What does it truly mean to create change in the built world? Is it in sustainable materials, responsible practices, or the quiet courage to rethink what already exists? Changemakers (Design Stories) by The Architect’s Diary honors architects, designers, and visionaries who go beyond aesthetics and function. Those who reshape systems, communities, and futures. In a field where many can design a building, few dare to design impact. This initiative celebrates the ones who create environments that serve the public, restore balance, and spark dialogue. Here, influence is not measured by scale, but by intention, integrity, and lasting transformation.
Dikshu.C.Kukreja, is an architect and urban designer who has been trying to create an integration of community and landscapes in his projects over the years. He views the built environment as an ongoing dialogue between people, place and climate. His firm C.P.Kukreja Architects engages with projects across varied scales, from cities and campuses to institutions, industries and public spaces. Ensuring that each intervention responds to materiality and long term environmental performance, making him a true changemaker.
Project Name: Yashobhoomi ComplexPhotography: Courtesy Of CP Kukreja Architects
Harmut Wurster is an architect who builds environments that turn vision into long-term value. Along with his multidisciplinary team at Blocher Partners India, he creates impactful projects across architecture, interior design, urban planning, communication design and more. Creating spaces that are functional, inspiring, and future-ready, with well-being and sustainability at their core. Hence, making him a true changemaker.
Project Name: Mondeal Heights office, AhmedabadPhotography: Courtesy Of Blocher Partners India
Abin Chaudhuri is an architect who have committed to create designs reflected between the intimacy of small-town India and the cosmopolitan energy of Kolkata is reflected in ADS’s body of work, where minimal, sculptural forms meet handcrafted detail and references to vernacular craft sit comfortably alongside bold modern gestures. Through his wide range of work at Abin Design Studio, he continues to shape an architectural language that is grounded in place. By a genuine sense of purpose, a true labor of love, making him a true changemaker.
Project Name: Lehri Temple, RoychakPhotography: Courtesy Of Abin Design Studio
Parul Zaveri is an architect whose mission is to create contextual, integrated, comfortable environments through responsible architecture that conserves resources and protects built and cultural heritage. Over 45 years, her journey as a changemaker along with the studio Abhikram has unfolded without compromising the convictions, beliefs, and shared values through the Passive Human Comfort System, while re-establishing the relevance of traditional knowledge, wisdom, materials, technologies, and local craftspersons.
Project Name: The Oberoi Udaivilas, UdaipurPhotography: Courtesy Of Abhikram
Bhakthi Loonawat is an architect and designer who works across architecture, interiors, installations, and material innovation, exploring how buildings and materials can be grown from mushrooms rather than built from extractive resources. Her firm, Anomalia, has showcased its research at two major global platforms in 2025, and she is a true changemaker whose work brings together craft, technology, and ecological intelligence, with a strong focus on regenerative and bio-based systems.
Project Name: The Myco Museum, La Biennale di VeneziaPhotography: Courtesy Of Anomalia
Sourabh Gupta is a Noida-based architect who works across architecture, urban design, interiors, landscape, product design, and branding, with projects ranging from city master plans and riverfronts to haats, mandis, hospitals, metro infrastructure, and private residences along with his team at Archohm. Mridu Sahai advocates for dynamic, relevant, and evolving design pedagogy, which is updated annually in collaboration with international professors. Her firm, The Design Village, combines design studios, institutes, and strong industry partnerships to create a holistic and adaptive design education ecosystem.
Project Name: National Institute for Faith Leadership (NIFL), Uttar PradeshPhotography: Courtesy Of George Stephen
Suhasini Ayer is an architect who weaves together natural and human geography, climate and culture, and society and economy into a cohesive, adaptive fabric, creating dynamic relationships between built and unbuilt spaces and crafting habitats that encourage people to live in harmony with themselves, their communities, and their environment, hence making her a true changemaker.
Project Name: Auroville Visitors’ CentrePhotography: Courtesy Of Auroville Design Consultants
Vineeta Singhania and Vishal Sharma are architects dedicated to elevating design through revolutionary approaches. The firm specializes in reshaping the fabric of built environments at both macro and micro levels, such as residential, commercial, institutional, transport and infrastructure, offices & IT parks, hospitality, boutique interiors, and innovative artistry. The changemakers, along with their studio Confluence, redefine their design practice through constant evolution, research-driven thinking, and collaborative excellence.
