AT A GLANCE
Dr Priya Joseph
Area of Practice: Architectural History, Urbanism, Art & Design in the City
OVERVIEW
Priya is an architect, writer, educator. She holds a PhD in architecture and teaches at SMI. Her work focuses on material culture and design, history and theory of architecture, especially focused on material-tectonics, gender-ecology-design, urbanism and using drawing as a method of not just representation but also reflection. She has taught earlier at the Faculty of Architecture- CEPT University, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland, IN:CH project. She is the co-founder of The Living Studio Architects which has designed numerous buildings in earth, in South India. Priya has recently won the Prestigious Jeffrey Cook Award for Exceptional Scholarship by IASTE, a consortium of the University of California for her research on Terracotta Tiles. She has written for Economic and Political Weekly, Domus, Traditional Dwellings and Settlement Review, and UNESCO Sahapedia among others. She is currently working on projects with students that understand the heterotopias of the global south, using drawing as a medium in her studios.
EDUCATION
- PhD in Design and Architecture, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art Design and Technology, MAHE
- Masters in Environmental Planning, CEPT University, Ahmedabad
- BArch, UVCE, Bangalore University
WORK EXPERIENCE
• Faculty – SMI
• Founder and Director: The Living Studio Architects, Bangalore
• Studio Lead and Professor: School of Architecture, Christ University
• Studio Tutor: Masters of Architectural History and Theory, CEPT
• Assistant Professor: School of Architecture, Acharya Institutes, DS University, Bangalore
• Associate Architect: IN:CH Architects and Planners, India and Bern University of Applied
Sciences, Switzerland | IN:CH Studio in India.
• Consultant: UN- HABITAT, Integrated Urban Water and Sanitation project, Mulbagal, Kolar,
Karnataka | Program Officer
• Architect: Jurong India Consultants, Architects and Planners
• Planner: UNICEF, INDIA. KCCI Program
INTEREST AREAS
Art, Architecture and Design Discourse; Architectural History; Material Culture – Earth and Terracotta Architecture; Drawing as a tool for design, Gender-Ecology-Space relationships; Urbanism. Some of the research outputs can be seen here:
Selected Studios:
1. Hidden Histories: Chatrams of Thanjavur Studio | CEPT University CEPT Studio Tutor – Portfolio – https://portfolio.cept.ac.in/2019/M/fa/hidden-histories-ht4001-monsoon-2019
2. Material City Exhibition Curator and exhibition | Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology | Material City Exhibition Curator: http://www.unboundjournal.in/the-material-city/
3. Gender Ecology and Space Exhibition at Bangalore International Centre 2023
Selected writing:
1. “The Populism of Land Ownership: Resolving the State and Indigenous Through Climate
Action”. Sep 2023. Encyclopaedia of New Populism and the 21st century Responses. Springer
Nature. DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-9859-0_252-1
2. “Rupturing Terracotta: Entangled Exchanges of the Hand and the Machine in South India”. May
2023. Traditional Dwelling and Settlement Review. Vol XXXIV – 2, pg 23-37
3. “Exploring the agency of policy through ecological urbanism for climate action: water and
sanitation systems of Bengaluru”. 2023. Urban Research & Practice, 16:3, 458-469, DOI:
10.1080/17535069.2022.2127554
4. “Silver Bricks or Sun Dried Ones?”. Dec 2020. Economic and Political Weekly (Vol. 55, Issue No. 50, 19 Dec, 2020). Sameeksha Trust. ISSN:0012-9976E-ISSN:2349-8846
CURRENT PRACTICE AT SRISHTI
Currently Priya is teaching masters and undergrad courses at SMI, including design studios and workshops. She is on the Dissertation Advisory Committee of PhD and Masters students at Srishti. She has also been involved in the curation of the annual exhibition at Srishti.
TEACHING PORTFOLIO
1. Work display at open house- Reimagining Urbanism: Southern Practices
2. Rhythmanalysis for Urban Waters : Reimagining Tropical Wetlands of North Bangalore, 8th semester Project
3. Scaled Contour modelling to understand the wetlands of North Bangalore
4. Student work: using drawing as a means of reflection
5. Scaled model of North Bangalore contours
6. Portrait – Priya Joseph
CREATIVE PRACTICE & OUTREACH
Priya’s creative practice includes the design of built and unbuilt spaces, architectural design for urban and rural India, and writing on design and architecture. Some of the selected designed projects are:
1. Kanavi sustainable house, Bangalore: A home design with Compressed Stabilised Earth Blocks in an urban Bangalore with rain water harvesting and solar lighting. http://www.thelivingstudio.in/project.html
2. Centre of Gravity Project : Furniture and refurbishing for a small office/house incorporate waste – https://in-ch-lab.com/arch-completed/centre-of-gravity-bangalore-india/
3. Rural Earth House, Malur. A low cost house completed designed and built with rammed earth for a Farmer community in Rural Karnataka, complete with a dry toilet – https://in-ch-lab.com/arch-completed/sustainable-farmer-house-malur-india/
4. Designing with Waste: Waste Garden Bangalore – https://in-ch-lab.com/workshops/waste-garden-bangalore-in-2014/
5. Women Empowerment and Design – https://in-ch-lab.com/workshops/anu-business-unit-bangalore-in-2014/
