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Design

Thought leadership from three decades of architectural practice.

ArchitectureJuly 2026

How Long Will Your House Really Live? The Three Ages of a Home

Every client eventually asks their architect the same question: how long will my house last? The engineering answer is about fifty years. After thirty years of practice I think a house has three ages, and the one that decides everything is not in any code.

5 min read →

Urban PlanningJuly 2026

Why Urban Planning Belongs at the Top of a City Budget, Not the Bottom

Nai Dunia asked what Indore needs from the budget. Our answer: planned cities are the GDP growth engines of the future, and a budget that treats planning as a residual item does long-term damage the city cannot see for a decade.

7 min read →

Urban PlanningJuly 2026

Indore's Metropolitan Region: What Three Years of Civic Campaigning Achieved

Nai Dunia reported the felicitation of the Indore Utthan Abhiyan members after the state approved a metropolitan region joining Indore, Ujjain, Dhar and Dewas. Both our principals were among those honoured — and the harder argument came next.

6 min read →

ArchitectureJuly 2026

Vastu and Modern Architecture: Satisfying Both Without Compromising Either

Most vastu principles have a climatic logic underneath them. Understand the logic and you can usually satisfy the principle and good design at once — but only if the constraint is known before the plan is drawn.

6 min read →

ArchitectureJuly 2026

Site Supervision: What to Check, and When It Is Too Late to Check It

If you are visiting your own site, you are inspecting it — so inspect the right things. A stage-by-stage list of what is worth checking, what is genuinely urgent, and what can never be checked again once covered.

5 min read →

Project ManagementJuly 2026

Contractor, Turnkey Firm or Architect — Which One Do You Actually Need?

The three ways to get a house built in India, what each really costs once you count your own time, and the honest answer to when you do not need an architect at all.

6 min read →

Interior DesignJuly 2026

Interior Budgets, Honestly: What Each Rate Per Square Foot Actually Buys

Interior quotes are given per square foot and almost never compared like for like. What separates a ₹900 interior from a ₹2,500 one, where the money genuinely goes, and the four places it is worth spending more.

5 min read →

SustainabilityJuly 2026

What a Genuinely Cool House Costs in Central India — Green Building Economics

Passive cooling is not a moral position, it is an arithmetic one. What orientation, shading, insulation and glazing actually cost in an Indian home, what they return, and which ones are simply not worth the money.

6 min read →

Urban PlanningJuly 2026

Building Plan Approval in Madhya Pradesh: The ABPAS Process, Start to Finish

Madhya Pradesh sanctions building plans through an automated system that checks your drawing against the bylaws with no officer in between. That makes it faster — and much less forgiving. What you need, in what order.

6 min read →

ArchitectureJuly 2026

How to Read an Architect's Drawing Set — A Client's Guide

Most clients approve drawings they cannot fully read, and discover what they agreed to once it is built. Plans, elevations, sections and details — what each one is actually telling you, and the four checks to run before you sign.

6 min read →

ArchitectureJuly 2026

Twelve Expensive Mistakes People Make Building Their Own Home

After thirty years and several hundred projects, the same twelve mistakes recur — and none of them are about taste. Each one, why it happens, what it costs, and the point at which it stops being fixable.

6 min read →

Project ManagementJuly 2026

Where Your Construction Budget Actually Goes — And Why It Always Runs Over

Everyone budgets for structure and underestimates finishes. Here is the real distribution of a house budget in India, the six line items that are almost always missing, and why the overrun is structural rather than bad luck.

6 min read →

Project ManagementJuly 2026

The Complete House Construction Checklist for India — Every Stage, In Order

Most home construction goes wrong not because a decision was wrong, but because it was made too late. Here is the full sequence — from soil test to handover — with the deadline attached to each decision.

8 min read →