Sonali Rastogi

Morphogenesis / Co-Founding Partner

Sonali Rastogi commenced her architecture studies at the School of Planning and Architecture (New Delhi) and the Architectural Association (London) with a graduate diploma in Housing and Urbanism under Jorge Fiori and a second graduate diploma in Graduate Design (Design Research Lab) under Jeff Kipnis. She is the Co-Founding Partner at Morphogenesis, one of India’s leading Architecture and Urban Design practices, listed among the top 100 architectural firms globally.

Sonali has worked across a diverse canvas ranging from architecture to urban design, landscape, interior design, and art & sculpture. Her professional portfolio includes several significant institutions, residences, hotels, commercial buildings, residential complexes, and Smart Cities across India, Bhutan, South Africa, Nepal, Bangladesh, The UAE, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. She believes that each project must establish itself as a benchmark for innovative design by thinking systemically about sustainability to create a large-scale impact. This has resulted in the formulation of Morphogenesis’ copyrighted design philosophy S.O.U. L©, an acronym for Sustainable, Optimised, Unique, and Liveable. These parameters define the inquiry process that shapes the architecture of Morphogenesis, and this has conservatively resulted in:

Gross area of sustainable buildings completed: 50,000,000 sq.ft.

Freshwater saved: 22 billion litres

Energy saved: 4.1 million kW/hr

Reduction in CO2 emissions: 4.2 billion kg

Over 9 million sq.m. of built environment benefitting over 5,60,000 inhabitants

Since 2018, Sonali has added sustaining arts and crafts communities and mainstreaming them as her next 10 years’ agenda.

Sonali has had a significant influence on the emerging generation of Indian architects through her involvement in architectural education and as a role model for the profession. She is a leading speaker on Sustainable Architecture and has lectured at numerous reputed universities and conferences worldwide. Sonali is also a prolific design author and has co-authored Morphogenesis’ first monograph ‘Morphogenesis: The Indian Perspective, The Global Context,’ published by Images Australia under their Master Architect Series. Her works have been featured in over 850 national and international publications.

She has brought significant attention to gender issues. Today, Morphogenesis is an exemplar of the profession for equal opportunity and gender pay parity. A strong proponent of the ‘arts and crafts,’ Sonali is a founder of Manthan, a platform for creative individuals seeking to share, discuss, engage with, and evolve concepts and ideologies. She has been actively engaged in creating conversations around stories of untold monuments and sites of India through the ILF (India Lost & Found) initiative.

Sonali’s deep interest in research work and public policy has further extended her commitment to cultural and environmental sustainability. She has been a member of the Delhi Urban Arts Commission (2014-2020), a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Architects, Royal Society of Arts, UK, and A Chartered Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Furthermore, she has also been the Gallently Dickson visiting scholar at the University of BATH.

Her vision of positioning Indian contemporary architecture onto a global platform has been recognised with the highest honours. She is the recipient of over 110 international and national awards, including India’s first World Architecture Festival award and 5 Indian Institute of Architects Awards. She and her partner Manit are the only Indian Laureates of the Singapore Institute of Architects Getz Award for their significant contribution to shaping Asia’s changing landscape