Project Name: Gaur NYC Experience Centre, DelhiPhotography: Courtesy Of Confluence
Sarah Sham is a luxury interior designer who is celebrated for her distinctive work across high-end residential and commercial environments. With a legacy rooted in refined craftsmanship and contemporary sensibilities, her studio, Essajees Atelier, delivers comprehensive, end-to-end design services from conceptual development and spatial planning to bespoke furniture design and complete execution. Her signature blend of meticulous detailing, thoughtful materiality, and a sophisticated yet highly functional aesthetic results in interiors that are both timeless and deeply personal, making her a true changemaker.
Project Name: KOKO, HyderabadPhotography: Courtesy Of Essajees Atelier
Anica Mann is a real influencer who works towards acknowledging that modernism is endangered in the city. The changemaker’s initiative, Modern Delhi Houses, comprises important lessons of design, regional architecture, and temporal ecological solutions in the home. This project celebrates the city through its people and personal commissions of the house, determining the vernacular architectural patterns of the city.
Project Name: RocketganJ by artist Prateek AroraPhotography: Courtesy Of Delhi Houses
Siddharth Bathla is a changemaker architect whose design is never static; it follows a story, not just function. Along with his team at Design Factory India, he blends architecture, product design, film, and graphics to craft immersive public spaces. From the spiritual Varanasi project and Red Fort Centre to the resilient Smritivan Earthquake Museum and evolving Vadnagar, they retell heritage stories for the future.
Project Name: Smritivan Earthquake Museum, GujaratPhotography: Courtesy Of Design Factory India
Hafeez Contractor is an architect and urban designer who transforms constraints into opportunities, delivering projects that are not just buildings but landmarks that are resilient and emblematic of a changing India. His firm AHC has reshaped cityscapes across India and beyond, from Mumbai’s iconic Imperial Towers and Hiranandani Gardens to Dubai’s soaring 23 Marina. He is a true changemaker who designs with versatility, contextuality, and efficiency.
Project Name: ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation), DelhiPhotography: Courtesy Of Architect Hafeez Contractor
Goonmeet Singh Chauhan is a major changemaker in architecture, always placing people at the center of every project. With more than three decades of work across public buildings, housing, offices, retail spaces, and civic areas, his firm, Design Forum International, focuses on creating environments that are inclusive, sustainable, and sensitive to their surroundings. He is a true changemaker who blends innovation with responsibility, turning architecture into a tool that improves daily life, supports accessibility, and drives meaningful, positive change in communities.
Project Name: ITO Skywalk, New DelhiPhotography: Courtesy Of Design Forum International
They are real influencers reshaping storytelling by making sustainability accessible, relatable, and deeply engaging. Through sharp on-the-ground reporting and compelling vertical videos, the platform spotlights startups, innovators, and changemakers driving impact across India. Their social media initiative with content that resonates strongly with millennials, Gen Z, and professionals in tech, design, architecture, and business, sparking meaningful conversations that extend far beyond social media, inspiring audiences to rethink sustainability in their everyday lives.
Photography: Courtesy Of gen.E
Jayesh Hariyani is an influential global design leader with a career spanning more than 35 years across the USA, Europe, the Middle East, and India. As Founding Director of INI Design Studio, he has shaped an award-winning, multidisciplinary practice grounded in collaborative design, technological excellence, and deep contextual sensitivity. Equally committed to education, Jayesh has mentored the next generation through IGBC student chapters, academic collaborations, and curriculum development, championing climate literacy, ethical practice, and the social responsibilities of design, making him a true changemaker.
Project Name: Aquatic Gallery at Science City, AhmedabadPhotography: Courtesy Of INI Design Studio
He is an architect with a design practice that works at the intersection of architecture, craft, ecology, and community. His studio, draws from the material intelligence of the mountains, working with timber, stone, climate, and traditional building systems to create solutions that are resilient, rooted in culture, and relevant for the future. His practice reinterprets ancestral techniques such as Kathkuni and Dhajji Dewari through a contemporary lens, proving that local knowledge is not a relic but a powerful tool for climate adaptation, making him a real changemaker.
Project Name: North Homestay Estate, Himachal PradeshPhotography: Courtesy Of North
Vijaya Amujure is an award-winning conservation architect and has an experience of about 25 years in the field of heritage conservation. She has been working with INTACH for the last 20 years and is currently the principal director of the Architectural Heritage Division, altogether making her a true changemaker. She is a recipient of the prestigious UNESCO Asia Pacific Award 2017 for the conservation of Gohad Fort in Madhya Pradesh and also a recipient of the prestigious Devi Award 2025, Sawai Jaipur Award 2024, and the Aarya Awards in 2021 for her contribution to architectural heritage.
