Academics

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

August 2017, from the Industrial Design Center (IDC), Indian Institute of Technology- Bombay (IIT-B)

Field of Specialisation: Architecture, Architectural Semiotics, Visual Communication, History of Art & Architecture

Title of Research Thesis: Buildings as Text: Developing a Semiotic of Bombay’s Art Deco Architecture (1930-1949)’

 

Postgraduate Diploma in Indian Aesthetics

June 2000, from the Department of Philosophy, University of Mumbai First Class

Field of Specialization: Philosophy of Indian Art, Architectural History, Indian Aesthetics

Title of Research Thesis: ‘Lesser Architecture in Bombay’ in the 1930’s & 1940’s: Aesthetic Assertion in an Age of Chronological Eclecticism

Master of Architecture (by Research)

December 1989; from University of Mumbai, from the Sir JJ College of Architecture, Mumbai

Field of Specialization: Built Space and Behavior, Institutional Architecture

Title of Research Thesis: An Analysis of the Relation between Human Territoriality and Architectural Design; with Special Application to the Design of Campus Environments

Awards

The Sir Jairazbhoy Peerbhoy Scholarship for Post-Graduate Studies in Maharashtra; University of Bombay, 1986

 

Bachelor of Architecture (B Arch [Hons])

April 1986, University of Mumbai, from the Sir JJ College of Architecture, Mumbai

First Class with Honors

Teaching Training Program on Pandemic and Future Cities

National Online Training Program (5 days)

Sponsored and Organized by Council of Architecture Training and Research Centre (COA-TRC) Bhopal July 2021

Proto-History: From Sedentism to Civilization

E-Certificate Course (14 days)

Sponsored by the India Study Center (Instucen) Trust, Mumbai May 2020

Teaching Indian Architectural History

Online Training Program (5 days)

Sponsored and Organized by Council of Architecture Training and Research Centre (COA-TRC) Pune May 2020

Earthquake Resistant Building Design and Construction

Workshop (2 Days)

Sponsored by the Government of Maharashtra & conducted by the University of Mumbai at the Sir JJ College of Architecture, Mumbai December 2009

Conservation of Old Manuscripts and Paper Objects

Workshop (1 Day)

Conducted by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vaastu Sangrahalaya & the Museum Society Bombay, Mumbai, September 2006

ANKIT- Exploration of Languages in Communication

Short Term Course (1 week)

Sponsored by the All India Council for Technical Education
(AICTE), conducted by Sir JJ Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai December 2005

Attitudes & Methods of Architectural Design Education

Short Tem Course (1 week)

Sponsored by the AICTE and Council of Architecture (COA),
conducted, School of Architecture (CEPT) Ahmedabad, November 2001

Critical Theory and Architecture

Short Tem Course (2 weeks)

Quality Improvement Programme for Teachers of Architecture
Sponsored by the AICTE and COA, conducted by QIP Cell, School of Architecture & Planning, Anna University, Chennai; July-August, 1999

Induction Training Programme for Teachers of Architecture

Short Tem Course (3 weeks)

Quality Improvement Programme for Teachers of Architecture
Sponsored by the AICTE, conducted by the School of
Architecture & Planning, Anna University, Chennai; May 1996

Professor (Full Time)

Sir JJ College of Architecture

(University of Mumbai),
Joined 23.9.2003 - 13.7.2005 | 14.07.2005 - 31.01.2024 (Retired)

Approved PhD Guide

Approved M Arch Research Guide

Subjects Taught at M Arch Level
Architectural Theories, Research Methodology

Subjects Taught at B Arch Level
FIFTH YEAR: Design Dissertation (Research Guide), Working Drawings, Architectural Design, Architectural Theory

ELECTIVES: Semiotics, Semantics of Objects, Creative Writing, Film Appreciation, Architectural Journalism

FOURTH YEAR: Architectural Design, Acoustics

THIRD YEAR: Architectural Design, Architectural Theory

SECOND YEAR: Architectural Design, Architectural Theory, History of Western Architecture, Humanities

FIRST YEAR: Universal Principles of Design, Humanities

Principal

Pillais College of Architecture

Mahatma Education Society’s Pillais College of Architecture, (University of Mumbai) 15.1.1999 to 1.7.2003

ASSOCIATE Professor/ Reader

Pillais College of Architecture

Mahatma Education Society’s, Pillais College of Architecture, (University of Mumbai) 1.8.1997 to 22.9.2003

ASSISTANT pROFESSOR/ Lecturer

Pillais College of Architecture

Founding Faculty since 15.8.1992 at Mahatma Education Society’s Pillais College of Architecture, (University of Mumbai)

Subjects Taught
FIFTH YEAR: Design Dissertation (Research Guide), Architectural Theory

ELECTIVES: Semantics of Objects, Urban Design

FOURTH YEAR: Architectural Design, Humanities, Building Technology, Working Drawings

THIRD YEAR: Architectural Design, Humanities & Culture, History of Western Architecture, Acoustics

