windows to vernacular | विंडोज़ टू वर्नैक्युलर
Windows to Vernacular, an independent, research-based architecture practice. We design architecture shaped by place, material, and time. Architecture that belongs. We work using local materials, vernacular knowledge systems, and climate to create context-driven architecture. We examine how traditional knowledge informs contemporary architecture by analysing traditional building systems and adapting their construction and material logic to modern applications. We believe architectural learning occurs equally on-site and in the studio.
Studio Principles: Observe, document, synthesise, design and build.
Material as Driver
Let material properties guide form, detail, and construction.
Climate as Generator
Shape design according to sun, wind, and seasonal variations.
Contextual Minimalism
Focus on essentials, guided by context, climate, and user needs.
Learning from Vernacular Wisdom
Value traditional systems and apply proven, time-tested knowledge.
Recognition
2026 Architect and Interiors India
iGen 2026 Top 50 architects and designers under 40
2026 ELEV8 - Architecture and Design festival 2026
Winner in Emerging Architectural Firms, 2026
2025 FOAID - ICA Creative Minds Next 2025 Competition :
Winner in the Ongoing Projects - Architecture Category
2025 Special Honour to Akshay Kumar Varma : Promising & Innovative
Architect & Designer of the Year 2025 , North India
2025 “Futuristic & Creative Architecture & Design Firm of the Year 2025 -
North India”
Awarded under the categories of Residential Projects & Sustainable
Design Approach.
2025 Legacy in Layers - The Merit List 2025 – Made It To The Longlist.
https://themeritlist.com/the-longlist-2024-25/
2025 Legacy in Layers - GeeVees Award 2025:
Shortlisted as the top 6 entry in "Architecture & Interior : Commercial
Projects in Towns (Towns with Population under 1 Lac)" Category.
2022 20under35 - 12th Annual Design X Design Exhibition 2022:
Showcasing the work of emerging Indian designers at Galerie Romain
Rolland, Alliance Francaise de Delhi.
Publications
2026 The Architect’s Diary - The Doksa, Maney, Spiti
Print Article in March-April 2026 Edition
2026 Architectural Digest - The Doksa, Maney, Spiti
2025 Architectural Digest - Legacy in Layers
Akshay Kumar Varma
Akshay holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the Academy of Architecture, Mumbai University (2009) and a Master's in Urban Design from University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK (2011). He began his career practising in Mumbai before shifting his focus in 2016 toward in-depth research into vernacular construction systems; traditional, locally rooted ways of building that have evolved over generations. This decade-long inquiry laid the intellectual groundwork for his design studio, which he formally established in 2022 to bring these principles into contemporary practice.
Founder
Garima Rajput
Garima Rajput is an architect and researcher fascinated by how people have always built, the materials chosen, the techniques mastered, the logic embedded in every vernacular tradition. She enjoys working at the intersection of traditional knowledge and contemporary design, shaping structures thoughtful in both conception and making. Her work spans research on indigenous building practices, heritage documentation, and contributing to the conservation of Jaisalmer's architectural legacy. She is most drawn to ideation and the aesthetic decisions that give a project its character. Architecture is also, for her, a way of moving through the country, travelling to unfamiliar places, meeting the communities that shape them. When not on site, she finds the same quiet pleasure of craft in cooking.
Architect and Researcher
Niharika Shah
Architect and ResearcherNiharika Shah is an architect and researcher working at the intersection of traditional knowledge and contemporary practice. Since 2021, she has been part of Windows to Vernacular, engaging closely with natural materials, regional cultures, and vernacular wisdom to inform modern construction. Deeply curious about how traditions respond to geography and climate, she has conducted research across Spiti, the North East, Ladakh, and the traditional water systems of Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Her practice extends from concept development and working drawings to active site involvement, with a particular interest in innovative construction details and lesser-documented regions. Outside architecture, she finds equal pleasure in gardening and the quiet discipline of an ordered space.
Nandini VK
Nandini K V is a practicing architect and artist who graduated in 2023, rooted in the cultural landscape of Punnayurkulam, Keralam, a village of paddy fields, heritage buildings, and stories tied to seasons and myth. Imagination and observation came naturally; she has been drawing since childhood, with art and craft woven into her life long before architecture. Architecture found her rather than the other way around, aligning with her patience and sincerity. At Windows to Vernacular, she realises her student dream of working within vernacular traditions for rural communities. Her art practice, drawing from nature's forms and flows, continuously sharpens her architectural eye. She remains deeply concerned about soil degradation and the erasure of natural landscapes.
ArchitectVani Bansal
Vani Bansal is an architect interested in understanding India’s diverse vernacular architectural styles and climate-responsive building techniques. She believes architecture should grow from the local context, materials, and needs of a place rather than depending entirely on standardized concrete construction. Through her work and research, she has explored alternative materials and traditional building methods beyond mainstream practices. Her future aspirations lie in contributing to the understanding and revival of regional architectural knowledge in contemporary design. Currently, she enjoys research, studying different construction techniques, applying them to design, and creating travel postcards and calendars.
Researcher