Project Name: Aurangzeb’s Mosque, VaranasiPhotography: Courtesy Of Intach Architectural Heritage
Studio Lotus has grown to be one of India’s most pathbreaking architectural firms that champions conscious design, valuing local resources and meticulous attention to detail. Their multidisciplinary approach addresses sustainability across cultural and environmental dimensions, producing built work at the forefront of design thinking. Their international recognition for representing Indian values, under the guidance of these 4 architects, underscores the studio’s role as a true changemaker in the field of architecture.
Project Name: Museum of Meenakari Heritage (MOMH), JaipurPhotography: Courtesy Of Studio Lotus
StudioPOD, a multidisciplinary firm based in Mumbai, is transforming urbanism in India by prioritizing people and systems-driven design at its core. Their collaborative approach integrates urban design with infrastructure, transport, and development, creating ecological and community-driven cities. They demonstrate how contextual, people-centric design can boost liveability and deliver sustainable, impactful urban growth under the guidance of these three architects, making them true changemakers.
Project Name: One Green Mile, MumbaiPhotography: Courtesy Of Studio POD
Kalpana Ramesh is a designer, entrepreneur, and environmentalist who emphasizes the importance of valuing water as a vital, conscious force of nature through her initiative called The Rainwater Project. By ensuring rainfall, runoff, and surplus water are harvested or returned to groundwater rather than mixed with wastewater, they restore Earth’s natural cycles. Her work renews our commitment to sustainability, demonstrating how mindful water management can safeguard life on Earth, making her a real changemaker.
Project Name: Bansilalpet Stepwell, MumbaiPhotography: Courtesy Of Rainwater Project
Rajeev Kathpalia is an architect who carries forward the legacy of B.V. Doshi, shaping Indian architecture with innovation and social equity. Over three decades, he has designed inclusive, environmentally responsible campuses and buildings that integrate ecology and infrastructure. Along with the team at the Vastu Silpa Consultants, his net-zero campus designs like Smritivan Earthquake Memorial redefine architecture, earning global recognition. Through practice, teaching, and advocacy, the changemaker bridges culture and design.
Project Name: Smritivan Museum, GujaratPhotography: Courtesy Of Vāstu Shilpā Sangath LLP
Anup Naik is a changemaker architect and urban designer whose three-decade career bridges design, sustainability, and human-centered urbanism. As the founder of Urban Frame Pvt Ltd, he blends research, indigenous wisdom, and innovative strategies across projects in India and abroad. Committed to liveable, inclusive, and socially vibrant cities, Anup influences policy and smart city initiatives. He is shaping resilient, adaptive, and people-focused urban futures.
Project Name: Disha Pote Experience CentrePhotography: Courtesy Of Urban Frame
Vikas Dilawari is a pioneering conservation architect with over 35 years dedicated exclusively to preserving heritage, from iconic landmarks to overlooked century-old buildings in Mumbai, along with his team at the Vikas Dilawari Conservation Architect. He has played a key role in listing Mumbai’s VT station as a World Heritage Site. His 19 UNESCO awards, restoration of modern 20th-century heritage, and extensive writings make him a true changemaker.
Project Name: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, MumbaiPhotography: Courtesy Of Vikas Dilawari Architects
Vinu Daniel is a leading-edge architect dedicated to sustainable, cost-effective design. Along with his team at the Wallmakers, he creates innovative, contextual spaces that respond to environmental crises. His 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 dreamlike spaces, making him a real changemaker.
Project Name: Bridge House, KarjatPhotography: Courtesy Of Wallmakers
Rahul Kadri is an architect and an urban designer known for creating socially inclusive, environmentally sensitive, and culturally resonant spaces. Works of his studio, IMK Architects, span housing redevelopment, hospitality, education, healthcare, urban planning, landscape design, and project management consultancy, with over 150 projects completed across India and abroad, hence making him a true changemaker.
Project Name: Sona College of Technology, SalemPhotography: Courtesy Of IMK Architects
Biju Bhaskar, an architect and researcher, stands as a pioneering force reviving India’s indigenous building wisdom for a sustainable future. His firm, Thannal Natural Homes, advocates zero-cement natural construction through workshops, expert guidance, and the world’s first Indian Natural Building Learning App. His commitment to local materials, ancient techniques, and climate-sensitive design makes him a true changemaker.
Project Name: Singing Dervish Studio, Tamil NaduPhotography: Courtesy Of Thannal Natural Homes
Over three decades, Ar. Rajesh and Ar. Iype have worked together to serve people, climate, and community through architecture and design. Their practice goes beyond creating homes and extends to schools, research facilities, museums, and industrial spaces, each rooted in comfort, refuge, and human connection. Their versatility, depth, and commitment to resilient, community-centered architecture position them as transformative leaders shaping India’s built environment.
