The Charles Correa Gold Medal is an award initiated in 1998 by Indian architect and urbanist Charles Correa. Through the format of the Gold Medal, the Charles Correa Foundation intends to not only challenge students and schools of architecture to focus on pressing issues, but also to emphasize the role that architects can play in society as “agents of change”.
For the next 3 years, the Charles Correa Gold Medal will focus on thesis projects that address ‘Equitability through Design’. By raising the question, ‘Who are we designing for?’ the Gold Medal seeks to reflect on the opportunities and responsibilities that we as architects have in creating spaces that are equitable and inclusive. This encompasses equal access to space, shelter, infrastructure and the commons.
The thesis projects will be evaluated in terms of how they address current spatial injustices through design, and how they approach equity and inclusion at different scales.
This year, the Gold Medal will be awarded along with a cash prize of ₹25,000.
Join us for the Charles Correa Gold Medal Award Ceremony 2025! The proceedings feature three events – the book launch of ‘Designing Equitable Cities’ (proceedings of the Z-axis 2018 Conference), a talk by Samir D’Monte, the Principal Architect of SDM Architects, Mumbai, and a discussion with the jury members on this year’s theme, ‘Equitability Through Design’.
Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Time: 06:00 to 08:00 pm IST
Venue Partner: Ice Factory Ballard Estate, Mumbai
Discussion with Jury
Join us for a discussion with the jury, as they deliberate this year’s theme ‘Equitability through Design’ and the thesis entries that most accurately addressed the prompt, tackling spatial injustices through design.
Talk by Samir D’Monte
Join us for a talk by Samir D’Monte – “My journey as an architect, and how to save Mumbai city.” – on the occasion of the Charles Correa Gold Medal 2025 Award Ceremony.
Book Launch – ‘Designing Equitable Cities’
We are happy to announce the book launch of ‘Designing Equitable Cities’, proceedings of the Z-axis 2018 Conference. The book will be launched by Mr. Amit Chandra, Cofounder – A.T.E.Chandra Foundation, Chairperson – Bain Capital India Advisors at the Charles Correa Gold Medal Award Ceremony 2025 tomorrow, 16 September 2025 at IFBE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai.
The Charles Correa Gold Medal is an award initiated in 1998 by Indian architect and urbanist Charles Correa. Through the format of the Gold Medal, the Charles Correa Foundation intends to not only challenge students and schools of architecture to focus on pressing issues, but also to emphasize the role that architects can play in society as “agents of change”.
This year, the Charles Correa Gold Medal focused on thesis projects that addressed ‘Equitability through Design’. By raising the question, ‘Who are we designing for?’ the Gold Medal sought to reflect on the opportunities and responsibilities that we as architects have in creating spaces that are equitable and inclusive. This encompasses equal access to space, shelter, infrastructure and the commons.
AWARD CEREMONY
This year, the Award Ceremony took place at the Ice Factory Ballard Estate, Mumbai on the 16th of September at 6pm. The evening commenced with the launch of the newly published ‘Designing Equitable Cities’, followed by a discourse from Samir D’Monte on his range of projects, before culminating with a brief jury deliberation session and lastly, the Award Ceremony for the Charles Correa Gold Medal 2025.
BOOK LAUNCH – ‘DESIGNING EQUITABLE CITIES’
As part of the Award Ceremony of the Charles Correa Gold Medal 2025, Amit Chandra, co-founder of the A.T.E Chandra Foundation and Chairperson of Bain Capital, was invited to launch the newly published ‘Designing Equitable Cities’ – the Z-axis 2018 conference proceedings. The third edition of Z-Axis – the biennial conference organized by the Charles Correa Foundation – drew on expertise from around the globe to debate and articulate the agency of architecture and planning in creating equitable cities. With the theme ‘Designing Equitable Cities’, the conference brought speakers from across the world to offer their perspective on urban equity.
TALK BY SAMIR D’MONTE
Samir D’Monte, founder of SDM architects and jury member of Charles Correa Gold Medal 2025, presented select works to the audience, with a talk titled ‘My journey as an architect, and how to save Mumbai city.’ His work spans technically intensive buildings, institutions, housing, industrial projects, and master plans. Notable works include the BMW Guggenheim Lab Mumbai, a floating restaurant in Goa, conservation of the Jaisalmer Fort, and aircraft hangars at Delhi Airport.
