The Better Architecture Project

Season 2: Architecture X Media Studies
Ep. 30: A Publisher's Path

Ariadna argues that books remain vital amid short-form digital media because they are curated, researched, and irreversible once printed. She describes an organic shift from architectural practice, writing, and urban criticism in Barcelona to publishing a book on her late father and then building a catalog-led program focused on architectural travel guides, Indian architecture and cities, monographs, and new mini-books planned years in advance. She outlines the bookmaking workflow: manuscript and material collection, peer review, design/layout, copyediting, drawing and image preparation, print-proofing, and production, followed by the harder work of sales via distributors, bookshops, launches, word of mouth, and social media. She stresses balancing text with drawings/images, calls for stronger writing and reading cultivation in architecture education, sees AI as a useful tool for editing/summarizing but not for generating ideas, and identifies independent publishing’s main constraints as economics, distribution dominance, and weak institutional support, advocating more open forums around architectural media and publishing.

Guest: Ariadna A. Garreta
Designation: Architect & Director, Altrim Publishers
Bio: Ariadna A. Garreta is an architect, editor, and adviser. She has completed her Master’s degree from the Barcelona Technical School of Architecture (ETSAB, Spain). She has been a member of the College of Architects of Catalonia (COAC) assembly, where she has developed various positions for the COAC Barcelona delegation. She has been advising the Barcelona City Council and has been a member of the Barcelona Fundació Mies van der Rohe Board of Trustees. In India, she has been Director at CEPT University Press.
She has been practising architecture with her father, Dr. Miquel Alvarez Trincado, at Altrim Studio since 1999, and she has been the Director since 2008. She has taught at the School of Architecture (EsArq) at the International University of Catalonia (UIC). She used to write for several Catalan and Spanish newspapers and Design and Architecture magazines.
In 2010, she founded the Barcelona-based publishing company Altrim Publishers to provide a new platform for the promotion of architecture and city planning focused on India and Southeast Asia. In 2012, she settled in Chandigarh (India), where she is developing a series of book guides under the title of Southeast Asia & Indian Architectural Travel Guides.
She has been the Director of CEPT University Press (Ahmedabad) and Coordinator at The Aditya Prakash Foundation (Chandigarh). She is currently a member of the Advisory Board of Poornima University (Jaipur, India), School of Planning & Architecture, Research & Consultancy Cell.
⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠LinkedIn (P) | Instagram (P)
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Website: www.betterarch.org
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Copyright 2026 @ The Better Architecture Project.

Season 2: Architecture X Media Studies
Ep. 29: The Listening Frame, Soumya Dasgupta

Part two of the continuing conversation shifts from architectural media’s narratives to how criticality is (and isn’t) cultivated through academia, especially in India. The episode argues that professional architectural education prioritizes technical and problem-solving skills while sidelining critical thinking. Critique is inherently marginal, political, and often mistaken for complaining. Critical thinkers need critical listeners, and professional architectural education must provide the pedagogical infrastructure to support this. Soumya contends this is a global issue, but more intense in India because institutions and the profession are structured to keep architecture technocratic, apolitical, and aligned with capital and state power, making the “visionary architect” largely a marketing myth and most graduates “architectural workers”. The episode also discusses building critical listening through sustained conversation and exposure to humanities beyond architecture, discussing how access barriers may be overcome by multilingualism and translation, and cautioning that formal organizations for discourse can quickly become bureaucratic and uncritical.

Guest: Soumya Dasgupta
Designation: Architectural Scholar
Bio: Soumya is a Ph.D. Candidate in Architecture (History and Theory) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA. He is a recipient of the Humanities Research Institute Graduate Fellowship and the Illinois Distinguished Fellowship. He holds a certificate from the School of Criticism and Theory, Cornell University. He holds a Master's in Urban Design from SPA Delhi and a B.Arch. from IIEST Shibpur (Erstwhile BESU Shibpur).
His scholarly interests include neoliberal developmentalism, digital technocracy, the Global South, and South Asia, and his Ph.D. dissertation broadly explores the contested systems of architectural production in the rapidly transforming context of  21st-century urban India.

⁠Website⁠ | ⁠LinkedIn⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Facebook⁠
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Website: www.betterarch.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betterarch/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterarch_org/
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Copyright 2026 @ The Better Architecture Project.

Season 2: Architecture X Media Studies
Ep. 28: Beyond Laudatory Texts, Soumya Dasgupta

This episode features a candid, critical conversation with Soumya Dasgupta on the intersection of architecture, media, and political economy in India and the West. The episode exposes the dominance of architects’ narratives, the absence of criticality, and the systemic inequalities within the profession. Soumya challenges the status quo, urging for uncomfortable but necessary dialogues about power, capital, and the future of architectural practice.

Guest: Soumya Dasgupta
Designation: Architectural Scholar
Bio: Soumya is a Ph.D. Candidate in Architecture (History and Theory) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA. He is a recipient of the Humanities Research Institute Graduate Fellowship and the Illinois Distinguished Fellowship. He holds a certificate from the School of Criticism and Theory, Cornell University. He holds a Master's in Urban Design from SPA Delhi and a B.Arch. from IIEST Shibpur (Erstwhile BESU Shibpur).
His scholarly interests include neoliberal developmentalism, digital technocracy, the Global South, and South Asia, and his Ph.D. dissertation broadly explores the contested systems of architectural production in the rapidly transforming context of  21st-century urban India.