Project Name: Rural Health Centre, DharmapuriPhotography: Courtesy Of Flying Elephant Studio
Design Jatra is a transformative force in rural Maharashtra, emerging from on-ground explorations that revealed the erosion of traditional built forms and fractured communities. Responding with empathy and innovation, the practice empowers villages to rediscover pride in their materials, skills, and cultural wisdom. Through Tokar and immersive urban-rural engagements, Design Jatra is redefining socially rooted, community-driven architecture.
Project Name: Mohraan FarmsPhotography: Courtesy Of Design Jatra
Urmila Kanoria is an influential leader for transforming Ahmedabad’s creative landscape by turning her belief that “without art there is no life” into a lasting institution. Inspired by her family legacy and guided by B.V. Doshi, she founded the Kanoria Centre for Arts as a space where creativity can thrive. Through its campus, exhibitions, workshops, and learning programs, she has empowered generations of artists. Shre has also strengthened the city’s cultural and artistic community.
Project Name: Kanoria Centre for Arts, AhmedabadPhotography: Courtesy Of Urmila Kanoria
Abha Narain Lambah stands as a changemaker in India’s design landscape for redefining how the nation engages with its architectural legacy. Abha’s work bridges centuries, reviving 15th-century temples, restoring colonial landmarks, and safeguarding globally significant heritage sites. Beyond conservation, her expertise in museum and gallery design transforms cultural storytelling for contemporary audiences. Through her vision, India’s historic built environments are not preserved but reimagined as living and relevant.
Project Name: Sheesh Mahal, JaipurPhotography: Courtesy Of Abha Narain Lambah Associates
Layers don’t just sit here; they breathe, shift, and whisper through light. The Screen, set in the sun-drenched fabric of Solapur, Maharashtra, isn’t trying to scream luxury. It doesn’t need to. It moves quieter than that, more composed, more intentional, like a pause button carved into the chaos of the city. Spread across 4,125 sq. […]
This project is located in Ben Tre, Vietnam, and was completed in 2021. With a total area of 430m2, the project set within concrete vaults includes 3 bedrooms and one living room, each with a view of the nearby river. Concrete Vaults Form The Main Identity Of This Vietnamese Home | VTN Architects The ground […]
We conceive EMA not as a conventional architectural object, but as a living continuum of memory, ecology, and craft. Located in Malappuram, Kerala, the 1,700 sq. ft. residence, designed with thermal comfort draws from vernacular wisdom and the philosophy of the Kaavu—the sacred grove—where humans, nature, and other living beings coexist without hierarchy. Within this […]
Set within the lush landscapes of Bharanikavu in Kollam, Arcade – a single storey residence that blends tropical modern architecture with colonial and traditional elements. Designed for a businessman, his wife (a teacher) and their two daughters, this house showcases a shared interest for elegance rooted in familiarity. This Single Storey Home Sits Amidst Lush […]
Noah’s Ark is a contemporary residence designed as a calm and welcoming home with a clear planning. The client’s brief was to create a home that felt simple, warm, and timeless without becoming overly minimal or impersonal. Noah’s Ark responds by blending clear planning, honest materials, and personal elements, resulting in a house that is […]
Located in HMT Layout, Bangalore, Isha_Srinidhi Nilaya stands as a multi-generational home designed on a compact 60×40 ft (2400 sq. ft) East facing plot, with a total built-up area of 8000 sq. ft. East Facing a lush public park, the residence responds to its urban setting through a layered design that balances privacy with a […]
Nestled within a 30×40 ft plot is the compact house design in Banashankari 6th Stage, Bengaluru. This residence for the Ellappans, reimagines traditional Indian living in a contemporary, spatially dynamic form. Designed for a family of three- Mr. Ellappan, his wife, and their teenage son- the house expresses a deep connection to vernacular roots while […]
Timeless architectural features, such as courtyards, are always associated with bringing the naturally public forms to the world’s heart, building the most peaceful, secluded outdoor areas. These outdoor spaces maximize the living experience with their private space feature, which gives one the option for leisurely relaxation, recreation, or gardening. Furthermore, it has also been a […]
Architecture font choices go beyond style—they shape how your work is perceived. From portfolios to presentations, the right architecture font instantly communicates clarity, precision, and personality. As architects, we design not just with space but with every detail, including typography. Selecting a strong architecture font shows your commitment to visual storytelling and design consistency. In […]
The Indian farmhouse accommodation goes on to capitalize on a mature evolutionary synthesis of ancestral aesthetics and contemporary features. With this, the outside and the inside of farmhouses became places of comfort with nature. In this blog, we delve into 15 incredible farmhouse designs that entail a harmonious blending. While they exhibit different spaces in […]