Excavate, Accrete, Stratify - An Ecology of Ideas

This book offers one of the first critical, research-oriented biographies of an architectural practice from the global South, documenting over two and a half decades of work in post-liberalization India. Moving beyond the familiar narrative-descriptive mode of architectural biographies, it situates the practice within a broader intellectual world of ideas, unpacking reflections as a case study of the times.
In dialogue with the modernist legacy and inflected by the critical regionalism of the global South, particularly that of India, the work demonstrates how architecture can engage with the nuanced complexities of contemporary India while conversing with international discourse. By tracing a trajectory that follows, but also departs from, the celebrated generation of Pritzker laureate B. V. Doshi, Achyut Kanvinde, and Anant Raje, the book positions the practice as a distinctive voice in global architectural debates.
Enhanced by 15 original drawing plates, including photographs, drawings, and sketches - the book bridges concept and craft, theory and practice. It stands both as a visual archive and an intellectual provocation, making it indispensable reading for researchers and students. While biographical, it is equally a critical analysis not usually available in books on architects from the global South.

List of contents

Preface Introduction Excavate 3. Stratify Conclusion Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4

About the author

Nisha Mathew Ghosh is a transdisciplinary spatial practitioner whose work spans writing, art, architecture-as-social-agency, and land, forming what she calls a 'performative archive'. As co-founder of an architectural practice with Soumitro Ghosh, she has received national and international recognition for architectural design. This book marks her academic publishing debut, extending her inquiry into architecture as cultural text. She interrogates how creative practice can respond to contemporary crises through tactical retrofitting of the megapolis, activist modes of practice, and socially empowering architectures. Working at the intersection of art, architecture, and community engagement, she examines geography and ecology alongside the derivations of architectural program. Extending into 'waste-to-wealth' empowerment and curatorial interventions, her work positions architecture as a critical agency for equity and inclusion.

Product details

• Authors: Nisha Mathew Ghosh
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 18.02.2026
• EAN: 9781032966755
• ISBN: 978-1-0-3296675-5
• No. of pages: 200
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Architecture; Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general); ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / General, ARCHITECTURE / Regional, ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / Public, Commercial & Industrial, ARCHITECTURE / General, ARCHITECTURE / History / General, ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / Landmarks & Monuments, ARCHITECTURE / Historic Preservation / General, ARCHITECTURE / Reference, South East Asia, Regional Studies, History of Architecture, Regional / International studies, Conservation of buildings & building materials, Indian sub-continent, Conservation of buildings and building materials, HISTORY / Asia / South / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / Asian Studies, Architecture;Built Environment;Architectural History