JURY

Alfaz Miller

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Alfaz Miller established ABM Architects soon after achieving his Bachelor of Architecture from J.J. School of Architecture in 1972.
Miller’s success story was triggered by the restoration of the interior architecture of ANZ Grindlay’s Fort office in Mumbai (1989), overcoming the challenges posed by a design intervention in a functional workspace. The project cemented ABM’s reputation for creating solution-driven design programs, and prioritizing quality of work, timelessness. Under Miller’s guidance, ABM has successfully delivered several projects across all scales and building typologies: banks, office buildings, airport lounges, residential complexes and villas, each responding to the unique programmatic constraints and the client’s exact needs. From small projects which are composed with careful artistry to a highly specialized vocabulary of interior design to medium and large architectural projects for individuals, corporations, and institutions; Alfaz is comfortable working on both ends of the design spectrum.

Brinda Somaya

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Over four decades Brinda Somaya has merged architecture, conservation and social equity in projects ranging from institutional campuses, and rehabilitation of an earthquake-torn village to the restoration of an 18th-century Cathedral, showing that progress and history need not be at odds. She started her firm Somaya and Kalappa Consultants (SNK) in 1978 in India. In 2014 she was awarded the Indian Institute of Architects – Baburao Mhatre Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement. From 2016-2021 she was the Chairperson of the Board of Governors, School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada, an Institute of National Importance. In 2017 she joined the Board of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, Zurich, Switzerland and was also elected as the A.D. White Professor-at-Large by Cornell University, U.S.A. In 2021 SNK Consultants won UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage award of Merit for Malabari Hall, Seva Sadan, in 2019, the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage award of Distinction for the restoration and upgradation of the historic Louis Kahn Buildings of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in 2018, the UNESCO ASIA-PACIFIC Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation - Honourable Mention, 2018 for Rajabai Clock Tower and University of Mumbai Library and in 2004 the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage award for the restoration of the St. Thomas’ Cathedral in Mumbai.

Channa Daswatte

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Channa Daswatte graduated in 1991 and joined the architectural consultancy of Geoffrey Bawa, and in1998, founded MICD Associates in partnership with Murad Ismail. The practice is based in Sri Lanka with much of the work built on the island, but several projects have also been completed on the Indian Ocean rim. Has been in architectural education since 1992 teaching at both the City School of architecture and the University of Moratuwa and continues to be a visiting examiner at both institutions. Has written extensively in various design and architecture magazines and has two books to his credit — Sri Lankan style (Periplus editions 2006) and the Colonial Period Furniture in the Geoffrey Bawa Collection (Lunuganga Trust 2014). From 2015 to 2019 he held the post of Chairman of the Galle Heritage Foundation. He is a trustee of the Geoffrey Bawa and Lunuganga Trusts and a founding committee member of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Sri Lanka.

Isabelle Miaja

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Isabelle Miaja is the Creative Director of Miaja Design Group. Chosen as one of the World's most influential Designer, her portfolio includes Award winning City Hotels and Resorts, some of which she designed the Architecture – blending Culture, Art and creating stories which take root in the fabric of the place the project is being built is expressed through her passion for everything beautiful and meaningful.

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Alfaz Miller

Alfaz Miller established ABM Architects soon after achieving his Bachelor of Architecture from J.J. School of Architecture in 1972.
  Miller’s success story was triggered by the restoration of the interior architecture of ANZ Grindlay’s Fort office in Mumbai (1989), overcoming the challenges posed by a design intervention in a functional workspace. The project cemented ABM’s reputation for creating solution-driven design programs, and prioritizing quality of work, timelessness. Under Miller’s guidance, ABM has successfully delivered several projects across all scales and building typologies: banks, office buildings, airport lounges, residential complexes and villas, each responding to the unique programmatic constraints and the client’s exact needs. From small projects which are composed with careful artistry to a highly specialized vocabulary of interior design to medium and large architectural projects for individuals, corporations, and institutions; Alfaz is comfortable working on both ends of the design spectrum.

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Brinda Somaya

Over four decades Brinda Somaya has merged architecture, conservation and social equity in projects ranging from institutional campuses, and rehabilitation of an earthquake-torn village to the restoration of an 18th-century Cathedral, showing that progress and history need not be at odds. She started her firm Somaya and Kalappa Consultants (SNK) in 1978 in India. In 2014 she was awarded the Indian Institute of Architects – Baburao Mhatre Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement. From 2016-2021 she was the Chairperson of the Board of Governors, School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada, an Institute of National Importance. In 2017 she joined the Board of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, Zurich, Switzerland and was also elected as the A.D. White Professor-at-Large by Cornell University, U.S.A. In 2021 SNK Consultants won UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage award of Merit for Malabari Hall, Seva Sadan, in 2019, the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage award of Distinction for the restoration and upgradation of the historic Louis Kahn Buildings of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in 2018, the UNESCO ASIA-PACIFIC Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation - Honourable Mention, 2018 for Rajabai Clock Tower and University of Mumbai Library and in 2004 the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage award for the restoration of the St. Thomas’ Cathedral in Mumbai.