JURY DELIBERATIONS
Four out of the five jury members deliberated this year’s theme ‘Equitability through Design’ and the thesis entries that most accurately addressed the prompt, tackling spatial injustices through design. Rohan Varma’s address to the audience was in the form of a short video, reflecting his take on this year’s theme and the relevance of choosing the right train of thought to anchor one’s design interventions.
JURY
The jury for the Charles Correa Gold Medal 2025 is Vandana Ranjit Sinh (Architect and Academic), Shilpa Ranade (Architect, Researcher, Writer), Rohan Varma (Architect and Researcher), Ainsley Lewis (Urban Designer and Academic) and Samir D’Monte (Architect and Urban Designer), where they mainly looked for entries that consider the site and context of the proposed project with clarity in the formulation and addressal of real-life issues.
Gold Medal 2025 Winner
‘Architecture of the Sacred Commons : Pamban Island’ by Kshitij Churi
This design intervention is ecological in origin, and laudable for its programmatic evolution of ‘modern sacredness’; it illustrates a great continuity of what is a sacred and fast disappearing way of life. Water conservation forms have been venerable and deeply rooted to our culture, and the program speaks to making those nuances accessible to all. From more traditional notions to the contemporary, the translation of these notions have unfolded with restraint and intelligence. Equity is addressed through accessibility; a series of water bodies made available to the community. A very elaborate study drawn with a sensitive hand.
Honourable Mentions
‘In the search of light : A case of Subhash Nagar’ by Akash Kamble
When the needs of the community are not considered, who are we designing for? Backed by a participatory approach, the case of Subhash Nagar contests the status quo of current SRA (Slum Rehabilitation Authorities) working models in large metropolitan cities such as Mumbai. Following an excellent study on the unit and typology, equity through design is achieved by actively involving the end users to reimagine their homes and surroundings as a pleasant and liveable community. The volumes of spaces were addressed across multiple scales and user groups, culminating in the synthesis of many disparate elements into one cohesive whole. A commendable, honest and hopeful take on affordable housing.
‘Aabhas : A sense of Home’ by Pranjal Prakash Tak
This clever, convincing proposal balances standardization of units and the adaptability of spaces to create versatile communal areas. Through a systematic approach, it achieves a technical resolution of the typology. This in turn facilitates placemaking in a temporal setting, lending agency over the land. Equity is at the forefront of the design, reinforced by the possibility of customizable clusters and densities, entirely facilitated by the users. ‘Aabhas’ is a refreshing and relevant inquiry on housing models for transit populations; those who build our houses!
AWARD CEREMONY
Watch the Award Ceremony of the Charles Correa Gold Medal 2025 above.
Vandana Ranjitsinh is an architect and educator who is a Founder Principal of Ranjit Sinh Associates. A graduate of the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad, Vandana began her career with prestigious firms like Atelier Dolf Schnebli Associates, Switzerland; with Kamu Iyer at Architects Combine, Mumbai and Kuenleg Professional Consultants, Bhutan. At Ranjit Sinh Associates – established in Mumbai in 1982 – her work focuses on a commitment to design and environmental sustainability. With over four decades of experience as an educator, Vandana has taught Architectural Design and Theory at the Kamala Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture, Mumbai since 1993, where she has previously held the position of Chairperson of the Academic Forum. She has conducted workshops and has been a juror across various universities. In 2011, she was awarded Best Architectural Design Teacher by the Maharashtra Association of Schools of Architecture.
Samir D’Monte
Samir is the Principal Architect of SDM Architects, a Mumbai-based firm he founded in 2008. With over 23 years of experience in design and execution of large-scale projects, his work spans technically intensive buildings, institutions, housing, industrial projects, and master plans. Notable works include the BMW Guggenheim Lab Mumbai, a floating restaurant in Goa, conservation of the Jaisalmer Fort, and aircraft hangars at Delhi Airport.
He is also a founding member of Bandra Collective, a group of architects working on public projects in and around Bandra, where he has contributed to the Carter Road Promenade redesign and the revitalisation of Ranwar Village. Deeply engaged in citizen-led initiatives, Samir continues to shape both built environments and public life in Mumbai.
