#YoungIcons2024 Architecture for Dialogue is on a mission to build demonstrative work around how our cities should and could evolve

Architecture for Dialogue started in 2020, with a mission to build demonstrative work around how our cities should and could evolve. The studio blends architecture, design research and communication design to create work across themes like sustainable mobility, waste management and air pollution. In 2023, AFD was awarded the Godrej Design Lab Fellowship to amplify its impact on the architecture and design community. In 2024, AFD won ‘What Design Can Do’s’ Redesign Everything Challenge, accelerating design projects focused on climate action.

Core Belief: In the face of complex urban challenges, we believe that experiments are essential tools for discovery. By creating urban prototypes and conducting trials, we can explore innovative, cost-effective ways to shape habitats, challenging conventional approaches and unlocking new possibilities.

Breakthrough Project: Our project ‘My house is ill!’ was a manifestation of our first experiments with air pollution. Housed within an apartment in Khirki village in Delhi, we created a speculative installation that intersected architecture, new media and ecology to study air pollution micro-climates within indoor environments and investigate patterns that are otherwise unseen. The project has led us into a fantastic journey to now, building solutions that improve air quality in homes and neighbourhoods.

Project for The Godrej Design Lab (GDL) Fellowship Program: With the Godrej Design Lab Fellowship, we are building solutions to improve air quality and comfort within homes. Our research in the settlement of Madanpur Khadar in Delhi established clear linkages between architecture and pollution readings within the houses in the settlement—creating a foundation for us to develop BreatheEasy. It sheds light on the need for upgradation and the value of retrofits, and serves as a case example of the role of architecture in building pollution and climate resilience.

How do you think the fellowship program will contribute to the design community?

We believe that it is critical to foster new ideas and approaches emerging in Indian design practices. The Godrej Design Fellowship program is playing a crucial role in advancing the design community by offering a space for experimentation, innovation and learning. By supporting initiatives like BreatheEasy, it encourages designers to test new approaches, prototype solutions, and refine ideas through real-world applications and industry-oriented mentorship.

Emerging Trends: Resilience! As climate impacts intensify, resilience in urban environments—our homes, our neighbourhoods and our cities—is going to be the need of the hour.

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