What’s Brewing at Ethos Foundation?

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SVa-Des volunteers and impact

Design influences one’s learning, communication, movement and many more. While in most areas of India, children do not encounter classrooms and design as a way of thinking. To recognise this gap, Arcause has initiated Sva-Des (See Value in Design), a design literacy outreach program to carry this conversation directly into the schools. The idea to introduce students to design thinking has been steadily evolving.

The initiative has so far onboarded 16+ Catalysts, each bringing expertise and enthusiasm to every classroom. These catalysts have engaged with 40+ schools nationwide and built meaningful connections with the students, teachers and institutions. The response has been encouraging through interactive workshops, hands-on activities, and real-world design discussions. Each school engagement is designed to be immersive and interactive. Young learners are beginning to see their surroundings differently.

The sessions move beyond theory, creating an impact beyond awareness. By introducing design literacy in schools, students can balance critical thinking and creativity. SVa-Des started as a response to a gap in education, but now encourages young learners to see value in design, and in their own ability to shape the future.

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Future Professionals - 4-day intense workshop on UDita

Ethos Foundation is conducting its first 4-day offline intensive workshop(11–14 March 2026) across DSCA, DSATM and Acharya in Bangalore, followed by an online final review on 21 March.

This practice-led elective introduces architecture students to Universal Design, Accessibility, and Inclusive Practice through site learning, expert inputs, and applied studio work. The journey moves from awareness to action, beginning with on-site mapping of points in an inclusive environment and progressing into design rooted in social inclusion.

We intend to go beyond ramps and railing. Our cohort of experts include Dr. Gaurav Raheja, Ar. Kavita Murugkar and Kavitha Krishnamoorthy, the workshop bridges principles, technology, urban thresholds, and invisible disabilities. Representatives from NGOs, including Dr. Alice Jeba from APD and occupational therapists from the Spastics Society, will also participate in the sessions, bringing lived perspectives and grounded insights into the learning process.

Themes include:
• Foundations of Universal Design
• Sensory Landscapes
• Architecture of Autonomy
• The Inclusive City

This Universal Design immersive elective will transform a “basic structure” into a responsive environment. Students will work with layered client profiles, ensuring design responses go beyond compliance and address real-life realities.

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Ethos Foundation is curating immersive learning opportunities for students to engage deeply with its six action areas. The initiative aims to nurture a new generation of designers and practitioners who can translate ideas into meaningful impact. Through these workshops, students are welcomed into a learning environment that bridges education with real-world design challenges.

As part of this initiative, the Immersion Workshop Sessions bring together two distinguished mentors, Joy Mondal and Santosh Sathpathy, offering unique perspectives on design practice and future-ready architectural thinking.

Joy Mondal is the Design Head at WEsearch Lab and leads a workshop titled Data-driven Climate Optimised Synthesis of Architectural Forms. This three-day, six-module intensive program at PDSSSA introduces students to computational design workflows using tools such as Rhino, Grasshopper, Ladybug, and Honeybee. The workshop explores daylight analysis and climate-responsive form generation to help participants move towards evidence-based architectural synthesis. By learning, students gain the ability to validate their design decisions through measurable data and environmental logic.

Another seminar is being held at KIIT by Santosh Sathpathy, founder of the Student Mentorship Program at Mpower. His sessions focus on bridging the gap between academic education and professional practice. Through interactive seminars and workshops, students reflect on essential aspects of professional development. The sessions guide students in creating authentic CVs, structuring portfolios, and preparing for interviews, enabling them to approach professional opportunities with clarity.

Together, these Immersion Workshop Sessions encourage students to engage critically with site conditions, communities, materials, and local contexts while developing both technical capability and professional awareness. Spread the word to support deserving participants to contribute to the future of design.

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Snap Studio | BAC Prompt 3

Snap Studio is where design meets play – a hands-on series of 6 mini design challenges that blends learning, creativity, and social engagement. BAC Prompt 03 - “Craft in the City”, released on 12th March 2026, invites participants to explore how traditional craft knowledge can shape contemporary urban design.