Ainsley Lewis
Ainsley Lewis, Dean of the M. Arch program at USM’s Kamala Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA), is an urban designer and has been a distinguished academician for more than two decades. His pedagogical philosophy centers on the synergy between architectural research and manifestation, grounded in semantics and phenomenology. He has contributed significantly to architectural education through capacity-building workshops and lectures on Architectural Design, Informal Housing, and Conservation. Professionally, his firm’s exploration of spatial nomenclatures has earned him national and international recognition, including the UNESCO Asia Pacific Cultural Heritage Award of Merit in 2019 and IIA National Award winner in 2021. He recently presented a paper at the UIA2024KL international conference of architects. His work has been published in professional journals of architecture, conservation, urban design, and interior design.
Shilpa Ranade
Shilpa Ranade is a practising architect and researcher based in Mumbai. She is founding partner with Quaid Doongerwala of the firm Design Cooperative (DCOOP), where her portfolio includes campus planning, institutional buildings, housing, interior and product design. As a researcher, her areas of interest are architectural theory, gender studies, and the intersection of social and material space. Shilpa is the co-author, with Shilpa Phadke and Sameera Khan, of the critically acclaimed book “Why Loiter? Women and Risk on Mumbai Streets”. She is actively involved in pedagogy as a visiting faculty and reviewer at institutes across India.
Rohan Varma
Rohan Varma graduated as an architect from the University of Mumbai and worked for Charles Correa between 2008 and 2010 before receiving his master’s in architecture from the TU Delft as a Tata and Mahindra Scholar. He currently divides his time as the Principal Architect of VARMA Architects with his work at the TU Delft, where his doctoral research and teaching activities focus on affordable housing in the rapidly urbanising cities of the Global South. In 2018, he co-curated an international travelling exhibition on the housing designs of Charles Correa. More recently, in 2020, he was appointed as a Delft Global Fellow, and in 2022, he, along with his colleagues at TU Delft, won the global edX Prize for the online course ‘Global Housing Design’. In 2023, he was appointed editor of the journal Delft Architecture Studies on Housing.
Author: Fathima P.V Site Location: Willingdon Island, Kochi, Kerala Institute: MES College of Architecture Advisor: Ar. Vijaya Nhaloor
Description
‘Rooted in Reality, Responsive by Future’ is a design philosophy that begins by acknowledging the truths of an existing place, its people, building patterns, and lifestyle while shaping interventions that can adapt to future needs. It is about respecting the identity of a community while equipping it for resilience and growth. In this rapidly urbanizing society, the chance of eviction for underprivileged settlement like Vathuruthy colony is high, often in the name of ‘development.’ This thesis challenges that approach, proposing an inclusive alternative for the Tamil migrant community on Willingdon Island. Established in the 1960s to support naval base construction, the colony has grown organically, developing strong social ties but also facing congestion, poor infrastructure, and flood vulnerability. Through a land pooling strategy, the design reorganizes the fabric into cluster-based layouts that retain familiar spaces while introducing improved housing, shared public areas, and climate- resilient infrastructure. The approach ensures equitable access to resources, prevents displacement, and strengthens community identity, transforming Vathuruthy in a way that evolves from its past while preparing it for the future.
Author: Sivani Dirisala Site Location: Hyderabad, Telangana Institute: Wadiyar Centre for Architecture Advisor: Nelson Pais
Description
In contemporary urban environments, particularly in cities like Hyderabad, the adoption of standardized construction technologies, combined with bylaws such as an uncapped FSI, has fueled a surge in high-rise developments dominated by typical 3BHK and 4BHK layouts, regardless of actual demand. While these practices streamline construction and reduce timelines, they have also led to a homogenization of housing—prioritizing profit and maximizing returns. This market-driven approach creates a monopoly over centrally located land, making housing in the city center inaccessible to the working class and other family structures.
