Brinda Somaya ,Somaya and Kalappa Consultants, Mumbai.
Brinda Somaya completed her Bachelor of Architecture degree from Mumbai University and her Master
of Arts from Smith College in Northampton, MA, USA. She started her practice in 1978 in Mumbai,
India. From 1978 to 1981 she was joined by her sister Ranjini Kalappa, also an architect. In May 2012 she
was the recipient of an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Smith College. In 2014 she was
awarded the Indian Institute of Architects – Baburao Mhatre Gold Medal for Lifetime
Achievement. Brinda Somaya has been the Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell
University since 2017. For more than three decades, Brinda Somaya has merged architecture,
conservation and social equity in projects ranging from institutional campuses and rehabilitation of an
earthquake-torn village to the restoration of an 18th-century Cathedral, showing that progress and
history need not be at odds.
Dean D’Cruz , Mozaic, Goa.
A graduate from Sir J.J. College of Architecture, Bombay, Dean D’Cruz, is actively involved in
professional, academic and the social front. He is a Partner and Principal Architect in MOZAIC DESIGN
COMBINE, a leading design firm based in Goa, involved in Urban Interventions, Architecture,
Conservation, Product and Graphic Design. In 1986 he became a partner in a firm called Natural
Architecture, working on cost effective housing in a very Laurie Baker approach using waste building
materials and innovative design. In 1994 he expanded base of design work, taking on small hotels,
large houses and institutional work as principal architect of Dean D’Cruz & Associates. In 2001 he cofounded
Mozaic, with general collaboration between disciplines as the core ethic. Having been part of
the State Level Committee for the making of the Regional Plan 2021 for Goa, his current emphasis is on
urban interventions, sustainable principles and conservation.
Riyaz Tayyibji , Anthill Design Studio, Ahmedabad.
Riyaz Tayyibji, an alumnus and former lecturer of the Faculty of Architecture at CEPT University,
Ahmedabad is the principal architect and partner at Anthill Design. In continuation of his interest in
architectural documentation, Riyaz is the co-ordinator for the Gandhi Heritage Sites Mission, a project
that will document thirty four buildings built by, or related to the life of M.K. Gandhi. His academic
experience has extended to being a visiting instructor at the Ecole Spéciale, Paris. Apart from this, he
has actively been writing on a variety of architectural subjects. The architecture of the city
of Ahmedabad is a subject that he often returns to. The design partnership has a variety of
architectural trajectories, ranging from research and building projects to the curation of architectural
and urban exhibitions that have opened both in India and abroad. Anthill Design’s most recent study
and exhibition ‘The Stepwells of Ahmedabad: A Conversation Between Water and Heritage’,
documents16 step wells in and around the city of Ahmedabad, framing the architecture of these
structures within a narrative of urbanity, gender, inhabitation and heritage.
Rajiv Soni , Communications Expert and Photographer, Kolkata.
The industry exposure of Rajiv Soni is a combination of marketing and corporate communication and
perhaps unequalled in the Indian Industry. Rajiv Soni has also been a platform for inter actions with
various business forms, Chambers of Commerce and importantly a pillar for business connections and
networking. Rajiv Soni’s other interests lie in photography and archival research and has held individual
photography exhibitions. Rajiv Soni has authored “100 CC- A Century of Communication” published
by Rupa Booksand released by Ratan Tata.
Vijay Narnapatti, mayaPRAXIS, Bengaluru.
Vijay Narnapatti is a Design Principal at award winning firm mayaPRAXIS since its inception in 2001 in
Bengaluru. He founded mayaPRAXIS design + architecture with partner Dimple Mittal in 2001.
mayaPRAXIS has won reward and recognition for its architectural design work including the ARCASIA
Award for Sustainable Design 2017, Architect of the Year 2011 for public building, Architect of the Year
Foundation [JK Cements], and Indian Institute of Interior Design and The Merit List [TML] . In 2012,
mayaPRAXIS was featured as one of the Practices of Consequence by the Indian Architect and Builder
and one of the Emerging Practices of India by Arch Daily. Vijay is a professor in the School of
Architecture at Christ University, Bengaluru and a founding member of the school. He has been both
teaching and practicing architecture since 2001 in Bengaluru.