Sanjay Puri

Sanjay Puri
Name	Sanjay Puri
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Architect

Sanjay Puri

Sanjay Puri is an Indian architect and founder of a prominent architectural practice based in Mumbai, known for contemporary residential, hospitality, and commercial projects. He has participated in international competitions and collaborations, and his practice has contributed to architectural discourse through built work, publications, and exhibitions. His work engages with climatic response, urban context, and material innovation within the contemporary Indian built environment.

Early life and education

Puri was born and educated in India before pursuing professional training and early career experience that connected him with architectural networks across Asia and Europe. He studied at institutions that place him among alumni from schools such as School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, Sir J. J. College of Architecture, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay affiliates, and has been associated through projects or lectures with peers from Architectural Association School of Architecture, University College London, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and ETH Zurich. Early mentorship and exposure linked him to practitioners and theorists who also engaged with figures like Charles Correa, Louis Kahn, Le Corbusier, Balkrishna Doshi, and Anupama Kundoo in wider dialogues about Indian architecture.

Architectural career

Puri established his practice in Mumbai and expanded through commissions across India and internationally, connecting with clients and institutions including municipal bodies and hospitality groups. His office has collaborated with multidisciplinary teams that have included consultants and firms analogized to Foster + Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects, OMA, Kengo Kuma & Associates, and Gensler in collaborative contexts and conferences. Puri's career trajectory intersected with major international events and platforms such as the Biennale of Architecture circuits, World Architecture Festival, Venice Biennale of Architecture, and academic symposia hosted by Royal Institute of British Architects, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, and UNESCO-affiliated programs. His practice has been involved in masterplans, residential complexes, boutique hotels, and institutional commissions, often engaging with municipal regulators like the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

Notable projects

His portfolio includes a range of award-winning residences, hospitality projects, and mixed-use developments that have been published and exhibited internationally. Notable projects have been cited alongside works from architects such as Bijoy Jain, Brinda Somaya, Hafeez Contractor, Raj Rewal, and IM Pei in curated compilations and galleries. Projects include urban infill residences, hillside villas, and desert lodges that respond to context similarly discussed with projects recognized at venues like the Centre Pompidou, MAXXI, Tate Modern, and the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi. Specific schemes have been compared in critic reviews to typologies by Glenn Murcutt, Tadao Ando, Alvaro Siza, and Renzo Piano for their treatment of light, form, and material.

Design philosophy and style

Puri's design approach emphasizes climate-responsive planning, spatial layering, and tectonic expression, aligning with discourses promoted by institutions such as The Prince's Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, The Getty, and International Union of Architects. His stylistic orientation blends modernist precedents—citing affinities with Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn—while integrating contemporary strategies showcased alongside practitioners like Shigeru Ban and Balkrishna Doshi. Emphasis on natural ventilation, solar orientation, and passive cooling places his work in conversation with research from The Energy and Resources Institute and publications by scholars linked to Harvard Graduate School of Design and Delft University of Technology. Material choices and facade articulation evoke parallels with projects by Toyo Ito, Peter Zumthor, and Herzog & de Meuron.

Awards and recognition

Puri and his firm have received national and international awards, nominations, and featured listings in compilations alongside laureates such as Pritzker Architecture Prize recipients and awardees from the Royal Institute of British Architects and World Architecture Festival. Recognition has included jury citations, editorial selections in periodicals affiliated with Architectural Record, Domus, Wallpaper*, The Architectural Review, and honors from professional bodies like Indian Institute of Architects and Council of Architecture (India). His projects have been shortlisted for international competitions and have appeared on curated lists compiled by organizations such as Designboom and Dezeen.

Publications and exhibitions

His work has been widely published and exhibited in monographs, journals, and group shows. Publications that have featured his projects include catalogues and magazines comparable to Architectural Digest (India), Domus, Icon, and academic journals circulated through networks like Taylor & Francis and Elsevier platforms. Exhibitions of his work have been mounted at venues such as the National Museum, New Delhi, Lima Art Museum, Beijing Design Week, and thematic exhibitions at the Venice Biennale of Architecture and regional biennales. Lectures and teaching engagements have linked him to studios and guest critiques at IIT Roorkee, CEPT University, University of Melbourne, and Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

Personal life and legacy

Puri's practice continues to shape contemporary Indian residential and hospitality architecture, influencing a generation of designers and contributing to ongoing debates on climate-sensitive urbanism and material innovation. His legacy is visible in the built environment and in the discourse produced through collaborations with peers such as Anupama Kundoo, Raj Rewal, Balkrishna Doshi, and international correspondents from institutions including RIBA, UN-Habitat, and educational programs at Harvard GSD and ETH Zurich.