Explore every episode of the podcast Design Dialogues: Exploring Architectural Careers in Futurist India

Studied architecture but drawn to making objects? How one architect moved from buildings to product design.

Many students finish B.Arch without knowing how far their training can travel. Listen to hear what it takes to move into product design, what working closely with a material like concrete teaches you, and how to keep your own voice while finding buyers.

Ar. Nitin Barchha began his career in 2002, worked across architecture and interior practices, and founded Material Immaterial Studio in 2015. His interest in transition spaces led him to products as a way to freeze an experience; his first collection, Spaces, was made only as gifts for friends and family until someone suggested selling it. The studio's name sums up his view: "It's the design which is primary, and material is immaterial."

In this episode:

- How an interest in transition spaces and the in-between led him from architecture to products

- Why concrete felt personal and forgiving, and how time spent understanding it led to walls just 2 mm thick

- Why he says no big mindset shift is needed, as long as you refuse to wake up from the romance of architecture

- How personal expression finds a wider audience, and the collectors who own nearly all his work

- Why knowing how to think matters more than knowing every technical detail of a material

- Why people buy experiences and "impossible spaces", and his habit of asking whether he has given 100%

Listen if you are a fresh graduate exploring alternative careers for architects, such as product design, a B.Arch or M.Arch student who loves making things outside studio, or anyone curious about how architecture can live in an object.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:36 From architecture to product design

03:52 Concrete, and why material is immaterial

07:00 The mindset for moving beyond architecture

09:02 Personal expression and a wider audience

13:10 Collectors and the people behind the products

15:29 Learning how to think about materials

17:40 Giving 100% to every piece

19:45 Memories, impossible spaces and who buys

24:56 A more aesthetic world

If you could turn one space you love into an object, what would it be? Share this with the friend in your batch who is always making things outside studio.

Design Dialogues by Mu.S.Ex.: honest conversations with India's architects, educators and students about studying architecture and building a career in it. Hosted by Ar. Devikka Biyani, produced by Ar. Nikita Sheth.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IqpSteSd_Co

For architecture students: https://www.musingspatialexperiences.com/for-students/

Interior design vs architecture: what does interior design really offer, beyond luxury and good looks?

If you are considering interiors after B.Arch, or you're a student wondering how a home connects with the people who live in it, this conversation gives you a practitioner's honest view. You'll hear how one architect handles small Mumbai flats, natural materials and the gaps in architectural education.

Ar. Mehul Sanghvi graduated from the Academy of Architecture in 2004 and runs an interior design practice that draws on local arts, photography, cinema and craft. He wanted to do automobile design, came to architecture almost by default, and traces his love of simple, open spaces to a childhood beside Banganga and holidays in a veranda house near the beach. Of homes in the city, he says, "Space itself is a luxury."

In this episode:- Why luxury means something different to everyone, and interior design as site, client, team, time and budget woven together- The cow-dung plaster wall in his own home, made with soil from Vrindavan, and why he wishes more people used the material- His approach: keep the shell simple and bring in personality through loose furniture, colour and texture- Designing for Mumbai's space crunch with sliding doors, multifunctional rooms and lessons from traditional Japanese homes- What four years teaching a second-year design studio taught him, including 15 days in a tribal village in Maharashtra- Why education should reach the heart and hands, not only the head, and his frank view on learning interiors on the job

Listen if you are a fresh graduate weighing interior design vs architecture as a first career, a B.Arch or M.Arch student curious about residential interiors and material choices, or anyone planning a home that should feel like their own.

Is there a material or a space from your childhood home that you would bring into your own design? Follow the show for more conversations about the many ways to practise after B.Arch.

Design Dialogues by Mu.S.Ex.: honest conversations with India's architects, educators and students about studying architecture and building a career in it. Hosted by Ar. Devikka Biyani, produced by Ar. Nikita Sheth.Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3OICKQ-KSaYFor architecture students: https://www.musingspatialexperiences.com/for-students/

Is vernacular architecture only for history lectures, or can it shape how you design homes in India today?

If vernacular architecture was a single site visit in your B.Arch, or you're looking for architecture thesis topics rooted in climate and craft, this conversation shows how traditional wisdom becomes contemporary practice. Fresh graduates will also hear why it pays to wait before starting your own architecture firm.

