Sanjay Puri is an architect who has carved out a unique niche in contemporary Indian architecture. He founded his practice in Mumbai in 1992 after graduating in 1988 from the Rachana Sansad School of Architecture. His early influence emerged from working with Architect Hafeez Contractor and a youthful fascination with ideas of creativity and structure.
Central to his design approach is context and climate. Every site is treated as distinct and deserving of its own creative response. Sanjay does not adhere to a signature look for its own sake. Instead each project responds to terrain, climate, light, and local culture. He sketches by hand each morning and values that immediacy over software driven drawings. He believes that context shapes form and that nature offers clues for design solutions that engage users and support sustainability. Among the many awards he has received are multiple World Architecture Festival awards and international recognition across decades.
Responding to Place and Climate
The Courtyard Office by Sanjay Puri Architects | Picture Courtesy- Wallpaper Magazine
Sanjay rejects formulaic design and starts each project with a blank mind and attentive eye. He factors in sun wind orientation, local wind patterns and daily routines. In projects such as university housing in Mathura he uses north facing bay windows to shade interiors, reduce heat gain and create study alcoves. He applies this logic throughout his portfolio not only in student housing but in schools, hospitality, and private homes.
His emphasis on natural light and passive ventilation supports energy efficiency. Materials are chosen for performance and sensory appeal. Concrete timber stones are often used in sculpted forms that channel cross ventilation and capture daylight in creative ways. The result is buildings that feel powerful yet rooted.
Projects That Demonstrate a Reformative Approach
Puri’s work spans many building types from office parks to residences. Each explores space perception and invites movement through unexpected geometry.
Key projects include:
The street in Mathura by Sanjay Puri Architects | Picture Courtesy- Architecture.live
- A student hostel complex known as The Street in Mathura where linear blocks weave across the site forming organic streets and communal courtyards responding to the original city layout.
Courtyard house in Rajasthan by Sanjay Puri Architects | Picture Courtesy- Sanjay Puri Architects
- The Courtyard House in Rajasthan where concrete volumes radiate around open courts to temper desert heat and allow light and wind to play with form.
Lotus Business Park by Sanjay Puri Architects | Picture Courtesy- The Plan
- The Lotus Business Park with overlapping floating volumes and planted terraces that blur inside and outside in commercial spaces.
His Aria Resort in Nashik and a residence known as The Origami House show how sculptural forms can resolve context site constraints and program needs in inventive ways.
Why His Work Matters
Picture Courtesy- India Today
Sanjay Puri has transformed the architectural landscape by proving that innovation can be deeply contextual. His ethos is to treat every project as a unique challenge and to resolve it through climate responsive form dialogue with local culture and careful spatial choreography. His studio has received more than three hundred international awards including top placements in Architizer World Architecture Festival and various major architectural rankings.
At the same time he remains rooted in the process. He emphasises that failures are part of growth. He has spoken extensively on learning from execution mistakes and refining design strategies through iteration and site supervision. He insists that architects must educate clients and contractors to maintain design intent on the ground.
Impact and Influence
Picture Courtesy- RTF
What sets Puri apart is his disciplined yet creative response to climate, site and culture. His buildings offer spatial drama but avoid flamboyance. They evoke rhythm rather than spectacle. He uses sculptural gestures to channel air movement light and social interaction.
The effect has been far reaching. His projects have helped shape the way modern Indian architecture balances form and function in a diverse landscape. The emphasis on sustainable innovation and site resonance continues to influence emerging practice across the country.
He has also engaged with the larger architectural discourse. He has delivered keynote addresses, judged major awards juries and participated in international forums from London to Lisbon. His participation as juror in the Vision Awards in 2025 acknowledges his broad influence in global design thinking.
Design Rooted in Place and Purpose
Sanjay Puri offers an architecture that brings together environment culture and design innovation in a way that feels fresh and rooted. His buildings are shaped by sun, wind, terrain and social patterns. His process is rigorous because he rejects repetition and prioritises design intelligence. As India moves toward climate resilience and cultural regeneration Puri’s voice remains forward looking responsive and deeply relevant.
Ar. Pranjali Gandhare
Architect | Architectural Journalist | Historian
