Swati Janu's Social Design Collaborative uses architecture and design to address socio-economic inequalities in Indian cities. Their interdisciplinary approach involves community engagement, policy advocacy, and public art.
Swati Janu founded her studio in 2017 after volunteering for the design of a school for the children of farmers along the river Yamuna in Delhi. It was an initiative that snowballed into the foundation of the Social Design Collaborative in 2019, now based in the Indian capital, where she collaboratively leads a small team made of architects, sociologists, social workers, activists and designers.
At the core of our practice is creating inclusion within and through the built environment, Janu says. Cities globally have been structured along lines of socio-economic inequalities, further amplified by class, caste or race. What role can architecture and design play in creating more just and equitable cities is the question our practice attempts to find answers to. This has required a diversity of approaches ranging from advocacy for housing rights, co-creating community spaces in informal settlements, public art festivals on gender inclusion in public spaces, to counter-cartography questioning top-down master planning in our cities. The interdisciplinary nature of the Social Design Collaborative means that its work travels way beyond traditional building design. Examples include Kaun Hai Master? Kya Hai Plan?’ (Hindi for'Who is the Master? What is the Plan?”), a toolbox to make Delhi’s Master Plan accessible as part of the civic campaign Main Bhi Dilli’ (Hindi for “I am Delhi too); grassroots collaborations and activations around the community-driven building of schools, libraries, daycare centres and community halls; policy advocacy and civic campaigning; and curating public art festivals and exhibitions.There is a critical need for diversity in our profession. Who is designing our built environment dictates what kind of built environment we create and live in,’ says Jan
Architecture Social Design Equity Inclusion Community Engagement
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