Across India, crafts such as weaving, pottery, bamboo work, and stone carving have been associated with climate-responsive thinking, material intelligence, and cultural identity. Yet, in rapidly expanding cities, these systems are often replaced by industrial materials that overlook local wisdom. This prompt encourages participants to reinterpret the structural logic of traditional crafts and translate them into urban elements such as bus stops, public seating, façade screens, lighting installations, or pavilions. The aim is to rethink how craft techniques can inform modern materials, sustainability, and urban experiences.

Participants can respond through mood boards, collages, sketches, digital illustrations, or a short reel that narrates their design idea. The prompt is open to everyone, creating an opportunity for designers to reconnect cities with craft traditions. If you work with school children or are associated with such networks, please help spread the word.

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Master Speaker 3 post-event

Can theory truly shape the way we design? And how can it meaningfully inform architectural education?
The third session of the Master Class Series marked a transformative milestone with its hybrid format titled- ‘From Theory to Design – Forming Links for a Holistic Education’ led by eminent architect and educator Neelkanth Chhaya. The event took place at Saveetha College of Architecture and Design, Chennai, in an offline format.

The session took place on 7th March 2026. With decades of contribution to practice and pedagogy, Prof. Chhaya brought clarity to a critical question: How do we bridge theory and design practice? He addressed an engaging audience of faculty and students from across SCAD on how theory often remains confined to lectures. He also discussed how design is limited to studio exercises and later creates a disconnect that limits deeper learning.
Through reflective insights and dialogue, he encouraged educators and learners to move beyond information delivery and shape meaningful learning experiences. The session concluded with a powerful reminder that when theory becomes a lens for observation and design, architectural education can nurture thoughtful and responsible practitioners.

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UDita WORKSHOP under the vertical ‘Future Professionals’

The Universal Design Workshop under our action area - UDita, in association with Rainmatter Foundation, unfolded an intense and eye-opening 4-day journey from 11th to 14th March in Bengaluru. This workshop became a critical shift in how students understand inclusion as a responsibility.

The session began at the Spastics Society of Karnataka with a powerful, immersive session led by Ar. Pooja Ugrani. The initiative, led by experts on the ground and extending across DSATM, DSCA, and the Acharya NRV School of Architecture, transformed campuses into active spaces of empathy and action. The session was guided by experts Dr Gaurav Raheja, Dr Kavita Murugkar, and Ms Kavitha Krishnamoorthy. The specialists from Spastics Society, APD (Association of People with Disability), and Enable India brought together research, practice, and lived experience into a shared learning environment.
The elective emphasised that inclusive design is not an add-on, but a fundamental rethinking of how we design. Through continuous engagement, critical inquiry, and hands-on application, students experienced it, questioned it, and began designing for it. This workshop became an enabler of change, bringing about a shift in perspective for both faculty and students from viewing people with disabilities as those who need assistance to recognising that inclusive design is a key component.

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Sense N Sensibility 22.0 | Gendered Realities Everyday Urban Spaces: Session Highlights

The 22nd edition of Sense N Sensibility, held on 12th March 2026, brought together students, practitioners, and educators for a thoughtful and engaging session titled “Gendered Realities of Everyday Urban Spaces.” The discussion unpacked questions we experience daily but rarely address within architectural conversations.

The session saw strong participation, with a curious audience reflecting a growing interest in more inclusive and critical perspectives within design education. Featuring Ar. Madhavi Desai and Ar. Rosie Paul, the session bridged research and practice. While Ar. Madhavi traced the historical and theoretical dimensions of gender and space, Ar. Rosie grounded these ideas in lived realities from the field.
Together, they explored how gender shapes our built environment across scales. Through discussions on lighting, scale, and the multiplicity of spaces, the session outlined what it truly means to design for inclusion as a starting point. Conversations around authorship, access, safety, and belonging emerged as the key themes. The session highlighted the importance of creating space for a dialogue that reminds us that architecture is not just about buildings, but about the people and experiences they hold.
The emphasis on training and capacity-building for women construction workers reframed gender in architecture across the entire ecosystem of making. This, alongside conversations on sustainable construction, positioned practice as a space for both environmental and social responsibility.
SNS 22.0 reaffirmed that architecture is not just about the spaces we create, but about the lives they shape.

