections by the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne and the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, among others. Her work is defined by simple forms that highlight material properties, giving her collaborations a strong aesthetic perspective. Sabine won the renowned Wallpaper awards for 'Designer of the year 2020,' the Design Prize 2019 for 'Newcomer of the year,' the Elle Decor International Design award for 'Young designer of the year,' and GQ's 'International Artist of the year 2019"
Sabyasachi Mukerjee
Director General, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, India
Sabyasachi Mukherjee is the director general of the century-old Mumbai museum, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS). He has been cre...Read Moredited with transforming the former Prince of Wales Museum into a thriving cultural centre in the city. Mukerjee is also the director of the postgraduate (diploma) programme in Museology and Art Conservation at the CSMVS Institute, University of Mumbai; he was awarded the degree of Doctor "honoris causa" by the University of Edinburgh for his crucial contribution to transforming CSMVS into a dynamic, cultural catalyst. Apart from delivering lectures frequently, he is an active member on several professional committees, including the UK-AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) and the Bizot Group, which comprises illustrious American and European museum directors.
Sameep Padora
Founder Principal, sP+a
Born in Chamba, Northern India, Sameep Padora established his Mumbai based practice in 2007 after graduating from the GSD, Harvard University. In resp...Read Moreonse to India’s socio-cultural diversity the studio has over the years operated through multiple modes of practice. The studio searches for methods to articulate value beyond addressing just program, materials and skills while looking at context as a repository and not just as a stylistic benchmark. The practice has in the past received the Wallpaper Design Award for Best Public Building, Beazley Architecture Prize, Wienerberger Brick Award, Archdaily Building of The Year 2019, Wallpaper Design Award for House of the Year, as well as the Architectural Review’s Emerging Architecture and the AR Library Commendation Awards. Besides the architectural practice, the studio also runs a not-for-profit sPare that researches issues of urbanization in India with a focus on housing. sPare’s research publications; In the Name of Housing, How to build an Indian House and (de)Coding Mumbai are projects attempting to unravel the production of affordable housing in Indian cities. This work has been published in India and internationally and was also exhibited at the Seoul Biennale in 2019. Sameep is also one of the co-founders of the Bandra Collective, a group of six architects engaged with the design of public spaces in Mumbai.
Sanchit Arora
Principal Architect, RENESĀ Architecture Studio, India
Sanchit Arora is the principal architect of the Delhi-based design firm Renesa Architects. His practice is focused on creating designs that are not on...Read Morely visually striking but also environmentally and socially responsible. Arora acquired his bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Sushant School of Art & Architecture, Gurgaon, India with scholarship programmes from some of the most prestigious universities in U.K. and Europe. Renesa Architects' working method practices a simultaneous exploration of traditional design ideologies and cutting edge digital technology – a complementary relationship that drives their creative process. Their work is an amalgamation of old and new schools of architecture. The firm has been the recipient of several noteworthy awards like the KOHLER BOLD AWARDS Top 3 Projects – Hospitality category, ARCHDAILY Top 5 Projects, multiple Dezeen Awards, and the DESIGNBOOM Awards in the recent years.
Sanjay Puri
Principal Architect & Founder, Sanjay Puri Architects, India
Sanjay Puri is the founder of Sanjay Puri Architects. The firm was named in Archdaily's list of the best 100 architecture firms worldwide and in the A...Read Morerchitizer New York list of top 130 architecture firms worldwide. The firm has been a recipient of numerous awards, such as the Architizer A+ (New York), Best Residential Firm of the Year Award 2022, The LEAF (London), Best Interior project of the Year 2021 to name a few. These include 237 International Awards and 99 National Awards. Their work under the leadership of the two founding partners (Sanjay & Nina) have won architectural projects in Australia, Spain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Dallas in addition to projects in over 40 Indian cities. With a diverse portfolio of townships, schools, hotels, retail and office buildings, they continue their quest for creating innovative design solutions that are sustainable on a large scale.
Sanne van der Burgh
Associate Director, MVRDV; Head, MVRDV NEXT, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Sanne van der Burgh, associate director of MVRDV in the Netherlands, is in charge of several high-profile projects, including the infrastructure at Ba...Read Morerapullah Springs and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Depot. In 2019, Architizer named her as one of 25 young architects to watch. Winner of the 2021 Female Frontier Awards, Sanne is an active speaker on pertinent concerns and a dedicated advocate of environmental awareness in architecture, urbanism, and innovation.
Satyajeet Patwardhan
Principal Architect, Co-founder & Partner, amoeba design, India
Satyajeet Patwardhan is the co-founder of amoeba design, which is based in Pune, Maharashtra. After completing his bachelor's degree in architecture f...Read Morerom Nasik, Patwardhan went on to obtain his M.Arch. in Sustainable Design from the University of Texas at Austin, USA. He worked with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP in New York before moving back to India in 2010 and co-founding Amoeba Designs with his partner, Pashmin Shah. His practise depicts a conversation between tradition and innovation, craftsmanship and design, and their fusion to form contemporary design. Amoeba Designs is inspired by the concept of Wabi-Sabi, an intuitive way of living that encourages the team to celebrate the beauty of a naturally imperfect world and aims to manifest this approach in all their projects. Patwardhan focuses on creating ecological, culturally specific, and contemporary built environments.