SECOND YEAR: Architectural Design, History of Western Architecture, Humanities & Culture, Architectural Theory

FIRST YEAR: Basic Design, Architectural Design

 

Visiting Faculty

Bharti Vidyapeeth College of Architecture, Navi Mumbai

(University of Mumbai), 1996-2000

THIRD YEAR: Humanities, Acoustics
SECOND YEAR: Climatology

Marathwada Mitra Mandal’s College of Architecture

(University of Pune) 1991 to 1992

THIRD YEAR: Architectural Design
FIRST YEAR: Architectural Design, Basic Design, History of Architecture & Human Settlements

Sir JJ College of Architecture

(University of Mumbai) 1988 to 1991

FIRST YEAR: Architectural Design, Basic Design, Graphics, Building Construction & Materials

Member

  1. Academic Council, University of Mumbai, 2015-2017, 2019-2023
  2. Ad hoc Board of Studies in Architecture, University of Mumbai, 2015-2017, 2019-2023
  3. Ad hoc Board of Studies in Architecture, University of Mumbai, 2004- 2007, 2011-2014, 2015-2017, 2019-2023
  4. Convenor/ Expert Committee, for Inspecting Colleges of Architecture for Council of Architecture COA, since 2002
  5. Local Inquiry Committee, for Inspecting Colleges of Architecture for the University of Mumbai, since 2005
  6. Expert Committee for Inspecting Colleges of Architecture in Mumbai, for the Directorate of Technical Education, since 2008
  7. Expert Committee for Inspecting Technical Institutions in Maharashtra, for All India Council for Technical Education, 2010
  8. Convener, Committee for Selection of Faculty in Colleges of Architecture, University of Mumbai, since 2014
  9. Subject Expert, Committee for Selection of Faculty in Colleges of Architecture, Maharashtra Public Service Commission, June 2016
  10. Subject Expert, Committee for Selection of Faculty in Goa College of Architecture, Goa Public Service Commission, May 2024
  11. Committee for restructuring the M Arch Syllabus & Exam Pattern, for the Board of Studies in Architecture, University of Mumbai, 2006-07, 2011-2014
  12. Committee for restructuring the B Arch (revised) Syllabus, Board of Studies in Architecture, University of Mumbai, 2006-07, 2011-2014
  13. Subcommittee for restructuring of the B. Arch. Syllabi for Design Dissertation, Architectural Design, History of Architecture and Humanities, University of Mumbai, 1998-1999
  14. Selection (interview) Panel for admissions to the M. Arch. Course, Sir JJ College of Architecture, University of Mumbai, since 2003
  15. Jury Member, University Exams, Bachelor of Architecture, University of Mumbai, since 2000

Chairperson

  1. Ad hoc Board of Studies in Architecture, University of Mumbai, 2015-2017, 2019-2023

Paper Setter/ Examiner/ Moderator

  1. Professional Practice, Final Year, History of Architecture, Third Year, Semester VI, University Exams, Bachelor of Architecture, University of Mumbai, since 1996
  2. Aptitude Test in Architecture, All India Engineering Entrance Examinations AIEEE, for the CBSE, 2004, 2005
  3. Coordinator, Central Assessment Program CAP, University Exams, Bachelor of Architecture, University of Mumbai, 2004
  4. Resource Person, Post Graduate Diploma in Indian Aesthetics, Department of Philosophy, University of Mumbai, 2000- 2007

Co-Convener/Resource Person/ Module Coordinator

  1. Capacity Development Program on Built Heritage Studies and Conservation; A Diploma jointly instituted by Sir JJ College of Architecture, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya & The MMR-Heritage Conservation Society, since 2012

The Many Architectures of Mumbai

Course Offered (Online 6 days)

Asiatic Society of Mumbai, Mumbai Research Centre, 19th -24th October 2020

 

Urbs Prima on the Indian Ocean: Bombay's Architecture in the 1930s and 1940s

Plenary Speaker at
The International Workshop ‘Bombay and Indian Ocean Urbanisms’

Organized by The Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, Centre for the Study of Social Difference and Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, Columbia University US, 26 June 2020, online

 

Pedagogical Practices at the Bombay School of Art: (1893-1941)

National Seminar: ‘Design, Culture and History: The Idea of Objects in Modern and Contemporary India’

Organized by The K R Cama Oriental Institute, Bombay, Saturday, 5th January 2019

 

The Unstill Life of the Documentary Drawing: Imagining the Future of Indian Architecture at the Bombay School of Art

National Conference: ‘Inhabitations: Contemporary Practices of Space/ Annotations to the ‘When is Space?’ Exhibition’

Organized by the Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur, 23rd January 2018

 

(with Smita Dalvi) Sacred Places in the Towns of the Konkan: A Study in Decosmopolitanization

International Academy Colloquium “The Politics of Urban Religious Architecture”

ROYAL NETHERLANDS ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES; Amsterdam, 22-24 October 2014

 

Aging Cities: the Problem of Urban Fabric

National Workshop on ‘The Future of Cities’

