Collaborative Architecture invited by Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum

July 18, 2020

Collaborative Architecture has been invited by Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum to be part of the ground-breaking, Humanitarian Design Series titled- DESIGNING PEACE, due in the second half of 2021.

Follow ArchitectureLive! Channel on WhatsApp

Press Release

Collaborative Architecture has been invited by Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum to be part of the ground-breaking, Humanitarian Design Series titled- DESIGNING PEACE, due in the second half of 2021. The invitation is remarkable, considering it is exhibited at the historic Copper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, arguably one of the most important design museums in the world, which in the past had curated some of the most defining exhibitions that shaped the discourse and narrative of architecture and design.

The curatorial team selected the Indian National War Museum, New Delhi – finalist in the 2 stage international competition for its flipping of the brief by focusing on ‘Peace’ as the centrality of the design. The entry was rightly named as ‘Indian National Peace Museum’.

The entry to the Museum is dedicated as the ‘Peace Pavilion’. This is one of the most interesting & significant part of the architectural proposal. The spatial reference be traced back to the Stupa at Sanchi, dedicated to Budha and his teaching of non-violence; the bedrock of Gandhi’s vision for India’s democracy and its unique position in the world.

The competition for the Indian National War Museum was conducted by the Prime Minister’s Office and attracted nearly all important national & international architectural studios-a total of 268 entries from world over. Collaborative Architecture was one of the 7 firms selected for the final 2 stage. Unfortunately the competition has since been shelved.

Collaborative Architecture in the past, have qualified and got into the final rounds of some of the most important architectural competitions globally. BCDA, Iconic Tower, Manila, by Philippine Government with J.Mayer H, Berlin as collaborating partners, Musi River Revitalization project, 57KM of Musi river regeneration project by Telangana Government in Hyderabad, with Henning Larsen Architects as collaborating partners, Israeli Lounge at Kennedy Centre, Washington DC, etc. are some of them.

The exhibition will travel to two more places, after premiering at the New York Gallery.

Collaborative Architecture invited by Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum 1 — view from peace pavilion

The Peace Pavilion

Collaborative Architecture invited by Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum 3 — War Museum – Delhi – 3

Model of the proposal

Collaborative Architecture invited by Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum 5 — URBAN ENGAGEMENT

Programmatic scheme

Collaborative Architecture

Profile and Contributions

Collaborative Architecture, UnbuiltIdeas

Recent

View showing the cylindrical mass below with overhanging cuboid supported by coffered ceiling and ribbed columns. © Prashansa Sachdeva

Brutalist India | Shri Ram Centre, New Delhi

May 9, 2026 No Comments

As part of Brutalist India series Bhawna Dandona writes about Shri Ram Centre, New Delhi, consructed in 1968, sponsored by the Shri Ram family, designed by Shiv Nath Prasad, along with guidance from Ebrahim Alkazi and the structural expertise of Mahendra Raj.

CoA's Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru, by architectureRED.© architectureRED (1)

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE | What is happening to CoA’s Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru?

May 5, 2026 No Comments

The Council of Architecture announced a design competition in 2022 for a Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, drawing nearly 1,500 teams. Chennai-based firm, architectureRED, won with their proposal, and yet four years later, nothing has been built. ArchitectureLive! team goes into this rabbit hole to understand the reality of.

Wall As a Public Space
“To read public space only as a spatial condition, as a matter of square footage, zoning, or physical access, is to miss half the picture.”
—Reshma Esther Thomas

April 29, 2026 No Comments

Reshma Esther Thomas examines how Hyderabad’s flyover pillars, painted with Cheriyal-style murals under the GHMC’s ‘City Art Scape’ initiative, reveal the paradox of managed public space. What appears to be beautification is actually cultural assertion in the wake of the 2014 bifurcation, bureaucratising a surface that once belonged to those without institutional power.