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Immersion Workshop Sessions post-event
The Immersion workshop initiative aims to nurture a new generation of designers and practitioners who can translate ideas into meaningful impact. The event took place on 12, 13, and 14th March at PDSSSA, Kalaburagi and KIIT, Bhubaneswar, and moved beyond the classroom to engage with what the profession truly demands.
At PDSSSA, Joy Mondal led a session rooted in “Logic over Syntax.” Students worked with consultancy-based templates to decode solar insolation and daylighting as precise and measurable tools that inform design. The focus shifted from how things look to how things perform.
At KIIT, Ar. Santosh Sathpathy reframed a different but equally critical question: What does it mean to be a student of architecture today? Through live CV building, portfolio refinement, and mock interviews based on real hiring scenarios, participants began to position themselves not just as learners, but as emerging professionals.
Together, these sessions created a shared understanding: architecture education must extend beyond studios and submissions. It must equip students to think, communicate, and act in real-world contexts. These workshops were immersive, hands-on, and deeply introspective experiences, as they help build the future.

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Master Class 4 Announcement

For many faculty in architecture and design, research often feels separate from teaching. Bridging the gap between teaching and research, this session repositions the design studio as a space for inquiry and knowledge creation. It invites faculty to see their pedagogical practices not as routine, but as valuable research in the making.

Master Speaker 4: From Studio to Scopus: Navigating Research in Architecture & Design brings together experts who will help faculty recognise pedagogical experiments, curriculum innovation, and classroom practice as valuable research data and understand how to shape that work into quality, publishable research.

The session will also offer practical guidance on research methodologies, publication pathways, and what top-tier journals look for in a strong manuscript.

Speakers:
Dr. Amit Srivastava, Director at CAMEA, University of Adelaide, Australia.

Dr Shilpa Sharma, Head of Department, Rachana Sansad’s Academy of Architecture, Mumbai.

Ar. Ketaki Gupte, Associate Professor, Rachana Sansad’s Academy of Architecture, Mumbai.

11 April 2026
11:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Zoom
Register: https://ethosfoundation.in/master-speaker-4/

Join us for an insightful session designed to make the research journey more accessible, relevant, and impactful for faculty in architecture and design.

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Report for March

March 2026 marked a period of intensive engagement across multiple initiatives, each addressing a critical dimension of architectural education and practice.

The third Master Speaker session, titled “From Theory to Design – Forming Links for a Holistic Education”, led by Prof. Neelkanth Chhaya at Saveetha College of Architecture and Design, Chennai, on 7th March 2026, explored the disconnect between theory and design. Through reflective dialogue, the session emphasised the need to move beyond learning and positioning theory as an active lens with over 40 participants.

Under the UDita initiative, the Universal Design Elective Workshop took place from 11th to 14th March in Bengaluru, and became a transformative learning experience. Beginning with an immersive session at the Spastics Society and extending across multiple institutions (DSATM, DSCA, and the Acharya NRV School of Architecture), the workshop brought together 4 experts and around 75 participants with lived experiences. The session reframed inclusion as a fundamental design responsibility, encouraging participants to critically engage with accessibility through hands-on learning.

The Arcause Immersion Workshops at PDSSSA, Kalaburagi and KIIT, Bhubaneswar, focused on bridging academic learning with professional realities. Sessions ranged from performance-driven design tools to career-oriented engagements such as portfolio building. These workshops emphasised the importance of equipping 100+ students with practical skills, critical thinking, and professional awareness.

The Arcause Writers Collective | Bengaluru Edition addressed a key gap in architectural education and writing. Through a two-day engagement with experts from journalism, photography, and editorial fields, 40+ participants explored writing across platforms and visual narratives. The initiative continues through mentored writing assignments designed to foster a research-driven culture.

