Hanisha Chothani

About

Hanisha Chothani is an Architect and an urban conservationist based in Mumbai. She holds a Master’s degree in Urban Conservation and a Bachelors in Architecture from the University of Mumbai. She has been trained under Khaki Tours in Mumbai to promote sustainable cultural heritage and its conservation and her works address the importance of historicity and heritage in day to day life. She is an advocate of community led heritage regeneration programs. As an architect and a researcher, she along with three of her colleagues, has been a founding member of a collective and a research firm by the name Urban Foundry. The firm has also been taking up various contemporary and sustainable interior projects as well as architectural projects in Mumbai and Udaipur.

A trained Kathak dancer, an avid traveller and enthusiast for photography, she documents the everyday urban phenomena of her travelled places through photo-vice and interaction with locals. Her work in academia follows the lines of Urban planning, Urban design, Architectural design and construction, Heritage conservation, Cultural studies, Inclusive neighbourhoods and streets.

Born and brought up in Mumbai, her interest lies in the heritage and architectural styles of historic core of tier 2 and tier 3 cities. She has extensively documented heritage structures in Jaipur, Udaipur, Hyderabad, Jodhpur, Bhuj amongst others.

PEDAGOGY INTENTION AND METHODS OF TEACHING

As an academician, Hanisha believes that design ought to emerge out of a keen understanding of people, their stories, memories, and the subjectivities that are entailed as a result of their associations with the world around them. Design thinking is a constant process and touches upon every walk of one’s life. Her teaching approach is based on research that is grounded and driven by practical, everyday experiences which would expand the spectrum beyond classroom learning and lead to a more practical design approach. She has a strong belief in the spirit of historic and cultural contexts in architectural and urban discourse, which influence the process of design and the built environment.