Avani Institute of Design

Tony Joseph graduated from MIT Manipal and completed his master's 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 on 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.

Ambili is an assistant professor with 7 years of experience in teaching. She earned her master’s in advanced design from Manipal University after her bachelor’s in architecture from TKM college of Engineering, Kollam.

Ambili specialises in training young architects in the subjects of landscape, interior design and building construction. She believes that a teacher must continuously reflect on one's own practice with open-mindedness, adaptability and innovation. Read More Ambili is also a trained classical dancer and likes to sketch in her free time.

Anshu George is a permanent faculty at Avani with a passion for teaching. Having completed her masters in Infrastructure Engineering from PSG, Coimbatore, she has handled various civil engineering related subjects at colleges in Kochi and Pondicherry. She has a keen interest in environmental engineering wherein solutions may be developed to environmental problems in the areas of public health, waste disposal, water and air pollution control. She received the University Gold Medal at bachelors Read More level and also the Best Project Award at master’s level for her thesis on Colour Removal from Textile Effluents using Nano-technology.

Athira Balakrishnan is a graduate of the M.Arch in Architectural Design program from CEPT, Ahmedabad and holds an undergraduate degree from NIT, Trichy. She has worked for two years with Studio XS, a design firm based in Bangalore, and continues to practice alongside her partner with a set of projects up in their portfolio. Her internship at SJA, Kochi is what she believes has sparked the curiosity in architectural pedagogy and practice. Athira finds her interest in exploring the evocative po Read More tential of architecture, extended by both academic dialogues and an ideologically aligned architectural practice.

Dr. Rajina Rahiman V is an architect and urban designer with over 18 years of academic experience. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from MES School of Architecture, Kuttipuram, and a Master’s in Urban Design from the University School of Design, Mysore. She earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Architecture & Planning at the National Institute of Technology Calicut for her research titled "A Methodology to Assess Walkability to Public Transport in Indian Urban Areas.&quot Read More ;

Dr. Rahiman’s academic work centers on urban mobility and design, with a particular focus on walkability in relation to public transport, and how improving walkability can transform urban streets in the Indian context. Her research further explores intersections of gender and mobility, people-centric urban design, and the liveability of Indian cities. She has published in academic journals, presented at various conferences, and produced a short documentary “City of Them too!!” as part of the Avani Annual Research Symposium 2023.

In addition to her academic engagements, she has briefly worked with Collaborative Architecture and Mohandas Kalipurayath and Associates. Before joining Avani, she played a key role in institutional development, academic quality enhancement, and strategic visioning at her previous institution.