about

BandukSmith Studio is an award winning urban/ architecture/ design/ research/ practice founded in 2011 by Sachin Bandukwala and Melissa Smith, based in Ahmedabad, India. 

We ask questions of the way we make our built environments, and how this can impact the realities of practice. We aim to prioritize our varied contexts: of climate, of craft, of local skill set and knowledge, to produce space that is locally accessible, achievable here, and beautifully made. 

We believe that architecture in the 21st century is for repair: repair of the environment, the city, the aging structure. An architecture centered on repair acknowledges the intervention as a moment in a longer process, one of many forces that intersect to produce space. It draws on varied knowledge types, not privileging one as superior, and positions the architect as mediator among many. 

We take on projects at any scale, and the practice shifts from furniture and interior, to architecture and the design public space. We believe that exploring the intricacies of the detail and strategizing the impact of design in urbanism are two modes of working that operate in tandem, and by engaging each project through both these lenses, we are able to interrogate the relationship between person and city.

Given the diversity of contexts present in South Asian practice, an attitude of repair serves as a critical means to both to address the fraught conditions that produce the design brief, and to locate ourselves within the ongoing timeline of the place. We are part of an open process where design and construction happens in the places where we live, as we live, rather than before or after.

people

hiral kandoi project architect
nishit patel project engineer
somesh nadkarni project architect
keerti manocha junior architect
paritosh sharma junior architect
jasra zubairi junior architect
 
unnati gandhi junior architect
 
shruti jog junior engineer
 
 
devdatt soniproject architect
 
 
 

contact

address mithakhali crossroads, ahmedabad, gujarat, INDIA
phone + 91 90819 03087
general email [email protected]
job email [email protected]

current openings:

SEPTEMBER 2024
Architectural Interns
We have positions for architectural interns open for the winter term, starting November 2024. Candidates should have a strong interest in design detailing and construction, impeccable organisational habits, and a drive to learn quickly.

If you are interested in joining our team, please write only to [email protected] (no phone calls please) with your resume or cv, concise portfolio of academic and professional work, and a cover letter with reasons for why you would like to join us. file size should not exceed 5MB. emails to the general address will not be considered.

 

press

“The 100 Most Influential Names in Architecture and Design, 2023” Architectural Digest India.

“Exhibitor at Ahmedabad Collective, 2023” IIA Ahmedabad.

“Swadhyay Reading Room, Shoonya House, Chidambarum Incremental House - Building of the Year 2023 Nominee” Archdaily.

“Cover Feature, 2022” Architect and Interiors India.

“India’s HOT 100 List of Architects and Designers 2022” Architect and Interiors India

“Urban House: Shoonya House” Dezeen Long List.

“Arthshila, Chidambarum Incremental House, Regenerate Haveli, Row Office, Shoonya House, Swadhyay Reading Room, Verandah House, 2022” cultureNOW.

“Arthshila, 2022” Surfaces Reporter.

“Shoonya House, 2022” VolumeZero.

“Verandah House, 2022” VolumeZero.

“Chidambarum House, 2022” VolumeZero.

“Swadhyay Reading Room, 2022” VolumeZero.

“Chidambarum Incremental House, Usmanpura, Gujarat, 2022” SSMB Magazine.

“Chidambarum Incremental House, Shoonya House, Row Office, Tower House, Ghar unjha, L House, 2 square house, 2022” Archello.

“Shoonya House, 2022” designboom.

“Shoonya House, 2022” Archdaily.  

“Chidambarum House, 2022” Archdaily. 

“Swadhyay Reading Room, 2022” Archdaily.  

“The 100 Most Influential Names in Architecture and Design, 2022” Architectural Digest India.

“Modern Ruin, 2022” India Unbuilt: Architecture of Future Collectives.

“Steel Marvels: Gateway to Kachchh, Gujarat, 2021” SSMB Magazine.

“From Tower House to Arthshila, 2021” Buildofy.

“The 100 Most Influential Names in Architecture and Design, 2021” Architectural Digest India.

“Banduksmith studio shares their experiences and learnings from the pandemic, 2021” ArchitectureLive.

“Chidambarum Incremental House” The Merit List Citation 2020.

“The 100 Most Influential Names in Architecture and Design, 2020” Architectural Digest India.

“Row Office, 2020” Archello. 

“Tower House, 2029” Archello. 

“Swadhyay Reading Room” The Merit List Citation 2019.

“Career Advice: banduksmithstudio on What They Seek in Architects Who Wish to Work at Their Studio, 2019” Asian Paints Colour Quotient.

“The 100 Most Influential Architects & Interior Designers in the Subcontinent, 2019” Architectural Digest India.

“Tower House, 2018” ArchDaily.

“The 100 Most Influential Names in Architecture and Design, 2018” Architectural Digest India.

“BSF Library” Idea Next, 7th edition, FOAID New Delhi Edition 2018

“Future Institutions” Indian Architect and Builder Vol 32(2) October 2018 Issue.

van Uffelen, Chris. Massive, Expressive, Sculptural: Brutalism Now and Then.

“The 50 Most Influential Names in Architecture and Design, 2017” Architectural Digest.

“The 50 Most Influential Names in Architecture and Design, 2016” Architectural Digest.

“Tower House” The Merit List Citation 2016.

Regenerate Haveli” The Merit List Citation 2016.

“Featured Practice, 2015” Home Review.

“Cubespeak: Two Square House, 2015” Design Detail Magazine.

“Fostering Steel Construction, 2015” Steel Structures and Metal Buildings.

“Emerging Indian Architects, 2015” Modern Green Structures.

“3 Tree House, 2014” India Art N Design.

“India’s Hot 100 Designers 2014” Commercial Design.

“Magnolia Office, 2014” Architizer.com.

“Wind House, Deesa, Gujarat, 2014” Indian Architect & Builder 27(2).

“An Emerging Generation in India, 2013” Archello.

“Practices of Consequence, 2012” Indian Architect & Builder 26(2).

“Elemental Symphony, 2012” India Art N Design.