Khazans in Slavador du Mundo, Bardez, Goa. © Kusum Priya (1)

The Map That Was Never Yours
“If publicness is reduced to what is legally accessible, then these landscapes were never public to begin with.”
—V.V. Kusum Priya

April 28, 2026 No Comments

As part of our editorial: What makes a space public?, V.V. Kusum Priya argues that Section 39A of Goa’s 2024 Town and Country Planning Act this isn’t just a legal issue, and that it’s the erosion of an unrecognised but collectively sustained commons, and a question of what “public” really means and who benefits from the legislations surrounding this.

Life on the public spaces in downtown Calcutta. Source - Wikimedia

“Appropriation of public spaces is the genesis of political movements, of ideological apparatus, and of endangering the city’s multi-dimensional fabric.”
—Dr. Seema Khanwalkar

April 27, 2026 No Comments

Dr. Seema Khanwalkar, explores how the public spaces in India are dynamic, contested areas shaped by informal economies, migration, and social negotiation. She reveals how the transactional activities democratise ownership of these spaces, while the political and religious appropriation increasingly displaces this organic vitality, creating exclusion and anxiety. This shrinking of inclusive public space threatens urban social fabric, yet remains largely absent from city planning conversations, making it a far deeper crisis than mere encroachment.

“… people like Sen [Kapadia] don’t really leave. They become the questions we continue to ask.”
—A Tribute by Nuru Karim

April 22, 2026 No Comments

Nuru Karim reflects on his relationship with Sen Kapadia through three transformative “states of being”—as a student, as a studio colleague, and as an independent professional. To capture Sen’s essence, Karim draws on three powerful metaphors: a mountain (commanding yet silent), a banyan tree (generous and sheltering), and a river (unseen yet ever-present). Together, these images paint a portrait of a man whose quiet depth left an indelible mark on all who encountered him.

Collaborative Architecture invited by Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum

Collaborative Architecture

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Recent

Brutalist India | Shri Ram Centre, New Delhi

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE | What is happening to CoA’s Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru?

Wall As a Public Space
“To read public space only as a spatial condition, as a matter of square footage, zoning, or physical access, is to miss half the picture.”
—Reshma Esther Thomas

The Map That Was Never Yours
“If publicness is reduced to what is legally accessible, then these landscapes were never public to begin with.”
—V.V. Kusum Priya

“Appropriation of public spaces is the genesis of political movements, of ideological apparatus, and of endangering the city’s multi-dimensional fabric.”
—Dr. Seema Khanwalkar

“… people like Sen [Kapadia] don’t really leave. They become the questions we continue to ask.”
—A Tribute by Nuru Karim

We Need Your Support

Collaborative Architecture invited by Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum

Collaborative Architecture

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Recent

Brutalist India | Shri Ram Centre, New Delhi

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE | What is happening to CoA’s Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru?

Wall As a Public Space “To read public space only as a spatial condition, as a matter of square footage, zoning, or physical access, is to miss half the picture.”—Reshma Esther Thomas

The Map That Was Never Yours “If publicness is reduced to what is legally accessible, then these landscapes were never public to begin with.”—V.V. Kusum Priya

“Appropriation of public spaces is the genesis of political movements, of ideological apparatus, and of endangering the city’s multi-dimensional fabric.”—Dr. Seema Khanwalkar

“… people like Sen [Kapadia] don’t really leave. They become the questions we continue to ask.”—A Tribute by Nuru Karim

Featured Publications

New Release

Subscribe & Join a Community of Lakhs of Readers

We Need Your Support

Wall As a Public Space
“To read public space only as a spatial condition, as a matter of square footage, zoning, or physical access, is to miss half the picture.”
—Reshma Esther Thomas

The Map That Was Never Yours
“If publicness is reduced to what is legally accessible, then these landscapes were never public to begin with.”
—V.V. Kusum Priya

“Appropriation of public spaces is the genesis of political movements, of ideological apparatus, and of endangering the city’s multi-dimensional fabric.”
—Dr. Seema Khanwalkar

“… people like Sen [Kapadia] don’t really leave. They become the questions we continue to ask.”
—A Tribute by Nuru Karim