Dr. Meghal Arya
Meghal Arya is a Professor at the Faculty of Architecture, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, teaching architectural design and history. She challenges the understanding of contemporary architecture, both as a practising architect and academic researcher. Key to her work is seeking the knowledge that is embedded in the traditional architecture of India, unfolding its essentials and translating its value/strength into the present context.
She is a partner in a niche practice- Arya Architects, with Vijay Arya, that has repeatedly been awarded for their holistic approach in addressing public needs, amongst others in projects related to public mobility and educational institutions. Their work also includes special design works like a zoological park and sports facilities. As a principal designer at Arya Architects, the intent is to bring back inclusiveness to the public realm through an architecture of simple fluid spaces that creates an appropriate balance between social relations, physical environs and abstract concepts.
Meghal holds her postgraduate degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, and PhD from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. Her research focuses on the relationship between water and the human-built environment, where she investigates how the interaction of people and urban water is expressed spatially. The intention is to articulate the knowledge of human societies embedded in architecture. Through her approach, she encourages students of her design courses (at CEPT and international institutions in Madrid, Vienna and Milan) to rethink/question the hitherto practised process and methodology of designing water infrastructure. More recently, she is also interested in mapping the trajectory of architecture in the global south. In her continuous search to improve teaching and access to knowledge, Meghal curates faculty development programs for teachers in architecture and shares her research in exhibitions and publications, both nationally and internationally. Most recently, she published her research in a book titled 'Spatial Ecology of Water'.