This project positions itself as a counterpoint to existing housing models in the city’s core. Instead of vertically repeating a single layout and multiplying it across the site, it introduces varied layouts that respond to diverse family structures. The design takes a different approach where the smallest parts also dictate how the overall project turns out. The relationships between these units are explored to create shared spaces and commonalities across multiple scales, reimagining density as a network of connected communities. The proposal aims for a context-sensitive density model—one that prioritizes livability and long-term community well-being over short-term commercial gain.
Author: Priyal Patel Site Location: Vishwanath Gaali, Varanasi Institute: MIT School of Architecture, Pune Advisor: Dr. Neeti Tirvedi
Description
The handloom industry of Benaras has served the livelihoods of over 75% of the population, predominantly comprised of Muslim weavers, for more than 400 years. The craft is developed as a legacy of their ancestors, continued by successive generations. However, the lackadaisical view towards the weavers in Benaras have forced them to live in a sub- human environment, creating an adverse impact on the craft of handloom weaving, leading to migration of weaver’s community to the periphery. The craft is facing the threat of extinction due to the exploitation of weavers by Gaddidars (traders), and growing usage of power looms, which enable faster and more cost-effective production. Housing Conditions: Due to insufficient income, multi-weaver families live in overcrowded and uninhabitable conditions, sharing the same limited space for both domestic activities and weaving production. According to the research and documentation of existing dwelling units in Vishwanath Gaali, we observed the need for a space which would incorporate the weaving activity separately along with the domestic work. The Aim of the Project: The aim of the project is to commercialize hand loom weaving by bridging the gap between the weavers and the local community in the old town of Varanasi. The intent is to create tangible spaces for intangible interactive experiences that engages both residents and weavers, bringing the craft into the public realm by showcasing it on the streets of the city. By integrating tangible aspects of urban design with the intangible cultural heritage of weaving, the initiative seeks to safeguard the weaver community within the old town, thereby preserving the essence of traditional hand loom craftsmanship. The Site Plan: The design of the site plan is inspired from the process which is involved in pre and post weaving activities. The project aims at creating a weavers walk which would involve the experience of viewing the processes of weaving by the tourists. The weavers would also be provided with stalls at the end of the walk where they can display their art and sell their products together. The design of the site plan is done in a way to encourage the weavers to carry out activities such as washing of threads and dying work done together in the central area of the site. This would ultimately connect the local weavers to their potential clients simply without an interference of the traders. This also involves an additional source of income for the women to run food stalls along with their weaving studios. This would inculcate in them, a sense of inclusivity and security within the community of the old town of Varanasi and ultimately preserve the age-old craft of handloom weaving.
Author: Srilekha Malladi Site Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra Institute: Dr. D.Y. Patil School of Architecture Advisor: Amit Shirke
Description
The Metamorphosis of Worli Koliwada reimagines one of Mumbai’s oldest fishing villages as a resilient, community-driven waterfront. Caught between the pressures of redevelopment and the weight of heritage, the project proposes an alternative future, one that protects cultural memory while enabling growth. The design unfolds through co-creation with the Koli community, embedding their lived routines, rituals, and occupations into spatial strategies. Instead of erasing the dense gullies, the project strengthens them through phased development: incremental housing upgrades, flexible public spaces, and resilient infrastructure. The seafront transforms into an amphitheatre and marketplace, where daily livelihood meets collective leisure. A folded plate roof inspired by fishing nets symbolises the dialogue between tradition and contemporary construction. At its core, the thesis argues that urban design is not about replacing communities but amplifying them. By merging heritage, resilience, and equity, the project sets out a model for how Mumbai’s indigenous settlements can thrive amidst rapid urban change.
Author: Adburrab Ansari Site Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra Institute: Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Design, Integral University Advisor: Zeba Nisar
Description
Parivartan: Re-imagining Slum Living is a people-centric redevelopment proposal for the dense informal settlements of Bandra West, Mumbai. Rooted in the philosophy of People-Centric Urbanism and guided by the framework of Regenerative Urbanism, the project envisions a future where slum redevelopment is not merely about housing provision but about enhancing quality of life, preserving community identity, and fostering socio-economic growth.
Through inclusive planning, the design integrates mixed-use vertical housing, accessible public amenities, and vibrant green spaces at both ground and podium levels, ensuring a balance between private comfort and shared community life. Cultural values and lifestyle patterns of residents are retained through flexible housing layouts and active open spaces that encourage interaction.