Ar. Manasi and Ar. Guruprasad founded Bhoomija Creations, a people-centric, site-specific practice in Kerala that builds with earth and runs a small farm alongside the studio. One of them grew up in a 200-year-old house that felt more comfortable than the new concrete homes around it, and that contrast still shapes their work. Looking ahead, they argue that we cultivate our food and clothing but mine our shelter, and "mining is a limited option."

In this episode:- Why vernacular and sustainable architecture cannot be separated, and how globalisation filled villages with concrete boxes- How month-long NASA documentation trips taught more about vernacular building than the classroom did- Starting the practice in 2011: years of travel to remote sites, and how their farm gives earth-construction workers work in the monsoon- Why what they practise is contemporary, not vernacular, and how they adapt features like long verandas to today's needs- How clients respond to sustainable design, and why sitting in their rammed-earth office helps convince them- Whether vernacular methods can scale up, and why they want to cultivate building materials like bamboo and wood

Listen if you are a B.Arch or M.Arch student whose curriculum barely touched vernacular architecture, a fresh graduate planning a practice rooted in place, climate and material, or an aspirant curious about how India has traditionally built.

Did your college take you on a documentation trip? What did it teach you that studio never did? Share this with a friend working on a thesis about climate, craft or place.

Design Dialogues by Mu.S.Ex.: honest conversations with India's architects, educators and students about studying architecture and building a career in it. Hosted by Ar. Devikka Biyani, produced by Ar. Nikita Sheth.Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9iZPgC3imHkFor architecture students: https://www.musingspatialexperiences.com/for-students/

Is "sustainable architecture" just a label? Ar. Chitra Vishwanath explains why she would rather call it ecological.

If you have only met sustainability as a short elective in B.Arch, or you wonder whether a green rating means a building is truly good, this conversation will sharpen how you think. You'll also hear honest advice on money, passion and working for a year or two before starting your own architecture firm.

Ar. Chitra Vishwanath is the managing director of Biome, a Bangalore-based multidisciplinary practice working on ecological architecture and water and sanitation, and she has built with earth since her own home in 1995. "I prefer using the word ecological rather than sustainable," she says, and explains why with real examples, from glass offices in Bangalore to a concrete housing project on a steep site in Coonoor.

In this episode:- Why "sustainable" is a shifting goalpost, and how embodied and operational energy make quick judgements unfair- Why climate-sensitive thinking should run through every subject in college, not sit in a separate elective- Why no material suits every place, and why architects need to be agile generalists- What happens after design: comfort, occupant habits and why some buildings end up adding AC anyway- LEED and GRIHA as useful guidelines, and why your own convictions should guide your work- Advice for young architects on pay, side work like 3D renders, and learning from masons and plumbers on site

Listen if you are a B.Arch or M.Arch student who wants to read case studies critically and use climate design in studio, a fresh graduate weighing passion against pay, or a Class 11 or 12 student who cares about the environment and is asking whether architecture is a good career in India.

Did your college teach sustainability as one elective, or in every subject? Share this with a classmate who is tired of green labels.

Design Dialogues by Mu.S.Ex.: honest conversations with India's architects, educators and students about studying architecture and building a career in it. Hosted by Ar. Devikka Biyani, produced by Ar. Nikita Sheth.Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dxy4skMGA04For architecture students: https://www.musingspatialexperiences.com/for-students/

Studied architecture but not sure designing buildings is for you? Architectural journalism could be your path.

If you are a fresh graduate looking at careers beyond practice, or a student who enjoys writing more than drafting, this episode shows what an architectural journalism career involves, why it matters to the profession, and why it is still hard to make it pay.

Ar. Rajesh Advani is the founder of Architecture Live! and Unbuilt Ideas. He started in 2007 with a small online group after travelling across India and seeing meaningful work that magazines were not covering. Today Architecture Live! aims to make architectural information accessible to everyone, not just to architects.

In this episode:- Why writing by architects, for architects, in architects' language leaves the public out- How inviting non-architects to write, such as Rashmi Bansal on IIM Ahmedabad, opened up a wider conversation- Why architectural journalism is not yet financially sustainable, compared with fashion journalism- Why the field needs real critique rather than architects praising each other- Sustainability as a cause and as a marketing tool, plus debates on internships and misleading architectural photography- Why a B.Arch can lead to writing, documentation, photography, research or podcasts, not only buildings

His advice for young professionals: "Try as many things as possible."

