The Design Cell is the research and consultancy division of the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture and Environmental Studies and was started with an intention to research on Mumbai in 1995. It interacts with the various agencies concerned with development and explores methods of understanding and intervention in the Metropolis. It has carried out various mapping experiments in the city and has used these findings in actual projects like the redevelopment of industrial lands and public participation in the conservation of early suburban development.

The Design Cell has been actively involved in efforts to map the urban environment in order to understand it better, articulate its problems and find alternatives for interventions. The Cell works with a team of architects and other consultants for history, economy, social geography, infrastructure and planning.

The Design Cell has undertaken several projects in the city of Mumbai and has successfully involved with them. It has become an important actor in the development processes of the city where it has been able to theoretically and actually articulate a new practice and is been seen as a trustee because of its academic affiliations.

THE DESIGN CELL

Architectural and Urban Academic space has historically in the country been structured towards the provision of a skilled labor force to fit into a market. Often this has led to a serious lack of intense research and theoretical work, as it is seen as irrelevant to the spaces of traditional practice predominantly controlled by private interests. Sometimes architectural theory that challenges the preconceived notions of the practice is dismissed and denied. This does the architectural profession a great deal of harm, as it then refuses to acknowledge the urgent need to meditate and postulate new ways of thinking that are relevant to our particular context. The space of the academy provides a platform for these inquiries.

The Research and the Design Cell at KRVIA was set up as a space where the theoretical and research agendas of the school could connect with the spaces of practice in the city. It is a space, which allows for a critical and reflective practice in architecture and urbanism. The process of consultancy helps us engage with the actors and agencies involved with the architectural production. Most of the projects are financed by government bodies like BMC, MMRDA and MHADA, and other non-governmental organizations.

This allows the work of the Cell to help shape the emerging city in a direct way. These projects also are projected backwards into the academy as part of the curriculum of the school. Architectural and Urban Design Studios, Technology Studios are integrated with the research areas of the projects. Students are thus exposed to the research questions and the findings of the projects, aiding in their understanding of the projects. The design cell thus works as an important interface informing the curriculum about aspects of practice and vice versa.

Presently the projects of the Design Cell are largely located in the city of Mumbai. Hitherto the projects have largely focused on issues concerning the transforming industrial landscapes of the city- the mill lands and the eastern seaboard, issues related to conservation of older city fabrics and structures, housing and looking at natural water systems and their conservation. . In Mumbai city where all development is dictated by the market or by narrow private interests the Design Cell has been able to carve a niche for serious and dedicated research in the neutral space of the academy.

The city of Mumbai has been the most important focus of the Design Cell. The city has been its laboratory for experimenting various methodological explorations in mapping and intervening. Often, mapping itself became the intervention of the academy. The Cell has undertaken various projects relating to the city of Mumbai and its current socio-economic landscapes.