Sustainability is embedded through modular construction, climate-responsive design, and integrated landscape planning. By addressing housing, livelihood, and ecology together, Parivartan becomes a replicable model for equitable and resilient urban transformation—demonstrating how architecture can be a tool for social upliftment while shaping a more inclusive urban future.
Author: Azad Golakiya Site Location: Rajkot, Gujarat Institute: Indubhai Parekh School of Architecture (IPSA) Advisor: Ar. Ronak Gangadev
Description
This thesis addresses the urgent need for dignified temporary shelters for construction workers in India, with a focus on Rajkot’s semi-arid climate. Migrant laborers, who form the backbone of the construction industry, often live in unsafe, overcrowded, and unhygienic conditions—spaces as small as 2–3 sqm per person, far below the NBC’s recommended 7–10 sqm. Their shelters typically lack privacy, sanitation, ventilation, and safety, forcing families to live in compromised conditions while they build permanent homes for others. The project proposes a modular, portable, and climate-responsive shelter system that is cost-effective, easy to assemble and dismantle, and adaptable to varying site conditions. Using locally available, lightweight, and recyclable materials, the design emphasizes sustainability while ensuring comfort. Passive strategies such as natural ventilation, shading, and insulated roofing respond to harsh climatic conditions, while thoughtful zoning provides spaces for sleeping, cooking, sanitation, and community interaction. Shelters can be placed in linear, clustered, or courtyard formations, allowing flexibility across diverse construction sites. The system reduces waste through reusable components and promotes safety by minimizing reliance on heavy machinery during installation. More than housing, this project aspires to restore dignity, health, and equity to migrant workers, creating a replicable model for labor housing across India.
Author: Lavanya Pant Site Location: Aerocity, New Delhi Institute: FoSTA, Manipal University Jaipur (MUJ) Advisor: Dr. Subhash Chandra Devrath
Description
The project ‘Beneath the Surface’ explores how subterranean architecture can transform transportation nodes into inclusive climate-responsive mobility hubs, addressing the urban challenges of land scarcity, urban heat islands, and inefficient pedestrianization. The proposal, located in Aerocity, New Delhi, envisions a multi-modal transit hub connecting an ISBT and an RRTS station via an existing metro site through underground pedestrian network, enabling seamless intra-site movement in high traffic zones. The design leverages a parametric framework that evolves from conceptual branching networks into functional structures, using skylight courtyards and sculptural landforms to introduce daylight and ventilation while reducing reliance on mechanical systems. Thermal comfort simulations demonstrate that the proposed underground model with passive strategies achieve higher adaptive thermal comfort for the population compared to overground models, emphasizing its energy efficiency. The tapered structural system with lightweight roofing and integrated voids assists in the generation of large column-free, open spaces, while also reducing high indoor heat accumulation. Beyond transportation, the project activates the underground realm for commercial and social functions, fostering resilient, transit-oriented development while reclaiming ground level spaces for green public areas. It underscores the relevance of subterranean architecture in dense cities as not just transit corridors, but also as integrative urban ecosystems.
Author: Bhavya Shah Site Location: Pune, Maharashtra Institute: IDPT, Sarvajanik College of Engineering and Technology (SCET) Advisor: Niraj Naik
Description
Leprosy is one of the oldest known diseases to mankind, which has forced thousands of cured individuals into isolation, giving rise to colonies like Antulenagar, Pune. The cure has been established half a decade ago, but the stigma persists, leaving these individuals and their family members excluded from the city’s social and urban fabric.
The thesis takes Antulenagar as a site of redevelopment and reintegration. The master plan envisions an accessible housing premise addressing the special needs of the residents, focusing on accessibility and adaptability.
Shared facilities, including a communal kitchen and dining, are designed to encourage interaction and support amongst the community, while barrier-free access ensures every resident is included in every space. The surroundings are proposed to be liminal spaces for the neighbourhood, serving as social buffers, reconnecting Antulenagar with its neighbours, slowly dissolving decades of stigma. Antulenagar is more than just the built form. It is an effort to promote dignity, belonging, and equality. Antulenagar aspires to stand as a replicable model for India, aiding in the redevelopment of other marginalised colonies into inclusive neighbourhoods.
