Shruti is an Architect and Landscape Architect with over 20 years of academic and
professional experience, currently serving as Associate Professor at the Academy of Architecture.
Alongside teaching, she has contributed extensively to ecological research and landscape projects
with Grassroots Research Consultancy. Her work spans Powai Lake conservation, Eco-WASH
initiatives, urban greening strategies, and biodiversity-focused landscape design. She has played key
roles in projects such as the Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Centre, Keshopur Wetland
Conservation, and Matheran soil conservation. She has also coordinated feasibility studies for 52
eco-tourism sites across Maharashtra and presented her research at national and international
forums.

Mitali Hindlekar is an Associate Professor specializing in Urban Design, with over a decade of experience in shaping young minds in the field of architecture and the built environment. Her work lies at the intersection of design, urban narratives, and sustainable thinking, encouraging students to see cities not merely as spaces, but as evolving stories.

Alongside her academic role, she actively engages in personal design projects, allowing her to explore ideas beyond the classroom and bridge theory with practice. This approach brings real-world insights into her teaching and enriches the learning experience.

Prof. Ketaki Gupte is an Associate Professor with over 20 years of experience in architectural education and professional practice. She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Architecture, and her academic interests focus on thermal comfort, climate-responsive design, and energy optimization in buildings. She has presented her research at several national and international conferences, contributing to discussions on sustainable and high-performance built environments. Alongside her academic role, she has been involved in professional architectural projects, particularly in the design of hospitals and diagnostic centres, where functionality, user comfort, and environmental performance are critical. Deeply passionate about teaching and mentorship, she encourages students to adopt evidence-based and climate-sensitive design approaches to create responsible and contextually responsive architecture.

Amit Jain is an architect and academician who has been associated with the Academy of Architecture since 2014. He holds a Master’s degree in Architecture (M.Arch) and brings a blend of academic knowledge and professional practice to his teaching. As a practicing architect, he integrates real-world architectural experience into the classroom, helping students understand the practical application of design, building services, and urban considerations. With over a decade of teaching experience, he is dedicated to guiding architecture students in developing critical thinking, design sensitivity, and technical understanding. His approach emphasizes bridging theory with practice, encouraging students to explore architecture through analytical thinking, creative exploration, and contextual awareness.

Theory of Structures

After graduation,he worked with reputed consulting engineering firms in Mumbai for about five years. Subsequently, he was engaged in full-time teaching at the L. S. Raheja School of Architecture for nearly twenty years. After taking Voluntary Retirement (VRS) in 2012, he established his own Structural Design firm, Triveni Enterprises. He is also associated with the Academy of Architecture (AOA) as a part-time lecturer.

Swapna Hankare is a Landscape Architect, and currently an Assistant Professor at Rachana Sansad’s Academy of Architecture (Aided) and a practising professional. She is an Alumnus of Academy of Architecture and has completed her M. Arch (Landscape) from LSR SoA. She has been a faculty member at the School of Interior Design and has a teaching stint spanning 26 years. Her interests lie in Landscapes, Architecture and Art. She explores art through watercolours paintings and sketches, which allow her creative freedom. She firmly believes that a City offers innumerable layers, and people and landscapes are a media to express the identity and essence of the city.

Architectural design and Representation.

Architectural design and Representation.

Architectural design and Representation.

I question before I design.
I believe context is not a constraint, but a generator.
I see cities as lived experiences, not abstract plans.
I believe innovation does not lie in new answers, but in reframing the questions we ask.
I aim to shift thinking from the ordinary to the critical, from the expected to the exploratory.

I often begin with a question: “Can design exist without understanding the life around it?”
Influenced by Jane Jacobs, my approach views architecture as a response to lived realities.

I believe innovation emerges by changing how questions are framed, transforming regular thinking into more critical and innovative approaches. As a mindset-driven educator and practitioner, I actively experiment with this in urban and design studios, emphasizing context-aware design and locally responsive urban strategies while bridging theory with real-world application and fostering design sensitivity.

As an architect, urban designer, and academic based in Mumbai, associated with the Academy of Architecture for the past eight years, also as an alumnus. I engage in a continuous dialogue between practice and pedagogy. With a Master’s degree in Urban Design from the School of Planning and Architecture, I have conceptualized and implemented projects within Mumbai that respond to local conditions and realities.

Architectural design and Representation.

Kishori Rajmane is an architect with a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning. She brings experience across residential, commercial, and interior design projects, with involvement spanning concept development to execution. Her areas of interest include context-responsive architecture and urban design. In her teaching practice, she is committed to fostering critical thinking, design sensitivity, and a strong foundation of practical and technical knowledge among students.

Ar. Bhagyashree Pulekar holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture (2013) and a Master’s degree in Project Management (2016) from Mumbai University.

She is an architect, educator, and researcher specializing in project management. Her professional experience includes the design and execution of residential, commercial interior, and institutional projects. Her research interests include heritage conservation, restoration and management, adaptive reuse with a focus on sustainability, and heritage tourism.

Pooja Chichkar is an Urban Designer and Architect with over fourteen years of experience in addressing the complex challenges of rapid urbanisation. Her work spans urban design, heritage conservation, planning advocacy, research, and documentation. She is deeply committed to inclusive and participatory planning, and has led numerous public awareness initiatives aimed at engaging communities in the planning process. In Mumbai, she has also conceptualised and implemented pilot projects that demonstrate sustainable, context-sensitive, and locally responsive urban solutions.

Latika Ambekar is an architect and urban designer with over a decade of practice across residential and commercial architecture and interior design, along with time spent in academia. Her involvement in urban design projects across varied contexts has helped shape a grounded and reflective approach to practice.

She believes design grows from an understanding of context, culture, and everyday lived experience. In her teaching, she carries this forward by connecting studio work with practice and encouraging students to think critically, stay curious, and approach design as a responsible and considered process.

Ar. Chirag Kapadia is a dedicated academician and practicing architect who bridges the gap between design theory and site reality. As a practising professional, he brings active industry insights into the classroom. His teaching spans the B.Arch curriculum—from mentoring 1st-year students to guiding 5th-year Thesis projects.
Specializing in Building Construction, Services, and Architectural Representation and Detailing, he emphasizes technical precision. By integrating his professional expertise in architecture and interiors, he prepares students to navigate the professional rigors of modern practice with creative and technical confidence.

Ar. Shrideep Kshirsagar . As a practising professional, he brings active industry insights into the classroom. His teaching spans the B.Arch curriculum mentoring 1st-year students
Specializing in Building Construction, Services, and Architectural Representation and Detailing, he emphasizes technical precision. Always tries to inculcate sustainable approach to the students.

Aashlesha Bhosale is an architect and educator with a Master’s in Housing Design from the Faculty of Architecture at CEPT University. She has previously worked as a Teaching Associate at CEPT University and is currently engaged in academia at the Academy of Architecture. From 2017 to 2022, she practiced with PK Inception, a design studio known for its research-oriented approach that investigates the deeper social, cultural, and spatial contexts shaping architecture and architecture shaping the contexts.
Her interests lie in housing, everyday urban life, and the ways cities evolve through human interactions and changing social conditions. Through research, design, and representation, she explores how architecture can respond to future urban contexts and foster more inclusive, adaptable ways of living.