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook
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Website: www.betterarch.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betterarch/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterarch_org/
Twitter: https://www.x.com/betterarch_org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterarch.org/
Copyright 2025 @ The Better Architecture Project.

Season 2: Architecture X Media Studies
Ep. 27: Politics of Representation, Fahad Zuberi

Fahad Zuberi delivers a sharp, historically grounded critique of how architecture is represented in India, tracing its journey from the ancient glorification of rulers to the colonial manipulation of meaning and the current dominance of PR-driven narratives. He argues that all representation is inherently political, shaped by the values and goals of those in power, and warns against the dilution of meaning when criticality is replaced by commercialism. Fahad distinguishes genuine critique—rooted in hope, ethical responsibility, and the aspiration for a better future—from cynicism and empty praise, emphasizing the need for rigorous theory, public engagement, and investment in the humanities. He calls for a clear separation between PR and criticism, urges architectural media to reclaim meaning and judgment, and insists that building a thoughtful, critical discourse is essential for shaping the worlds we want to inhabit.

Guest: Fahad Zuberi
Designation: Academic & Columnist, Doctoral Scholar (Architectural History, Theory & Criticism)—Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Bio: Fahad is an academic and columnist, currently pursuing a PhD at MIT's Department of Architecture HTC. His work focuses on the intersection of architecture and violence, particularly in South Asian contexts. Fahad studied B. Arch at Aligarh Muslim University, an M. Arch HTC at CEPT University, Ahmedabad, and then pursued an MSc in Modern South Asian Studies at the University of Oxford as the Indira Gandhi Radhakrishnan Scholar with the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development, where he was awarded the Archibald Jackson Prize 2024 and Scholars Development Award 2024 for his work on Domicide.
Fahad has taught Architecture and Design Philosophy at CEPT University and at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad as visiting faculty and is a columnist and political commentator with several Indian platforms, such as The Indian Express, The Hindu, The Wire, and The Hindustan Times. Fahad has also worked as a comics journalist and in electoral politics, and seldom composes music. He is the Producer of Mutant: The Democracy Podcast—conceived as a contemporary dictionary of politics—with the Institute of New Global Politics, Cal Poly Pomona, and his first feature-length film as a Music Director - Kayo Kayo Colour?—premiered at IFF, Rotterdam 2023.
LinkedIn | Facebook | X/Twitter | MIT Portal
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Website: www.betterarch.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betterarch/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterarch_org/
Twitter: https://www.x.com/betterarch_org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterarch.org/
Copyright 2025 @ The Better Architecture Project.

Season 2: Architecture X Media Studies
Ep. 26: Ground Up, Nipun Prabhakar

In episode 26, Nipun Prabhakar shares how his path as a photojournalist, writer, and community architect has been shaped by a deep curiosity and a commitment to authentic storytelling. He discusses the interconnectedness of architecture and media, emphasizing that meaningful work comes from focusing on process, ethics, and real engagement rather than instant gratification. Drawing on his experiences working with grassroots communities and documenting real-life stories, Nipun highlights the importance of listening, learning on the ground, and building genuine relationships. He encourages young professionals to diversify their skills, seek out mentors, and immerse themselves in different fields to discover their passions. For Nipun, credibility and impact are built over time through thoughtful, experience-driven work that prioritizes substance over superficiality.

Guest: Nipun Prabhakar
Designation: Independent photographer, journalist, and architect, Founder - Dhammada Collective
Bio: Nipun Prabhakar is an independent photographer, journalist, and architect based in Delhi and Bhopal. He works closely with South Asian indigenous communities, documenting stories where ideas, folklore, and the built environment meet.
His photographs probe the poetics and politics of everyday life. Training in architecture shapes how he reads space and climate, which in turn guides how he photographs and designs. This dual practice lets him both observe and participate, moving between fieldwork, images, and drawings with ease.
His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Rest of World, Wallpaper Magazine, People’s Archive of Rural India, The Hindu, The Aga Khan Award for Architecture, and Google Arts & Culture. He has collaborated on research and documentation with MIT, Cornell University, IDS (UK), and the University of Michigan.
Nipun received the Berkeley Essay Prize in 2014 and was the Cornell South Asia Fellow in 2019–20 for documentary work in Nepal. In 2023, he was invited to the Royal Institute of British Architects in London to present his work and join a roundtable at their first Architecture Photography Festival.
He is the founder of Dhammada Collective, an architecture and design practice focused on community architecture, participatory design, natural building, and circular construction.
LinkedIn | Instagram | Muck Rack | Dhammada Collective - Website | Instagram
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Website: www.betterarch.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betterarch/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterarch_org/
Twitter: https://www.x.com/betterarch_org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterarch.org/
Copyright 2025 @ The Better Architecture Project.