Author: Akanksha KV Rao Site Location: Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra Institute: PES University Advisor: Ar. Sharath and Ar. Pranathi Udupa
Description
Dementia, one of the fastest-growing health concerns of our time, has created a silent crisis across the globe. In India, despite nearly 8.8 million people living with the condition, awareness remains alarmingly low. Deep-rooted stigma and lack of specialized care often leave families to struggle in isolation. While medical systems attempt to slow the disease, they rarely address the deeper existential crisis dementia brings an erosion of memory, identity, and belonging. This echoes Hamlet’s haunting dilemma in “To Be Or Not to Be” a struggle between existence and erasure, presence and absence. This project, “To Be Or Not to Be”, responds to that crisis through architecture. At its heart is a dementia village and experience centre, designed not as an institution but as a living community. The experience centre invites the public to step into the fragmented, disoriented reality of dementia, cultivating empathy and understanding in a society that often looks away. The dementia village provides therapeutic, sensory-rich environments that nurture independence, dignity, and healing, while integrating with the rhythms of everyday life. Here, architecture becomes more than shelter it becomes memory, therapy, and connection. It asks us to not only care for those with dementia, but to truly understand them.
Author: Aditya Mahajan Site Location: Kolhapur, Maharashtra Institute: School of Environment and Architecture (SEA) Advisor: Prasad Shetty
Description
Complexities of land, caste-based segregation, people’s agency, agriculture, and industries give rise to a distinct urban and house form within city extents. These forces led to questions about life and space, intervening through diverse socio-political and environmental logics. The architectural inquiry is therefore about thinking of inhabitation forms where space emerges through fragmentation, accretion, and the ideas of permanence and impermanence. Based on a thorough analysis of the biographies of resident families, the design imagines a housing and landscape urbanisation project driven by the community. It intervenes through planning, rethinking builtforms, and inserting infrastructural landscapes. By understanding ways of homemaking, it derives a proportioning system and stratifies the terrain into habitations. Analysing land conditions, affordances, transformations, and intensification of homes, the project suggests a strategy for planning and rebuilding, estimated over the next 15 years, to improve living conditions. The proportioning system is developed into household modules, which can be permutated, appropriated, and grown over time by arranging them in various ways. Made with steel, reinforced fiber panels, and patra, they are meticulously designed with proportional sizes, proper ventilation, play of spatial syntax and volumes, ensuring costeffectiveness. Furthermore, the site systems can be configured to create varying degrees of publicness.
Author: Sakthi Jeeva S Site Location: Vellore, Tamil Nadu Institute: CARE School of Architecture Advisor: Kartikeya Chhaya
Description
Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore has been a key driver of the city’s growth and transformation. As one of India’s most prominent medical tourism hubs, it now serves more than 9,000 patients daily. Unlike most hospitals, the majority of users are not locals but people arriving from distant states such as West Bengal, Bihar, as well as countries like Nigeria and Bangladesh. Many of them stay in the city for extended periods—often three to four months—until their treatment is completed. To meet this rising demand, the neighbourhood directly opposite the hospital has undergone a remarkable yet unplanned transformation. Almost every building has been converted into a lodge, with the ground floors packed with eateries, pharmacies, and travel agencies. The Bengali community, making up nearly 95% of visitors, has also left a strong cultural imprint on food and language. While this ecosystem is highly adaptive and vibrant, it suffers from poor spatial quality, inadequate infrastructure, and issues of hygiene and comfort. These lodges, shaped by urgent needs and quick fixes, follow a consistent but fragile ownership and functional pattern. This thesis takes the position that equitability should not only be considered for patients and their families as users, but also for owners whose buildings embody fragmented forms of investment and livelihood. Rather than pursuing demolition and wholesale redevelopment, the project adopts Patrick Geddes’ idea of “conservative surgery”—preserving existing cultural and ownership patterns while carefully introducing architectural upgrades, programmatic changes, and spatial guidelines. By reimagining both built and unbuilt environments, the project aims to evolve fragmented lodges into a resilient, equitable, and supportive urban system around the hospital.
