Poonam Parikh

About Poonam Parikh

I, absolutely, love design. Above all, I admire its vast, boundless expanse. For instance, I am intrigued by concepts of gestalt guiding the layout of a web page, as I am by the arrangement of courtyards in a large housing scheme. I thus see my professional pursuit as a journey of design, through design, primarily colored by architecture, urban design and related research, areas I am formally trained in. Within this primary domain of regard, I take special interest in discourse pertaining to the future and evolution of the built environment, from the scale of an individual space to entire cities. My undergraduate thesis for instance investigated how phygital behavior fostered by popular mobile applications used in Indian cities, tends to form physical and functional relationships with the city itself. My interests lie immersed deep within such forms of intersection, between technology (artificial intelligence, building innovation, emergence of the Metaverse, etc.) and digital globalisation, and the built environment. Furthermore, I have also been actively engaging in architectural and urban matters of social and humanitarian importance, having talked about issues such as conservation in big cities, housing the urban poor, under-representation of oriental practices in international design discourse, etc. at various platforms. I was also a winner of the \'Berkeley Essay Prize Competition\' for a piece on the role of civic institutions of Ahmedabad in bridging communal divide. In this respect, I truly believe that design does possess the agency and problem-solving capacity to address complex urban issues, such as for example, questions of critical conservation and challenges of climate justice. My involvement in this realm of the discipline in fact stems out as an extension of my keen interest in International Development and public policy developed at a young age. Some other ways in which my design-spirit expresses itself include various forms of the visual arts, and dance in which I am proficiently trained. Since 2023, I have also been working on a product brand initiative whose intent is to bring the characteristics and experiences of the built environment back home by means of place-art driven domestic products. I also enjoy writing, of architectural nature and beyond, and am an ardent languages enthusiast. Latching onto these strands of design as I\'ve now delved into the world of practice, I intend to work at the crossroads of the built environment, technology and innovation, while continuing to pursue my diverse creative interests.

Experience

1. Trainee Regions and Mayoral Engagement

   C40 Cities

   Apr 2025 — Present · Mumbai, IN

Education

• Instituto Hispania

  C1 Level Spanish Language Proficiency Certification (also D.I.E. accredited)

  2014 — 2023

• Dhirubhai Ambani International School

  International Baccalaureate

  2014 — 2016

• Shiamak Davar's Institute for Performing Arts Pvt. Ltd.

  Shiamak's Half Yearly Program (SHP)

  2014 — 2014

• The Yoga Institute Mumbai

  Yoga Teacher Training (900 hours) / Yoga Therapy

  2022 — 2022

• CEPT University

  Bachelor of Architecture - BArch

  2016 — 2022

• Alliance Française de Bombay

  B2.2 Level French Language Proficiency Certification (also DELF accredited)

  2011 — 2014

• VIBGYOR Group of Schools

  93.13%

  2004 — 2014