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Channa Daswatte

Channa Daswatte graduated in 1991 and joined the architectural consultancy of Geoffrey Bawa, and in1998, founded MICD Associates in partnership with Murad Ismail. The practice is based in Sri Lanka with much of the work built on the island, but several projects have also been completed on the Indian Ocean rim. Has been in architectural education since 1992 teaching at both the City School of architecture and the University of Moratuwa and continues to be a visiting examiner at both institutions. Has written extensively in various design and architecture magazines and has two books to his credit — Sri Lankan style (Periplus editions 2006) and the Colonial Period Furniture in the Geoffrey Bawa Collection (Lunuganga Trust 2014). From 2015 to 2019 he held the post of Chairman of the Galle Heritage Foundation. He is a trustee of the Geoffrey Bawa and Lunuganga Trusts and a founding committee member of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Sri Lanka.. 

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Isabelle Miaja

Isabelle Miaja is the Creative Director of Miaja Design Group. Chosen as one of the World's most influential Designer, her portfolio includes Award winning City Hotels and Resorts, some of which she designed the Architecture – blending Culture, Art and creating stories which take root in the fabric of the place the project is being built is expressed through her passion for everything beautiful and meaningful.

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Kapil Chopra

Kapil Chopra is the Founder of The Postcard Hotel. The award-winning brand has been resolute in developing the most intimate yet highly differentiated experiential stays for guests in hidden destinations since 2018, while building a bold new narrative around personalised luxury. The Postcard Hotel has already won ‘Asia’s Leading Luxury Boutique Hotel’ and ‘Asia’s Leading Wildlife Resort’ for The Postcard Hotel, Gir Wildlife Sanctuary at The World Travel Awards, UK. He is also the Chairman of the Board for EazyDiner, India’s largest instant restaurant reservations app. Besides being a hotelier and entrepreneur, he is an avid collector of Indian contemporary art and writes for various national and international publications. Kapil was the Chairman of WTTC-II, heads various tourism initiatives for the government and was awarded “Hotelier of the Year” by Hindustan Times in 2012. In February this year he was awarded The Hindustan Times Trailblazer Award 2021 for his contribution to public healthcare.

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Shimul Javeri Kadri

Shimul Javeri Kadri founded and nurtured SJK Architects towards its current avatar as a firm that values culture and climate and builds gently in the context. They have worked across India in the areas of education, hospitality, corporate offices and cultural buildings, developing unique identities based on the historical legacy of the area as well as the climatic situation. Shimul pursues several causes — building naturally and lightly, and supporting quality through education and feminism. She is a Trustee for Save the Children India and for Akshara, where she has been actively steering education and woman oriented projects. She is also on the Advisory Committee on Gender for the MCGM. These added responsibilities are the outcome of her overwhelming desire to present, engage and discuss her passions and concerns of 32 years of practice.

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Tony Joseph

Tony Joseph graduated from MIT Manipal and completed his masters in design from the University of Texas, Austin, in the Charles Moore program. Interactions and travels with Moore and his views on regional architecture had a strong influence in the direction of Tony's design. He returned to India and started Stapati in 1989, which has steadily grown into a multi-disciplinary practice emphasizing values of integrity, sustainability and innovation. Tony was also an invited artist in the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016, and had designed the Biennale Pavilion.

Stapati’s architecture emerges from a sensitive understanding of the context; one where the evolution of design is firmly rooted in the region’s traditional narratives, while interpreting the elements in a modern context. Tony is the Founder Chairman of Avani Institute of Design, a Center of Excellence in Architecture and Design education located in Calicut, promoting a holistic approach to design education to develop well-rounded professionals equipped with the sensitivity, empathy, social and technical skill sets to address the ever-evolving concerns of our environment.

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Vikas Dilawari

Vikas Dilawari is a practicing conservation architect with over 3 decades of experience exclusively in conservation, ranging from urban to architecture. With a double Masters in Conservation from School of Planning and Architecture (New Delhi) and from the University of York (Distinction), he has also been the Head of Department of Conservation Department at Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture (KRVIA) Mumbai from its inception in 2007 till Aug 2014. He was instrumental with INTACH Mumbai chapter to list the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj station as a World Heritage Site in 2004. He has worked on many significant heritage public buildings in Mumbai and in other parts of the country like the Aga Khan Palace Pune, Dr Bhau Daji lad Museum and Christ Church in Byculla, Mumbai. Several of his projects have received national and international recognition and 17 of his projects have won UNESCO ASIA PACIFIC Awards for Cultural Preservation in SE Asia. He has been a member of the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) on several occasions.