Author: Habib Rehman Akhtar Khan Site Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat Institute: Lokmanya Tilak Institute of Architecture and Design Advisor: Harish Shetty
Description
The Siddi Community Centre is envisioned as a place of dignity, belonging, and opportunity for a people often pushed to the margins. The Siddis -Africans by origin, Indians by nationality have lived in Gujarat for over four centuries. They built forts, carved Ahmedabad’s iconic Siddi Saiyyed Jali, and enriched India’s cultural fabric. Yet today, many struggle with poverty, exclusion, and invisibility, with little access to education, healthcare, or secure livelihoods. Many remain unaware of their Scheduled Tribe rights, while issues like gambling and exploitation weaken unity. Hope lies in the younger generation, eager for education and change. This project responds by asking: who are we designing for? The answer lies in co-creating with the community. Set on a 29,000 sqm site along the Ahmedabad riverfront, the design steps with contours and draws from idea of Correa’s incremental grid, Kéré’s ventilation strategies, and Fathy’s brick vaults. Each 12 × 20 m module, supported by RCC beams and brick piers, integrates services, harvests rainwater, and anticipates growth. Programs emerge from lived realities – a healthcare block for women and children, a community kitchen inspired by Hirabai Lobi’s struggle, schools woven with skill centers, and courtyards for Dhamal dance, weddings, and festivals. Sunken exhibition spaces become hubs for dialogue and livelihood, while sports and women’s training centers unlock future potential. This is not charity. It is architecture as equity, preserving heritage, empowering livelihoods, and nurturing cultural pride for generations to come.
Author: Tushita Thumati Site Location: Hyderabad, Telangana Institute: School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal Advisor: Rachna Khare
Description
In India, the promise of inclusive education often remains limited by invisible barriers, whether architectural, social, or cultural. Schools, instead of becoming sanctuaries of growth, frequently turn into restrictive spaces that separate children with disabilities from their peers. The challenge lies not only in physical access but in creating environments that affirm dignity, belonging, and participation for every child. The Young India Integrated School is envisioned as a prototype for the Least Restrictive Environment in education. Here, architecture becomes a mediator of relationships; between children and nature, between community and institution, and between learning and play. The design employs curvilinear forms, interconnected courtyards, and sensory alcoves to create spaces for both engagement and retreat. Textured walls, fluid transitions, and nature-infused commons guide navigation while supporting well-being. Spaces respond to varied sensory and social needs, allowing inclusion to be lived as an everyday experience. This school is more than an institution. It is an evolving framework of equity and resilience, an architecture that dissolves boundaries and becomes a living pedagogy of inclusion.
Author: Kshitij Churi Site Location: Pamban Island, Tamil Nadu Institute: Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA) Advisor: Aishwarya Padmanabhan
Description
Pamban Island’s sacred landscape is woven around its 64 teerthams- holy water bodies that once sustained both spiritual practice and ecological balance. These stepped tanks and wells are more than ritual sites; they are decentralized water systems capable of recharging aquifers, resisting seawater ingress in groundwater, and ensuring equitable access to water. Their neglect has led to cultural erosion, ecological vulnerability, and restricted access for communities. This thesis reimagines the teerthams as active commons- spaces where the nature–culture link is re-established through water. By designing interventions rooted in the stepped tank typology, the project creates equitable spaces of access, ritual, and performance for three key users of the island: the local, the pilgrim, and the tourist. Through architectural insertions addressing the local, pilgrim and tourist, the proposal positions these sacred water structures as anchors of both cultural continuity and ecological resilience and the design becomes a medium to restore lost links between people and place, ecology and ritual, nature and culture.
Author: Nazni Yoonus V Site Location: Gurugram, Haryana Institute: DG College of Architecture Advisor: Indu Sreenivasan
Description
Beyond the Box: Adapting IKEA’s Design Language to Gurugram’s Cultural Heritage explores how a global retail giant can evolve to reflect local identity. IKEA, the world’s largest furniture retailer, is known for its standardized, functional, and cost-effective store design. While this model ensures brand consistency, it often leads to placeless architecture. Gurugram—a rapidly urbanizing, planned city dominated by high-rises and modern glass facades—presents an opportunity to question this approach and reintroduce cultural depth into retail architecture.
