Next in our series, we speak with the Co-Founders and Co-Principal Designers of tHE gRID Architects about the consciousness behind Indian design, the value of building with humility and context, and how their work bridges craft, ecology, and regenerative architecture.
According to Bhadri and Snehal Suthar, Co-Founders and Co-Principal Designers of tHE gRID Architects in Ahmedabad, Indian design is shaped less by style and more by consciousness — an understanding formed through generations of living with climate, craft, and community. Architecture gains meaning when it responds to a place, respects resources, and recognizes the interconnectedness of people, nature, and the wider environment.
Bhadri and Snehal carry this perspective into their practice through projects that rethink how buildings can function and who they serve. Projects such as Tarang, a massive terracotta vault built without beams; Kamdhenu, a dairy facility reimagining animal welfare; AGRItecture, merging homes with hydroponics. Their buildings function as living systems, proving that the future belongs to designs that heal rather than impress.
Read our full interview with Bhadri & Snehal to discover their philosophy of slow design, why they believe architecture should be taught as observation and humility, and how their Venice Biennale installation Brutona demonstrates the regenerative potential of sustainable interventions.
Indian design is not an aesthetic — it is a consciousness. It is born from centuries of coexistence with climate, craft, and culture. What sets it apart is its ability to feel alive — rooted in tradition yet open to transformation.
Indian design carries humility; it listens to the land, the light, and the people. It doesn’t impose — it converses.
Traditional Indian design teaches us to build in rhythm with life — to respond to the sun, the wind, and the human spirit.
It is layered with stories, rituals, textures, and emotions that go beyond form or trend. It celebrates imperfection, embraces diversity, and thrives on human warmth.
Traditional Indian design teaches us to build in rhythm with life — to respond to the sun, the wind, and the human spirit. Our courtyards, verandahs, and shaded edges remind us that architecture is an experience, and comes from simplicity. We approach design as a layered process, embracing a philosophy of coexistence and collaboration, where tradition and innovation coalesce.
Our designs prioritize environmental responsibility, using local materials and passive strategies to create climate-responsive buildings that sustain themselves. By integrating futuristic research with traditional wisdom, we address global challenges through solutions rooted in sustainability, cultural context, and social responsibility. In an era of urbanization, we advocate a human-centered approach that values humility and site awareness, allowing environment, history, and culture to shape architecture that is inclusive and enduring.
Diversity deepens awareness. From a small installation to a large community project, each scale teaches something about people and purpose. Designing a café like Roast & Toast teaches intimacy and storytelling and the beauty of using natural materials like cow dung; creating a villa like Enso explores the rhythm of light and shadow; and designing a cow welfare facility like Kamdhenu expands our empathy beyond the human scale — toward animals and ecology.
AGRItecture (Architecture + Agriculture) explores the coexistence of home and workspace within a greenhouse housing hydroponics. Every project becomes a laboratory for mindfulness — a chance to test how space can heal, comfort, or inspire. Our process remains constant: to listen deeply, understand context, and create meaning.
Thers’s a growing desire for depth over display, not necessarily to extravagance, but to authenticity.
We find that people increasingly seek depth over display. They want homes that breathe, offices that nurture well-being, and spaces that tell their story. We guide the clients and take them on a journey, through sketches, mockups, and material touch, they begin they begin to feel the architecture and perceive what honesty in design feels like. Once they sense that connection — between form, function, and feeling, choices emerge naturally
We are drawn to what is meaningful. A movement in design today is a return to sensitivity, a rediscovery of care. Design is moving toward care for the planet, for craft, and for community.
Trends we find meaningful include:
The future will belong to designs that heal, that restore balance between people, place, and the planet. Buildings will become living systems rather than static objects – breathing with natural ventilation, growing with bio-based materials, and aging gracefully like the landscapes they inhabit.
We’ll move beyond sustainability to regenerative design, where structures actively restore ecosystems through green roofs that support biodiversity, walls that filter air pollution, and foundations that enrich soil. The most profound innovations will be invisible: spaces that reduce stress through biophilic patterns, communities shaped by empathy-first design, and adaptive.
Technology will serve, optimizing energy flows while handmade details connect us to human craftsmanship. This isn’t futurism – it’s a return to architecture’s original purpose: creating space for life to flourish. The buildings of tomorrow will be measured by how they make inhabitants feel: protected yet free, individual yet connected, human yet part of nature’s continuum
Design education in India is evolving. We’ve seen a growing curiosity among young designers — an openness to ideas, to materials, and to the larger purpose of what they create. We believe design should be taught as a philosophy of observation, patience, and humility. The most meaningful learning often happens beyond the classroom, in the act of making, collaborating, and questioning. At our studio, we try to create that environment of discovery. We work closely with young architects, encouraging them to engage with materials, craftsmen and to design with empathy.
The most meaningful learning often happens beyond the classroom, in the act of making, collaborating, and questioning.
