Design Cell

Research and Development Cell

The Design Cell is the research and consultancy division of the KRVIA and was started in 1995 with an intention to connect the theoretical and research agendas of the school with the practice of architecture and development in the city. The Cell interacts with various agencies concerned with development and explores methods of understanding and intervening in the metropolis. It works with a team of architects and other consultants regarding history, economy, social geography, infrastructure and planning. The process of consultancy helps the Institute engage with the actors and agencies involved with architectural production. The Cell has created an independent research on the city and has created an archive of maps, images, and documents on various aspects of the city of Mumbai

A Forest in the City: Event Details

This a project of the KRVIA in collaboration with Pani Haq Samiti exploring the work of representation in the negotiation of access to infrastructure by poor and marginalised communities within Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Aarey Colony in Mumbai. The project is a collaboration between different institutions, communities and individual interested in the relationship between the forest and the city. They include architects, urban designers, ethnographers, anthropologists, activists, community members, cultural practitioners and archivists.

As part of this project, we are organising a series of events in collaboration with Pani Haq Samiti at IF:BE, Ballard Estate, Mumbai between the 20th and 27th of January 2024- parallel to the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.

They include – ‘A Forest of Claims’, an exhibition exploring the ways in which the forest and the forest dweller are imagined and the effect on the everyday lives of inhabitants; and ‘Conversations in the Clearing’, a series of events that hopes to provoke a conversation between stakeholders around questions of identity, rights and culture in the forest.

Project Team

Lisa Bjorkman. Rohan Shivkumar.

Sitaram Shelar. Rohit Kudale. Yogesh Bole. Manisha Dhinde. Savitri Medathul. George Jacob. Ankush Chandran. Sonal Sundararajan. Simpreet Singh.

Shirish Joshi . Rashmi Varma. Shilpi Syal.

Astha Sahay. Siddhesh Godambe. Sunil Jaiswar. Pravin Borkar, Ganesh Pandit . Alisha Masurkal.

MC Mawali . Dinesh Baraf. Ronil Jain. Sharvari Shastry.

Aman Savla

Volunteers: Atharva Desai, Abhidnya Dali

These events are supported by the UKRI, ‘Navigating the Grid-Poverty, gender, and access to services in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka’.