Organized by Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), IIT-Roorkee and IIT-Bombay, New Delhi, July 2013

7 Points for a New Koliwada

Urban Typhoon International Workshop (with Smita Dalvi, Team Leaders)

Dharavi Koliwada, March 2008

 

Shaping Critical Attitudes in Research Methods for Design

Research Seminar, Industrial Design Center, IIT- Bombay

IIT- Bombay; Golden Jubilee Celebrations, November 2008

 

Looking for Affirmative Architecture in a Disenchanted Age

Symposium: “The New Dynamism of the Material and the Spiritual”

Sri Aurobindo World Centre for Human Unity, Auroville, February 2008

 

Envisioning the New Mughals, and the Persistence of Tradition: Indo-Islamic Architecture in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century

International Conference on Islamic Arts & Architecture

Jamia Millia Islamia, N. Delhi, December 2007

 

Weapons of Choice: Critical Thinking in the Design Classroom

National Seminar: “Development of Innovative Strategies in Higher Academics” Disha

St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, February 2006 

Architecture in India: the last 200 Years

Undergraduate students of Union College USA, & National College

December 2007, 2006, 2005 

Critical Thinking in the Design Classroom

‘Research in Architecture’, a short-term Quality Improvement for Teachers of Architecture

By the Council of Architecture & NIASA Pune, June 2006

The Audible & the Visible: Sound, Acoustics, Architecture

‘AAHAT- Exploration of Sound in Communication’, a short-term Quality Improvement Programme Sponsored by the AICTE

Conducted by Sir JJ Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai, July 2005 

 

(with Smita Dalvi) Non-Monumental Religious Architecture of the Konkan: An Unselfconscious Tradition of Cosmopolitan Self-Similarity

International Conference: ‘Cultural and Religious Mosaic of South and Southeast Asia: Conflict and Consensus through the Ages’

Conference organized by IAHR under UNESCO, New Delhi, January 2005

 

Engaging the Colonial City: Bombay's Architecture of Living Memory

International Seminar: ‘Conservation of Colonial Cities’ at the National Gallery of Modern Art NGMA,

Organized by Max Muller Bhavan Mumbai, UDRI, National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai and the Consulate General of the Netherlands, February 2003

Pre & Postcolonial architecture of 20th Century India

Post Graduate Diploma in Indian Aesthetics, Department of Philosophy

At the University of Mumbai, March 2000

Themes in British Architecture in Colonial India (1798-1931)

“Study- India Programme” for The University System of Georgia, US, & the Hyderabad (Sind) National Collegiate Board

Jai-Hind College Mumbai, May 2001 

19th century Architecture in India: the many permutations of the Revivals: the mesmerizing fantasy of “Indo-Saracenic” hybridization”

Post Graduate Diploma Class in Indian Aesthetics, Department of Philosophy, University of Mumbai

March 2001-2008; Jnanapravaha, Mumbai

20th century Architecture in India: Modernist Interventions, Patronage as Hallmark of Authority

Post Graduate Diploma Class in Indian Aesthetics

Department of Philosophy, University of Mumbai, March 2001-2008; Jnanapravaha, Mumbai

 

Bombay's Domestic Architecture in the 30s and 40s: A Study in Assertion

Seminar: ‘Mumbai’s Domestic Architectural Heritage’

Organised by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Greater Mumbai Chapter, September 1999

Theoretical Concepts in Educational Evaluation/ Evaluation in the Design Studio

“Architectural Design Theory and Studio”: a Short-Term Quality Improvement Programme for Teachers of Architecture

By the AICTE and COA, QIP Cell, School of Architecture and Planning, Anna University, Chennai, July 1999

 

Fantasy Architecture

Public Lecture at the India Art Architecture & Design Biennale 2023

Presented on at the Red Fort, New Delhi, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India,13th December 2023

 

Art Deco Architecture in Bombay: Not Just Bombay

Public Lecture Online 

Organized by The Museum Society of Mumbai, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya & The Cambridge Society, Bombay; Tuesday, 7th December 2021

 

Habitation, Hygiene and Home Rule: Art Deco Architecture in Bombay

Public Lecture Online at the Art Deco Weekend, 2021

Organized by the Miami Design Preservation League, Saturday, January 16 2021

 

The Architecture of Cosmopolitanism: Reshaping Bombay’s Public Realm in the 1930s and 1940s

The 21st Gulestan and Rustom Billimoria Endowment Lecture

Organized by The Asiatic Society of Mumbai, Presented at the Darbar Hall of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai, 27th February 2019.

 

Mid-century Compulsions: visions and cautions about housing in the emerging Nation State

Public Lecture during the exhibition ‘State of Housing: Aspirations, Imaginaries and Realities in India’

Organized by Urban Design Research Institute and Architecture Foundation, Presented at Gallery MMB Goethe Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, Mumbai, 9th March 2018

Fixing the Unbroken: The punctuated chaos of aging cities

Public Lecture in the ‘Cities in History’ series, Organized by The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library

Presented at the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, Teen Murti House, New Delhi, 20th November 2015