Neelkanth H. Chhaya is Adjunct Faculty Member at the Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology. In tandem with this appointment, he serves as Chairman of the Education Working Group of the Hunnarshala Foundation, Bhuj; and as Academic Director of the International Habitat Design Studio, Vastu Shilpa Foundation, Ahmedabad. His teaching experience in higher education includes Dean, Faculty of Architecture, CEPT University, Ahmedabad (2005-13); Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, C.E.P.T., Ahmedabad (1987-04); and Invited Visiting Professor at the Masters Programme for Architects from Developing Nations, Otaneimi Technical University, Helsinki (1989).
Alongside his teaching experience, Mr. Chhaya has extensive independent practice as an architect. In this capacity, his projects include new architectural designs at Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad (2012-ongoing); projects involving earthquake and flood relief in Gujarat and Bihar (2000-10); and award-winning designs for Urban Housing at Kolkata (1996-2002) and Hyderabad (2002-5). As Partner in Mandala Architects in Ahmedabad, his designs received national and international awards and recognition from organizations such as the Spectrum Foundation Award (2002); the Indian National Trust for Art, Culture, and Heritage (INTACH), (1991); and the National Competition for the Karnawati Sports and Recreation Club, Ahmedabad (1990), among numerous other awards and recognitions.
He has actively and centrally participated in national and international lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and conferences, including being the Invited Speaker at SAYA 2015, Kochi, organized by Design Detail Magazine; Keynote Speaker at the Annual Conference of the Association of Architectural Educators in U.K. at the University of Sheffield (2014); Invited Speaker at Umea School of Architecture, Umea, Sweden (2013); Invited Speaker at Aarhus School of Architecture, Aarhus, Denmark (2013); and the Invited Speaker and Panelist at the International Architectural Education Summits at Tokyo (2009), Madrid &Segovia (2011) and Berlin (2013).
Mr. Chhaya’s published research includes monographs such as editing and writing for the book Harnessing the Intangible: on the works of architect B. V. Doshi (2014), as well as articles such as “School Without Walls” article published in Indian Architect & Builder (2013). He has served on numerous national committees and boards, including as Member of the Senate, Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (2014-ongoing); and Member of the Building and Works Committee of the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (2011-ongoing). He serves as Elected Chairman of the Governing Board of the Hunnarshala Foundation through 2015.
