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Kumar & Swamy

The
journal.

Writing from the studio — on architecture, education, and the ideas that shape the places we build.

Designing for a Billion: 5 Ways India’s New Building Code is Reimagining the Modern City
Latest
Apr 16, 20264 min read

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.

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Architecture That Teaches: The Reality of Designing Modern Educational Spaces
Apr 8, 20262 min read

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
Aug 7, 20254 min read

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
Jun 18, 20255 min read

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
May 22, 20253 min read

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
Jan 28, 20254 min read

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
Dec 6, 20242 min read

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
Nov 21, 20244 min read

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
Oct 11, 20221 min read

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
Feb 11, 20211 min read

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.