Brinda Somaya

główny architekt, Somaya & Kalappa Consultants (SNK)

Brinda Somaya is an architect and urban conservationist. Upon completion of her Bachelor of Architecture from Mumbai University and her Master of Arts from Smith College in Northampton, MA, U.S.A, she started her firm Somaya and Kalappa Consultants (SNK) in 1978 in Mumbai, India. 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. In 2016 she was appointed as the Chairperson of the Board of Governors, School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada. In 2017 She joined the Board of the Lafargeholcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, Zurich, Switzerland. Presently she is the A.D. White Professor-at-large at Cornell University, U.S.A.

Over four decades she 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. Her firm SNK has won 3 UNESCO Asia-Pacific awards for the Vikram Sarabhai Library, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (2019), Rajabai Clock Tower & University of Mumbai Library, Mumbai (2018) and St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai (2004). In 2013 she was chosen as one of the 100 GLOBAL PUBLIC∙INTEREST∙DESIGN persons working at the intersection of design and service globally. Her monograph ‘Brinda Somaya Works & Continuities’ was published in 2018.