about

AKDA integrates the disciplines of architecture, interior design, furniture, lighting and product design under a singular ethos. We love building things.

Established by Amit Khanna in 2004, the studio philosophy is to make regional specificity and sustainability intrinsic to the design process and product.Every object we produce, be it a 60,000SF office building or a 0.5SF light fixture, undergoes the same scrutiny of process and exactitude; Aprocess that is founded in suitable materiality and innovation, irrespective of appearance.

The quest for absolute quality implies we follow a unique system of design development; one in which we allow ourselves to learn and imbibe from the skills and experience  of people who actually craft the buildings and objects that we design. Their early involvement acknowledges them as equal stakeholders in the process, and allows us as a studio to better predict construction outcomes and quality control.

At AKDA, we do not fear the abundance of information available to clients. Rather than fight for control over the process, we embrace our clients’ awareness and allow them to participate in the evolution of the design. The focus is to deliverinnovation that uplifts our environment, instead of allowing our  built environment to be a mish-mash of private agendas- an outcome of vulgar misinformed aspiration.

In the current architectural milieu of starchitects intent on peddling their wares like luxury brands, AKDA is not working towards a signature style. Buildings by the same architectural firm can and should look as disparate as their local conditions and requirements need them to be. To most, attaching meaning to architecture is a self-serving activity of the architect – intended to justify their inclusion in building process that has outgrown their need. For us, it is the start point of the process. Without it, there is nothing.

A recent addition to the firm’s outlook has been a growing sensitivity to the local urban environment we inhabit. As our projects increase in scale and scope, their subsequent impact on the micro-context has allowed us to think of community issues, apart from our clients’ interests. Throughrecent projects, we have extended programmatic requirements to improve urban edges and the comfort of non-paying users on the street.

Current projects include office & industrial buildings, multi-family housing, residences, hospitality projects and boutique retail. The work of the firm is published in significant architectural and design journals both in India and abroad.

Amit Khanna graduated from the School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi in 2002. He heads the design studio at AKDA, combining day-to-day involvement in design with his primary responsibilities for the strategic direction of the practice. He also teaches at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi with diverse responsibilities related to design, research and theoretical exploration. Through his initiatives in education, Amit Khanna engages in research as a tool for design innovation, both at the School and Studio. He is an acclaimed photographer and writes extensively for both online and offline media.

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