BAC Prompt 03 – “Craft in the City” invited participants to reinterpret traditional craft knowledge within contemporary urban contexts. As part of the Snap Studio series, the prompt encourages exploration of material intelligence and cultural identity embedded in crafts, translating them into modern urban elements. The prompt creates opportunities to reconnect cities with indigenous knowledge systems through creative and accessible formats.

These initiatives collectively help expand architectural education beyond the classroom. They help integrate inclusivity and research, strengthen communication, and reconnect us with design.

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SVa-Des impact and closing

SVa-Des — See Value in Design began with a simple yet powerful idea: to bring design literacy into schools and learning spaces across India. What started as a vision has now grown into a nationwide movement rooted in collaboration, curiosity, and shared purpose.

Guided by the spirit of Each One Teach One and supported by 40+ passionate Design Catalysts, the initiative has reached 122 schools. This introduces young minds to creativity, empathy, critical thinking, and problem-solving through design. Across classrooms and communities, SVa-Des has sparked new ways of seeing, thinking, and engaging with the world. This journey has been shaped by the dedication of our catalysts, whose energy and commitment transformed an idea into meaningful impact.

Together, we didn’t just teach design; we empowered a generation to truly see value in design, and this is only the beginning of a much larger movement.

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Post-event Arcause Writers Collective 1.0

The Arcause Writers Collective is an initiative focused on strengthening architectural writing as a critical part of design practice, encouraging clarity, research and meaningful communication within the discipline.
It was held on 23rd–24th March, the Bengaluru Edition brought together 40+ students, young faculty, and alumni for an intensive two-day engagement. Moving beyond conventional design conversations, the sessions addressed the gap in how architecture is documented, interpreted, and communicated.
Participants engaged with professionals from journalism, photography, and editorial fields, exploring writing across print and digital platforms, the role of audiences, and the impact of visual and vernacular narratives. The engagement continues through mentored writing around our 6 action areas and documentation assignments, aimed at building a sustained, research-driven culture of architectural writing. Students are currently preparing their articles and documentation, which will be forwarded for publication. This presents a valuable opportunity to develop and showcase their work.

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Post-event Master class 4

The fourth session of the Master Class Series marked a transformative milestone in the ongoing discussion on research. This session - ‘From Studio to Scopus: Navigating Research in Architecture & Design’ led by Dr Amit Srivastava, Dr Shilpa Sharma and Ar. Ketaki Gupte.

The session successfully brought together faculty and independent researchers to rethink the relationship between teaching and research, positioning the design studio as a site of inquiry. The speakers guided the research process and helped them structure it into publishable work.

One segment focused on research frameworks and methodologies, including the use of tools such as the Venn diagram to map overlaps between teaching, practice, and research. The second segment addressed the technical aspects of publishing, offering clarity on the importance of metrics like H-index, citation scores, and expectations of top-tier journals.

A key highlight was the interactive discussion, where faculty had the opportunity to present and reflect on their projects live and receive direct feedback from experts. The session had 58 attendees, including several independent researchers, all of whom engaged actively and benefited from the insights shared.

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Post-event - Innovation Series 2.0

Innovation Series 2.0 was held on 14th March 2026, marking a meaningful step forward in shaping ideas into actionable outcomes. Moving beyond the exposure-led framework of its first edition, this iteration focused on deep engagement through mentorship by bringing participants closer to real-world applications of their ideas.

Through a series of one-on-one and small group sessions, mentors guided participants across areas of social innovation, material exploration, entrepreneurship, and start-up development. The conversations extended beyond structured sessions into informal common-room exchanges, where peer learning became valuable as ideas were shared, challenged, and refined collectively. What stood out was the momentum that emerged when innovation met the right ecosystem. With access to mentors, practical insights, and a collaborative peer network, participants were able to sharpen their thinking and move closer to building meaningful, grounded solutions.

Innovation Series 2.0 reaffirmed that ideas grow stronger in dialogue and that the right support system can turn potential into impact.

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BAC prompt 3 winners and announcement of the popular choice award

Snap Studio is a space where design meets play through six mini challenges that bring creativity, learning, and engagement together.