In recent years, IKEA itself has begun to move away from the “one-size-fits-all” model. IKEA Vienna, completed in 2022, is a prime example, designed as a compact, urban-friendly store with terraces and green facades—demonstrating how the brand is evolving to respond to its context Inspired by this evolution, the project proposes an IKEA for Sector 47, Gurugram, on a 9-acre site with a built-up area of 45,651 m². The design integrates Mughal architectural principles—arches, symmetry, domes, and courtyard-like pause areas—enhancing cultural resonance and enriching user experience.
The design addresses common challenges in IKEA stores—long circulation paths, wayfinding issues, and limited cultural connection—by introducing clear navigation, pause zones, and social spaces. The outcome envisions an IKEA that is not just a retail destination but also a cultural landmark: one that balances efficiency with rootedness, global identity with local heritage, and commerce with community.
Author: Parindra Sur Site Location: Shantiniketan, West Bengal Institute: Techno India University Advisor: Sayan Chatterjee
Description
This thesis investigates the potential of architecture to serve as a catalyst for socio-economic development in rural India through the creation of a Community-centric Livelihood Hub in Shantiniketan, West Bengal. The study addresses the challenges faced by rural artisans—particularly in infrastructure, visibility, and sustainable livelihood—by proposing an architectural intervention that integrates traditional knowledge systems with contemporary sustainable design principles.
A mixed-method research approach was employed, combining site observations, stakeholder interviews, and literature review. Comparative case studies of Auroville (India) and METI School (Bangladesh) informed the design philosophy, highlighting models of participatory, environmentally responsive, and culturally rooted architecture.
The final design comprises multifunctional spaces including training centers, market areas, artisan residences, and community halls—organized around vernacular spatial principles and constructed using local, climate-resilient materials. Emphasis is placed on passive design strategies, community engagement, and the preservation of the local Baul and artisan culture.
By contextualizing architectural design within the framework of rural development and cultural continuity, this project contributes to a replicable model for sustainable rural transformation. It demonstrates how architecture can bridge the gap between tradition and innovation while empowering local communities.
Author: Vidulla Ghodekar Site Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra Institute: Pillai College of Architecture Advisor: Neha Sayed
Description
Chimbai is a quaint coastal village nestled in Bandra, Mumbai, home to diverse fishing communities, including Hindu, Kathiawadi and East Indian families. Once characterised by low-rise Koli houses and a close-knit fishing community, it has gradually transformed from single-storey dwellings to a mix of contemporary structures. This shift has altered the traditional fabric of the community and attracted a more diverse population. In the recent years, the community has begun rebuilding their houses, resulting in haphazard development that lacks any character or identity. Such conditions may draw the attention of the authorities and risk rehabilitation of the community due to high land value. The generatives design process empowers the community by letting them decide the development process. It supports them in rebuilding their homes through design guidelines that address existing issues while preserving the socio-cultural identity of the village. This process allows residents to develop their houses at their own pace, enabling Chimbai to evolve organically over time. It will also invite people from all walks of life to explore the seafront, its cuisine and culture, thereby boosting the local economy. This approach presents a model for community-led regeneration in rapidly urbanising cities, where architecture is rooted in people, place and purpose.
Author: Iqbal Aashiya Hussain Priyanka Site Location: Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir Institute: Sir JJ College of Architecture Advisor: Dr. Vilas Ramteke
Description
A Cultural Center has long been an architectural design approach to curb the ignorance of social and cultural values of a region. For the region of Kashmir however, the problem is deeper. Kashmiri people have long been guardians of their cultural values and traditions, with a rich blend of civilizations from all over South-east and Central Asia. However, with recent disturbances, the people of Kashmir suffer through plights of depression, social alienation, stark unemployment, drug-use and so on. Once the crown jewel of the country, the closest place to heaven as people say, now finds itself covered under the dark clouds of a collective shared trauma. However, the true glory of Kashmir, Kashmiris and their Kashmiriyat is immortal, and this intervention intends to revive those values. The design intends to kindle the ability to experience healing – as it remains especial for those blessed enough to experience pain and suffering. Therefore, architecture’s inane quality to heal, rejuvenate and revive, births a solution to the plight of Kashmir and its Kashmiris.
