Kumar
& Swamy
architects.
An institutional architecture practice in Bangalore — interpreting the values of the schools, campuses and civic buildings we’ve shaped since 1969.
Selected works.
Featured projects →
Six briefs,
one practice.
Interpret the philosophy of the institution. Build for the climate. Last beyond the client.
From the journal.
All writing →
Designing for a Billion: 5 Ways India’s New Building Code is Reimagining the Modern City
India’s urban population is projected to reach 820 million by 2051. How the National Building Code 2016 is rethinking our cities at scale.
Architecture That Teaches: The Reality of Designing Modern Educational Spaces
Physical space is a silent partner in every classroom. Notes on the real-world challenges and rewards of designing modern educational spaces.
Inclusivity in Architecture — Design Without Bias
Building spaces that work in a fragmented world — a practical philosophy for bias-free, inclusive design.
18th June, 2025: An Architect’s Journal Entry
A monsoon-morning time-slip to 1995 — drafting tables, ammonia prints and scale models, and a reflection on what architecture felt like before the screens.
Designing Flexible and Adaptable Learning Spaces
Movable furniture, zoned spaces and technology hubs — how reconfigurable learning environments support diverse teaching methods and active learning.
The Impact of Colour on Learning: A Guide to Selecting Colours for School Interiors
Warm, cool and neutral palettes, colour-coding and wayfinding — a practical guide to using colour to support focus, identity and learning in schools.
Vivitsa World School: The Architecture
A child-centric, courtyard-based campus where every brick serves a pedagogical purpose — learning, play and nature woven into a sustainable design.
The Importance of Natural Light in School Design
Why daylight matters in Indian schools — its measurable effect on performance, health and mood, and the strategies we use to bring it deep into buildings.
50 Years of Kumar & Swamy
We marked our 50th anniversary with an Open Day — old hand-drafted drawings, CR Shivakumar’s legacy, and friends from across Bangalore.
Reinterpreting Our Very First School
Thirty years on, we extended Mallya Aditi — our very first school — with a lightweight steel structure that reinterprets the original in a modern context.
A practice
in its fifth
decade.
Founded by C R Shivakumar in Bangalore, the studio has grown across three generations — carrying one ethic: listen first, draw second.
Today a small team of architects and interns work out of a studio that does not limit itself to the office. We travel, read, listen to music, watch film — because you cannot design for people without first knowing them.
Meet the studio →