Jayesh Hariyani Named RIBA Fellow: A Three-Decade Journey Across Architecture, Urbanism and Sustainability
From Ahmedabad to international practice, Jayesh Hariyani’s career reflects an evolving understanding of architecture—one that moves between buildings, institutions, cities, landscapes and communities.
Architecture was not Jayesh Hariyani’s original ambition. Growing up in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, he initially enrolled in medical school before his elder brother, recognising his talent for drawing, suggested that he explore architecture. He took the entrance examination almost on impulse and joined the School of Architecture at CEPT in Ahmedabad, where the questioning, curiosity and experimental spirit of B.V. Doshi had a lasting influence on his thinking.
His architectural education soon expanded beyond India. An exchange student at ETH Zurich, followed by professional experience in Switzerland and later, postgraduate in urban design and planning at Syracuse University, as well as an Executive MBA at the Katz School of Business, in the USA, exposed him to different cultures of practice, scales of development and modes of collaboration.
His subsequent career at Burt Hill and Stantec took him into increasingly complex institutional and international projects, while also giving him experience in practice leadership, management and business. It was a trajectory that gradually shifted his role from designing individual buildings towards shaping larger organisations and multidisciplinary teams.
Returning to India, Jayesh and his wife and long-time collaborator, Bindu Hariyani, developed the South Asia practice that eventually evolved into INI Design Studio.
Today, INI is a multidisciplinary practice of nearly 500 professionals working across architecture, urban design, planning, engineering, landscape, interiors, sustainability and research. The practice has received more than 200 national and international awards and is included in Building Design’s WA100 ranking of the world’s leading architectural practices.
Yet the growth of the practice has not been accompanied by the pursuit of a singular architectural language. Instead, Hariyani has consistently advocated a project-specific and collaborative approach.
“Architecture today cannot be defined by a single building, a single discipline or a single point of view. The most meaningful work emerges when different minds, disciplines and perspectives come together.”
That approach is reflected in the breadth of INI’s portfolio. Its work encompasses scientific and educational institutions such as the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Gujarat Technological University and Shiv Nadar University; healthcare projects; cultural and scientific destinations including Gujarat Science City and its Aquatic Gallery; and major urban initiatives such as Rajkot Smart City.
It extends to sacred landscapes through the Kedarnath, Badrinath and Ambaji masterplans; ecological and public-realm projects including Atal Sarovar, Dumas Sea Face and Shivrajpur Beach; regional development initiatives in Meghalaya; and large-scale corporate, institutional, infrastructure, tourism and research projects across India.
For Hariyani, this diversity is deliberate. “We are drawn to unfamiliar challenges, particularly projects that require us to develop new approaches rather than rely on established models.”
The breadth of the work also reflects his belief that architecture cannot be separated from the larger systems within which it operates. Buildings, landscapes, infrastructure, communities and cities are interconnected—and increasingly require integrated forms of thinking.
Sustainability has been another defining strand of Hariyani’s professional engagement. He is a Founding Member and Executive Board Member of the Indian Green Building Council and serves on the CEO’s Advisory Committee of the U.S. Green Building Council.
His wider contributions extend to education, mentorship, research, professional advocacy and institution-building. For Hariyani, the architect’s responsibility increasingly lies not only in designing spaces, but also in bringing together the knowledge, technologies and disciplines needed to address environmental and social challenges.
Hariyani’s recognition as a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 2026 follows his elevation to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) in 2021. This makes him only the third Indian architect to have received both honors, after B.V. Doshi and Charles Correa.
For Hariyani, however, the significance of FRIBA is less about distinction than responsibility.
“I don’t see these honours as an arrival point. If anything, they make me more conscious of the responsibility ahead—to keep learning, keep questioning and keep exploring what architecture can do beyond the building itself.”
From an unexpected beginning at CEPT to leading a multidisciplinary practice of nearly 500 professionals, Hariyani’s journey has been one of continually expanding the role and reach of architecture. His international experience has ultimately found its most sustained expression in India—across its rapidly evolving cities, fragile landscapes, public institutions and diverse communities. The FRIBA recognition, in this sense, is not simply a milestone in an individual career, but an acknowledgement of a practice shaped by the complexities and possibilities of contemporary India.
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