BAC Prompt 03: Craft in the City invited participants to rethink how traditional craft knowledge can shape contemporary urban design. From weaving and pottery to bamboo and stone, the prompt explored how material intelligence and climate-responsive practices can inform modern urban interventions. We received a range of thoughtful responses, each reconnecting cities with craft traditions in unique ways.

Amongst all, three standout submissions explored diverse craft narratives, translating them into innovative urban design ideas with strong cultural and material sensitivity.

After announcing the 3 shortlisted entries, with 210 votes, Sindhu Jayavel won the Popular Choice Award. The winning entry captivated audiences by reinterpreting the ghatam, transforming the traditional clay percussion instrument into thermally responsive seating pods. Using terracotta, ergonomic design, and passive cooling strategies, the proposal beautifully bridges cultural heritage with contemporary urban needs.

Thank you to everyone who participated, engaged, and voted. Your responses continue to expand how we imagine cities through craft.

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Project Support | Action Areas

Ethos Foundation is happy to share and celebrate a set of initiatives that reflect the spirit of our Project Support aligned with Arcause’s action areas, where design becomes a tool for responsibility, inclusion, and cultural continuity.

• Mould-Formwork by Rikunj Bharat, Meeta Shah and Kaarel Kuusk proposes a low-energy toolkit for producing modular rammed earth units through a convivial, hands-on building process.
• Integrating Extinct Banjara Art Forms into Contemporary Architectural and Interior Design, in association with IIA Kalaburagi Centre, PDSS, FOA, SUK, HKE and SWPC, brings focus to the revival and embedding of fading craft traditions within contemporary practice.
• Giving the ‘Angan’ Back to the Anganwadi by Elangkumaran and Aryan Iyer rethinks early childhood spaces by restoring the cultural and spatial significance of the angan.
• SPEEDBREAKERs: A Place to Pause, a grant proposal by Arcause Club, Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women, explores slower movement and the transformation of neglected corners into safer, active public spaces through low-cost interventions.

These projects embody responsible practices that are environmentally conscious, socially inclusive, and culturally preservative. Through Project Support, we aim to create a platform that nurtures such diverse and thoughtful explorations, acting as a catalyst for a more empathetic built environment.

We would like to congratulate all the teams and wish you the very best as your ideas continue to grow and take shape.

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Arcause Spotlight 2.0 & 3.0

Led by Ethos Foundation, Arcause Spotlight continues to evolve as an immersive, on-ground learning experience that places cities at the centre of architectural inquiry.

Spotlight 2.0, in collaboration with IIID Kerala Chapter and EQUINOCT, is taking place in person in Kochi on 3rd May. The on-ground immersive session focuses on tidal flooding and how it affects homes, livelihoods, and infrastructure year-round. We will also delve into how EQUINOCT, the facilitator for this edition, uses crowd-sourced data to understand on-the-ground realities and the efforts to mitigate this issue. This session moves beyond the classroom to offer an honest reckoning with the scale of this challenge and to be aware that each of us has a role to play.

Spotlight 3.0 is taking place in person in Bengaluru on 8th May 2026. In this edition, participants would experience the city of Bengaluru by walking through it, understanding its layers, and engaging with real contexts. It expands this framework into a broader lens of inclusivity, accessibility, and design literacy. We have partnered with Mitti Cafe, INTACH Bangalore, and Malleswaram Social to curate these immersive workshops.

Registration link for Kochi Spotlight: https://ethosfoundation.in/ethos_x_spotlight2-0/

Registration link for Bengaluru Spotlight: https://ethosfoundation.in/ethos_x_spotlight3-0/

Arcause Spotlight is an evolving pedagogical model that rethinks how architecture is learned, shifting from classrooms to cities, and from observation to participation. Kindly spread the word as we look forward to bringing together a thoughtful cohort for immersive, reflective, and action-oriented engagement with the city.

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SURVEY: Career Preparedness and Professional Readiness

There’s often a visible gap between what architecture education offers and what professional practice demands. The transition is not always seamless, and that’s exactly where the right questions can make a difference.

Ethos | Arcause is conducting two focused surveys to understand this shift from learning to working, and from student to professional.