Listen if you are a fresh graduate exploring alternative careers for architects, a B.Arch or M.Arch student curious about writing, research or media, or anyone who wants more people to understand what architects do.

Mentioned in this episode:Architecture Live!: https://architecture.live/Rashmi Bansal on IIM Ahmedabad: https://architecture.live/the-bricks-are-alive-in-the-words-of-iim-ahmedabad-alumnus-rashmi-bansal/

If someone on the street asked you what architects do, how would you answer? Share this with a classmate who writes better than they draft.

Design Dialogues by Mu.S.Ex.: honest conversations with India's architects, educators and students about studying architecture and building a career in it. Hosted by Ar. Devikka Biyani, produced by Ar. Nikita Sheth.Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5Wc2BYFIJEgFor architecture students: https://www.musingspatialexperiences.com/for-students/

Thinking of architecture after 12th? Ask first why some states now have more B.Arch seats than applicants.

Before you commit five years to a B.Arch in India, hear an educator explain plainly what the course gets right, where it falls short, and what an architecture degree can lead to. Already in college? This episode will help you see your own studio and subjects differently.

Our guest is Ar. Ravindra Punde, who studied planning at SPA, practised in Delhi through a long run of design competitions, and is one of the founders of the architecture school SEA. His view is direct: by learning from books built on Western values, architects risk becoming irrelevant, and institutions must bring that relevance back.

In this episode:- Why schools must provoke students while giving them confidence and compassion- Teaching services as a question about water, and why schools should create new knowledge, not just pass on information- Reorganising subjects into modules instead of separate silos- His idea for admissions: half the weight for NATA and 12th marks, half for the institution's own choice- Why practice is no longer only an architect's office, and why the course still makes you a thinker- What the new Education Policy and credit banking could mean for the five-year course

His advice to young architects: "Don't worry about getting a job. Just worry about creating a job."

Listen if you are a Class 11 or 12 student or parent asking whether architecture is a good career in India, a B.Arch student who has lost interest and wants to understand why, or a fresh graduate looking at practice beyond a conventional office.

If your college could choose half its students by its own method, what should it look for? Know someone filling in architecture admission forms this year? Send them this episode.

Design Dialogues by Mu.S.Ex.: honest conversations with India's architects, educators and students about studying architecture and building a career in it. Hosted by Ar. Devikka Biyani, produced by Ar. Nikita Sheth.Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/u3T4jHvVjeUFor architecture students: https://www.musingspatialexperiences.com/for-students/

Falling behind in architecture studio and feeling the pressure build every week?

If you are a B.Arch student juggling eleven or twelve tasks a week, this episode explains why studio workload snowballs and what you can do about it. Aspirants will also get an honest picture of how demanding, and how doable, the course really is.

Our guest is Prof. Ar. Nachiket Kalle, who has brought together architectural practice, teaching and research, including research on the socio-geographical landscape of Mumbai. He says his thinking on design took clear shape only in the last ten years, and that something is missing from the design process as it is taught today.

In this episode:- Design as a blend of an inward, subjective approach and an outward, objective one- What the older, gurukul-like way of teaching did well, and why electives work like small gurukuls- Whether architectural journalism, theory and writing should be taught formally, without adding to student workload- His cricket analogy for the "required run rate" that builds up when you skip a week of studio- How institutions could combine overlapping subjects into unified exercises- Three pieces of advice for students, and why teachers should give students freedom with few rules

His simplest advice: "Do a certain amount of work every week."

Listen if you are a B.Arch or M.Arch student struggling with studio pressure and weekly reviews, a Class 11 or 12 student wondering how demanding architecture college is, or a teacher interested in how architecture is taught.

Has a week off ever left you chasing studio deadlines for the rest of the semester? Share this with a batchmate who is feeling the studio pressure right now.

Design Dialogues by Mu.S.Ex.: honest conversations with India's architects, educators and students about studying architecture and building a career in it. Hosted by Ar. Devikka Biyani, produced by Ar. Nikita Sheth.Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pAZ3Oij4oPYFor architecture students: https://www.musingspatialexperiences.com/for-students/