Practice
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Thinking Dwelling Studio is an architectural practice based in Calicut, Kerala, founded by architect Ajay K. Jacob. The studio explores the relationship between architecture, landscape, settlement and place through context-responsive design.
Its work is guided by an interest in how buildings and environments evolve through time, shaped by culture, climate and everyday life. Drawing from local landscapes, traditions and patterns of dwelling, the practice seeks architectural responses that are rooted in context while remaining attentive to contemporary realities.
The studio operates from Ajay’s ancestral farm in Calicut, a setting that continues to inform its understanding of land, ecology and the making of place.
Ajay K. Jacob
Ajay K. Jacob is an architect, educator and farmer based in Calicut, Kerala. He graduated from the College of Engineering Trivandrum and completed his Master’s in Theory and Design at CEPT University, Ahmedabad, where he received the Academic Excellence Award and Best Thesis Award. His master’s thesis on Padmanabhapuram Palace received a Commendation at the Indian Institute of Architects National Awards in 2015.
Before establishing Thinking Dwelling Studio in 2017, he worked with Ar. N. M. Salim on institutional and master planning projects, as well as hospitality, residential and commercial developments.
Alongside practice, he has been engaged in architectural education as a studio teacher, design critic and mentor. His work is concerned with landscape, settlement, memory and cultural practices, and with how places evolve and acquire meaning over time.
He has contributed to Learning Architecture (2019), edited by Prof. Kulbhushan Jain. His interests in farming, literature and sculpture continue to shape his understanding of architecture and dwelling.
Recognition
Shortlisted, Indian Institute of Architects National Awards for Excellence in Architecture, Unbuilt Category, 2018 — Competition Entry for Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad
Commendation, Indian Institute of Architects National Awards for Excellence in Architecture, Research Studies Category, 2015 — Study of Padmanabhapuram Palace
Academic Excellence Award and Best Thesis Award, M. Arch. (Theory & Design), CEPT University, 2014
Publications
Indian Institute of Technology, Palakkad: Making a Campus in the Landscape, in Unbuilt 2.0: Architecture of Future Collectives, Architecture Live, 2021
Interpreting Architecture: A Case of Padmanabhapuram Palace, in Learning Architecture, edited by Prof. Kulbhushan Jain, Aadi Centre, 2019
Learning from Geoffrey Bawa, Architecture Update, August 2017
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