The first survey examines career preparedness among architecture students, assessing how ready undergraduate and postgraduate students feel as they transition into the real world, and identifying areas where they perceive gaps in their learning, exposure, and confidence.

The second survey focuses on professional readiness within practice, drawing on perspectives from both employees and employers to identify challenges related to skills, expectations, and workplace integration.

Together, these insights aim to build a clearer picture of where the ecosystem needs support and how it can evolve to better prepare individuals for meaningful careers in architecture.

Share this with your architecture friends and professionals to take the surveys:

• For Students (UG & PG)

Career Preparedness of Students - A Survey

• For Professionals & Employers

Professional Readiness - A Survey for Employers and Employees

Your input will directly help shape stronger pathways between education and practice within the ACED community.

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Arcause Spotlight 2.0 unfolded in Kochi as an immersive exploration of coastal resilience, urban realities, and the evolving role of design in shaping adaptive cities. Hosted by Ethos Foundation in collaboration with EQUINOCT and the IIID Kerala Chapter on 3rd May 2026, the one-day engagement brought together students, practitioners, faculty, and citizens to experience the city as a living urban laboratory collectively.

Through guided field walks across flood-affected neighbourhoods, participants encountered the visible and invisible impacts of tidal stress embedded within Kochi’s streets, edges, and waterways. Rather than approaching sustainability as a distant concept, the experience grounded conversations in lived realities, allowing participants to observe how climate vulnerability is already reshaping urban life.

A key focus of the engagement was the SeaSight Resilience Model, which introduced participants to neighbourhood-scale approaches for understanding and responding to coastal inundation. Alongside this, discussions around Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) opened up conversations on material innovation and the future of flood-resilient construction practices.

The day concluded with a collective reflection session that encouraged participants to process observations, exchange perspectives, and question how architects, designers, researchers, organisations, and citizens can contribute towards more resilient urban futures. Spotlight 2.0 was not designed as a lecture or conference, but as an on-ground encounter with urgent urban conditions, fostering dialogue across disciplines and communities.

As the second edition of the Arcause Spotlight series, the Kochi engagement continued building a platform for experiential learning, public engagement, and cross-sector exchange around socially responsible and impact-driven design.

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ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GRANT WINNERS

The Ethos Foundation, in collaboration with Rainmatter Foundation, is pleased to announce the recipients of the Project Support Grants, an initiative created to support meaningful, ground-up work emerging from within the ACED community.

Conceived as a platform to encourage research, design interventions, documentation, community-led practices, and explorations around sustainability, ecology, accessibility, culture, and the built environment, the grants aim to enable projects rooted in both critical thinking and real-world impact.

This year, three projects have been selected for support based on the strength of their ideas, relevance, and potential contribution to larger conversations within the ecosystem. The grant recipients are:

• ‘Giving the ‘Angan’ back to the Anganwadi’ by Aryan Iyer and Elangkumar Sampath:

This project rethinks neglected Anganwadis in urban relocation settlements as active community spaces for childcare, health, and learning. Focusing on Ahmedabad’s resettlement sites, the research explores how design-led interventions can revive defunct social infrastructure and restore the ‘angan’ as a shared space for care and collective growth.

• ‘Mould Formwork - A low energy toolkit for producing modular rammed earth units through a convivial building process’ by Rikunj Shah

Reinterpreting vernacular rammed earth construction through reusable modular formwork, this project proposes a low-energy, participatory building system that combines sustainability, adaptability, and community-led making.

• ‘Integrating Extinct Banjara Art Forms into Contemporary Architectural and Interior Design’ by IIA Kalaburagi

This initiative seeks to revive endangered Banjara art forms by integrating traditional craftsmanship into contemporary architecture and interiors, while creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for women artisans through collaborations with architects and designers.

Each selected project reflects a distinct approach to engaging with contemporary challenges while remaining deeply connected to context, community, and long-term sustainability. Together, these initiatives represent the kind of interdisciplinary, socially conscious, and future-focused work that the Project Support Grants seek to encourage.

We congratulate all the grant recipients and look forward to sharing more about their journeys, processes, and outcomes in the coming months.