The new generation brings tremendous energy and potential and watching them find their own rhythm gives us hope for the future. Progress lies in doing more with what is available, and doing it with care. Every creative idea demonstrates its value both as a concept and in everyday application. For young architects, design with empathy and a focus on humanity, preservation, and innovation. Let context and need guide you, and prioritize social impact over spectacle. Architecture should create harmony, foster connections, and contribute to liveable, sustainable cities for the future.
Every project carries a story
Tarang
A Pavilion built in Gandhinagar, is India’s largest terracotta brick-tile Trimble vaulted structure without beams, reinforcement & any shuttering system. It reflects our belief in craft, material honesty, and the poetry of construction. Its form is inspired by the idea of a wave symbolizing movement, rhythm, and continuity. Tarang serves as an example of sustainable design that prioritizes local resources, supports the economy, and reflects cultural heritage. Tarang has received numerous National and International awards and has been published on several international platforms.
Kamdhenu Dairy Welfare Facility
It reimagines animal architecture. It is designed for the well-being of cows, crafted from earth, lime, and stone. It redefines sustainability as care beyond human needs — blending cultural wisdom with regenerative design. It functions as both a working dairy and an educational gurukul, where people witness the living process of nourishment and respect. Kamdhenu symbolizes India’s offering to the architecture of coexistence—where human, animal, and ecology thrive together. Pic credits tHE gRID Architects
AGRItecture
(Architecture + Agriculture) explores the coexistence of home and workspace within a greenhouse. It merges architecture and agriculture, integrating hydroponics and self-sustaining systems — redefining how we live and grow within limited urban footprints. AGRItecture – Pioneering a Sustainable Future through Greenhouse Living (Architecture + Agriculture) SCHOOL AND HOME (FUTURE HOME AND EXPERIMENTAL HOME) “AGRItecture Democratizing Sustainable Urban Living. Architectural Innovation Accessible to All, Bridging Socio-Economic Divides with Green Solutions. Winner at World Architecture Festival in 2 categories.
Roast & Toast
A small café in Ahmedabad celebrates humble materials and local craft. Built with reclaimed wood, natural dyes, and cow dung Organic paste, it transforms constraint into character. It reminds us that design can be both sustainable and soulful.
Brutona
In 2025, tHE gRID Architects have showcased their work at the Time Space Existence Exhibition, held as part of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, contributing to the global conversation on responsible design and environmental awareness. Sustainability Focus – Repair, Regenerate, Reuse. BRUTONA promotes sustainability through its emphasis on longevity, modularity, and circular design practices.
The use of UHPC a durable, low-maintenance material minimizes the need for frequent replacements and repairs, aligning with eco-conscious goals. The installation can be disassembled, repaired, and reassembled, demonstrating the regenerative potential of sustainable architectural interventions. By merging aesthetic innovation with practical durability, BRUTONA invites conversation on how architecture and sculpture can evolve to meet contemporary ecological challenges.
ENSO (Japanese for ‘circle’)
It is a sacred symbol in Zen Buddhism meaning circle, or sometimes, circle of togetherness.
The design prioritizing habitat, preservation, balance and a deep connection with nature defines the essence of an URBAN home.
Beton Brut (French term that means Raw Concrete)
A journey of brutalism in congruence with Indianness. The idea was to design in such a way that concrete has an impact. A journey of brutalism in congruence with Indianness.
“Beton Brut” is a standalone home for a small family in Ahmedabad. As the name suggests, it is an exposed concrete structure, very brutalist in approach. The concrete canopies have been derived from the image of an Indian woman protecting her head from the sun with the help of her pallu or odhani (part of traditional female attire).
While Beton Brut may appear strong and assertive, it possesses a soft, emotive, heart. The architectural articulation has created balconies and small pockets that allow greenery to be woven into the narrative.
Balconies are protected with deep overhangs, allowing the occupants of this southwest-facing structure to enjoy the outdoors comfortably. The uniqueness of the project also continues in the interior narrative — which brings together Indian elements such as old carved panels, jharokha and vessels as ornamental touches, without disturbing the overall flavour established by the architecture.
Each of these projects reinforces what we hold most dear — architecture as empathy in built form, where design becomes an act of purpose, awareness, and transformation.
Stepwells of Gujarat — a dialogue of light, geometry, and silence carved in stone and Tarang.
I am inspired by those who work with their hands — a craftsman shaping wood, a mason tracing stone, a potter feeling the weight of clay. Their work carries honesty and care.
The meeting of hand, material, and spirit in harmony. Their persistence teaches us that beauty begins where awareness, compassion and the human touch meet.
Craft communities, sacred architecture, Natures imperfect geometry and the landscapes of rural India — where simplicity, patience, and truth still guide creation.
To learn more, visit thegrid-arch.com
All images provided by tHE gRID
To see more photographic work by PHX India, go here
By Vinay Panjwani, go here
By Inclined Studios, go here
