ABIN CHAUDHURI founded Abin Design Studio, which is exploring the ‘unknown’ journey, experimentation with materials and technology, and the engaging art and culture, aiming to provide a ‘soul in the shell’. The studio is engaging design in the urban fabric and peri-urban edge, as a catalyst for deliberate change. His work focuses on the idea of holistic design, not just limiting to ideas, but also physical manifestation through multi-disciplinary collaboration. His explorations intend to push the boundaries of thought, prevalent socio-cultural landscape and spatial construct, challenging the role of architecture in the society, by being unafraid of unfamiliar explorations. The studio is also the recipient of several national and international accolades.
SANJAY MOHE is the founder and a partner at Mindspace – a Bengaluru-based architecture firm with extensive experience in designing residential, institutional, cultural and of office projects of varying scales. Mindspace was founded in 2004 and is presently led by Sanjay Mohe, Medappa, Suryanarayanan, Amit Swain and Swetha along with 21 architects, engineers and support staff, all of whom work as a team. Projects by Mindspace have been featured in several national and international awards and are consistently featured in architectural journals. Sanjay Mohe also regularly lectures in architectural forums and schools of design across the country.
SHEFALI BALWANI is a practising architect and founder principal and director of Architecture BRIO. Born in Mumbai, she studied at the renowned School of Architecture C.E.P.T. in Ahmedabad. After graduating she worked with Rahul Mehrotra Architects in Mumbai. Thereafter she joined the office of Channa Daswatte in Sri Lanka, where she worked on some of the office’s prestigious hospitality projects. In 2006 she established Architecture BRIO together with Robert Verrijt in her hometown Mumbai. The firm has since then won several awards such as the JKC Architect of the Year Awards, the AD-50 Awards and IIID-Awards.
ROBERT VERRIJT is from the Netherlands where he received his Master’s in Architecture from the TUDelft. His master’s thesis was awarded the second prize in the Dutch Archiprix 2004. After working briefly in the Netherlands, he moved to Sri Lanka, where he joined the office of Channa Daswatte where he had an opportunity to get an insider’s perspective on the work of Geoffrey Bawa. In 2006 he moved to Mumbai to start Architecture BRIO. The practice actively engages with research and seeks out collaborations with institutes and organisations. As part of the Bandra Collective, the firm is involved with research and design of public space in the city.
PARTHIV SHAH is a photographer, filmmaker and a graphic designer. He has made several documentary films, curated exhibitions and has several photo-books to his credit. An alumnus of the National Institute of Design, Parthiv is the Founder-Director of Centre for Media and Alternative Communication (CMAC). He has been teaching photography and film as a visiting faculty at the National Institute of Design, Ambedkar University and Jamia Millia Islamia University in India. He has been awarded a senior fellowship in Photography by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, Charles Wallace Fellowship, UK and Fulbright Lectureship award to teach photography at UCLA, USA.
SHILPA RANADE is a practicing architect and researcher. She trained in Architecture at CEPT, Ahmedabad and did her graduate degree in Cultural Studies at the University of Arizona, Tucson. She is the founding partner with Quaid Doongerwala of the Mumbai based design firm DCOOP. In addition to her practice, Shilpa has been part of the seminal research on women and public space in PUKAR, Mumbai and has co-authored the book, “Why Loiter? Women and Risk on Mumbai streets” (Penguin India, 2011). Shilpa’s writing on architecture and on gendered spaces has been published in various books, academic journals and professional magazines.