(“Text as submitted by architect”)
Avneesh Tiwari
Avneesh Tiwari is an architect, designer, and educator who studied at Sir J. J. College of Architecture, Mumbai. He founded atArchitecture in 2014 after working as an Associate Architect at Matharoo Associates in Ahmedabad. He is also a visiting professor at KRVIA Mumbai.
Avneesh has presented his work at various academic events, including the London Architecture Festival, where he was invited to present the project Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of Al-Nouri Complex in Mosul. The event was organized by the Iraqi Embassy in London in collaboration with UNESCO. He recently presented his recent work at the Harvard GSD conference “Architectures of Transition: Emerging Practices in South Asia”. In the past, he has worked on 350-bed ECIS hospitals in Ahmedabad and 1000-bed Adani hospitals in Gujarat and holds special expertise in institutional projects.
Neha Rane
Neha Rane graduated with a bachelor’s in architecture from Sir J. J. College of Architecture, Mumbai. She further specialized in ‘Architecture for Landscape’ through an intensive workshop at Yacademy Bologna, Italy, in 2018.
Neha has worked with reputed firms like HCPDPM and Vastu Shilpa Consultancy (Prof. B. V. Doshi) and currently heads her co-founded practice at Architecture. Where she worked on the IIT and Mundra Masterplan.
She has chaired the jury of the international competition for the Girls’ Development Centre “HER PLACE” in Nepal in 2021.
Practice Ideology
atArchitecture is a Mumbai-based practice founded in 2014 by Avneesh Tiwari and Neha Rane, encompassing architecture, landscape, and urban design. The firm focuses on providing comprehensive solutions that strive for delight, sustainability, and efficiency. Each distinctive intervention seeks regional inspiration through careful study of the context and aspirations of the site. Creative processes of research, interpretation, and experimentation are then employed and developed through drawings, writings, and scale models to achieve designs that strive for simplicity and clarity.
The practice emphasises sustainability through minimal construction, the exploration of building materials and technologies unique to each project, and the critical questioning of conventional and market-driven solutions. atArchitecture’s projects are predominantly in the public domain, and community involvement is a crucial aspect of their process, from programme development and design solutions to functionality and operation.
atArchitecture places great emphasis on character, creating a distinct identity and narrative that is meaningful and memorable. The team also believes in applying on-site value creation in a way that best identifies with the natural and cultural landscape of the site. The process of discovery through intensive travel and detailed research contributes to the firm’s knowledge base. Regular teaching additionally informs the practice, allowing for exposure to evolving pedagogy and interactions with the younger generation as well as veterans in the field. A balanced number of projects allows the team to pay careful attention to details and specificity, to create intentional spaces that place a great emphasis on the sensory experience of architecture.
Over the past eight years, the team has built a portfolio of highly acclaimed projects in the residential, cultural, and institutional domains.
In 2017, their project ‘Home for marginalised children’ in Thane, Maharashtra, won the renowned ‘Lafarge Holcim Awards Gold, Asia Pacific’. This award foundation, established in Switzerland, promotes innovative, sustainable projects from around the globe.
In 2018, the practice won the prestigious ‘Affordable Housing Design Challenge’ organised by the BTI, United Nations (UNDP Cambodia). Their winning entry, to skillfully accommodate 3000 residential units for factory workers in Phnom Penh, is currently underway. This project was also the recipient of the Holcim Awards acknowledgement prize in 2021.
In the same year, the firm was awarded the winners of a highly competitive two-stage international design competition organised by the Ministry of Russia to provide ‘Alternative Layouts in Standard Housing’ and help create more comfortable living environments for all by redefining the form of Russian housing.
Recently, the firm placed 2nd in the competition for the UNESCO Reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Al Nouri complex in Mosul, followed by 3rd place for ‘The Learning Home, a residential school for children with special needs in Bulgaria in 2019.