Shimul Javeri Kadri
Principal Architect & Founder, SJK Architects, India
Shimul Javeri Kadri is the founder of SJK Architects, a Mumbai-based, multi-disciplinary design firm renowned for its energy-conscious approach. Under...Read More Kadri's direction, the 32-year-old firm has received several notable honours, including the most recent Prix Versailles Award, IIA Awards, WADE ASIA NATIONAL AWARDS and has also been shortlisted for INDE Awards (2022). Outside of SJK Architects, Kadri serves as a philanthropist through welfare programmes for women empowerment and education, including Mumbai's Akshara, Save the Children India, and others. Her pratice is driven by the design philosophy of building in harmony with nature using natural materials, sunlight, wind, and cultural contexts.
Soumitro Ghosh
Principal Architect & Co-founder, Mathew & Ghosh Architects, India
Soumitro Ghosh is the principal architect and the co-founder of Mathew & Ghosh Architects, a Bangalore-based firm known for its innovative and sus...Read Moretainable designs. Ghosh has previously worked with Pritzker Laureate B.V. Doshi, R.J. Vasavada, Neelkanth Chaaya, and others before starting his practise in 1995 with architect Nisha Mathew. The award-winning practise follows a context-centric, sustainable approach and encompasses a diverse portfolio, including large-scale public places, residential buildings, interiors, furniture, installations, exhibitions, and art. The firm has been the recipient of numerous national and international awards, and their work is well published. Some of the recent awards are India’s Best Design Awards 2021 (in three categories), IDA International Design Awards 2021 Gold, 2a Architecture and Art Magazine International Awards Asia at Madrid (in two categories), World Architecture News (WAN) Award, and Lakov Chernikhov International Foundation Award nomination, Moscow, among others.
Sudipto Ghosh
Architect and Managing Partner, S. Ghosh & Associates, India
Sudipto Ghosh is a practicing architect and managing partner at 50-year-old firm, S. Ghosh & Associates, in New Delhi, India. A graduate of CEPT, ...Read MoreAhmedabad and the University of Cincinnati, his career spans three continents including India, Switzerland and the US, where he has been involved with a wide range of projects from museums, townships, airport terminals to individual residences. He teaches at School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi; Ghosh's research and writing have focused on issues related to the nature of urbanity and on design practice as urban activism. As a manifestation of these interests, Ghosh co-designed New Delhi’s first Public Transport map and has been working alongside the Delhi Government on the legibility and mapping of public transit routes. In 2020, Ghosh co-founded Poché, an interdisciplinary platform for online conversations and learning centred on the Global South with particular interest in South Asia.
Sunil Sethi
Founder & MD, Sunil Sethi Design Alliance, India
Sunil Sethi is the Founder & MD of Sunil Sethi Design Alliance and Alliance Merchandising Company, and has represented the best lifestyle stores o...Read Moref the world for their buying out of India, for over 30 years. He is the Chairman of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI). In this role since 2008, he has contributed enormously to the growth of fashion through robust and insightful initiatives. He is also the Advisor at Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). He is in the Advisory Committee/Board of the National Crafts Museum and Hastkala Academy as well as various fashion & design institutes and universities. In 2005, he was felicitated with the Lifetime Achievement Award by EPCH at the 14th Export Award Function, and in 2006, with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Carpet Export Promotion Council, both sponsored by Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. Acknowledging his contribution to the design industry, besides various awards, he has also been bestowed with Honorary Doctorate degrees and Professorship by three prestigious universities of the country.
Veeram Shah
Principal Architect, Design ni Dukaan, India
Veeram Shah is the chief architect and founder of the multidisciplinary Ahmedabad firm Design ni Dukaan, which specialises in furniture, products, int...Read Moreerior design, and architecture. He is also the co-founder and head of the organisations P.O.D. and Dotto-Objects of Curiosity. P.O.D., an acronym for Pieces of Desire, are both design studios focusing on product design. Shah's design ideology draws inspiration from the works of Gandhi Raza, Murakami, and Kumar Gandharva, as well as modernists like Corbusier and Scarpa, and is culturally and contextually driven, rooted in travel experiences from quaint Indian towns. Under his supervision, the firm has been featured in various prominent publications and accredited as the winner of India's Best Design Project 2020 and the IIID Design Excellence Awards 2019–20.
Vinu Daniel
Principal Architect & Founder, Wallmakers, India
Vinu Daniel completed his B. Arch in 2005 from the College of Engineering, Trivandrum, following which he worked with the Auroville Earth Institute fo...Read Morer the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) post-tsunami construction. After returning from Pondicherry in 2007, he founded "Wallmakers," which others named after the first project, a compound wall. Many eye-openers in the course of his practise prompted him to resolve to devote his energies towards the cause of sustainable and cost-effective architecture. At Wallmakers, the aim is to build sustainable spaces that are responsive to specific site contexts and conditions while maintaining a balance between innovative, utilitarian designs and creating contextual dream-like spaces. Wallmakers has won numerous international awards, including being named by ArchDaily as the only Indian practise in the list of 20 Young Practices of 2020, winning three editions of the Design that Educates Award conducted by the Laka Foundation in Germany, being nominated for the Brick Award 2022, and the Royal Academy of Arts Dorfman Award 2022, to name a few.
