Sanjay Puri Architects, led by the visionary duo Sanjay and Nina Puri, is well-acclaimed and recognised as an iconic architecture and Design practice in India. This celebrated firm has etched its name within the architecture world, with an impressive array of contemporary architecture shaped by climate, culture, and deeply rooted in place.
The architect believes that design is more than aesthetics; it is about respecting and responding to the context, culture, and embracing local traditions through sustainable architecture. For a deeper look into his approach, don’t miss the upcoming PAACADEMY lecture, “Rethinking Architecture” with Sanjay Puri.
Sanjay Puri Architects’ Design Philosophy
Sanjay and Nina Puri, the visionary duo behind ‘Sanjay Puri Architects,’ lead a globally acclaimed and renowned practice celebrated for its dynamic and diverse portfolio. From residences and retail to offices, hospitality, education, and entertainment, their contemporary designs stand out for clean lines, innovative concepts, and a rich material palette.
At the heart of their design philosophy lies the creation of socially interactive spaces that foster human connection and interaction. Under their leadership, the firm has garnered global recognition, with award-winning projects that continue to redefine culturally responsive architecture.
For Sanjay Puri, the design journey and process always begin with a sketch, a timeless method of translating ideas more effectively than software. These sketches evolve into models that deeply study the site and client needs, ensuring every project is contextual, unique, and never repetitive. Sustainability is seamlessly woven into their practice, with energy-efficient buildings designed in harmony with sun, wind, and site conditions.
Their work strikes a balance between functionality and artistry, ensuring that every design feels both timeless and fresh. This ability to blend global vision with local context has made them one of the most respected names in contemporary architecture.
Here are 10 notable projects by Sanjay Puri Architects;
1. Screen 504, Udaipur – India
Location: Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
Typology: Residential
Completed: 2025
The Screen 504, a striking 21-storey apartment tower in Udaipur by Sanjay Puri Architects, houses 78 thoughtfully designed homes inspired by the region’s traditional architecture. Designed as an energy-efficient response to its context, each level accommodates four spacious apartments with four bedrooms and living areas, positioned to capture views of the surrounding hills from two sides. Despite the site constraints and height regulations, the design maximizes natural light, ventilation, and external views while keeping circulation spaces to a minimum.
In this region, traditional architecture often uses screened balconies to combat summer heat, and The Screen 504 reinterprets this with striking patterned façades that reduce heat gain while adding cultural character. Each level features four spacious apartments in quadrants with dual hill views, while sustainability is woven in through rainwater harvesting, fly ash brick walls, local sandstone, and landscaped areas. Integrated with community spaces, including gyms, swimming pools, community halls, and game rooms, roof terrace gardens are planned in the apartments.
2. The Street, Mathura – India
Location: Mathura, India
Typology: Collective Housing
Completed: 2017
The Street is taking cues from old city streets of India’s historic downtown Mathura, where the site is located. The idea is to generate streets and lanes between the hostel blocks, giving each block. The student hostel projects are designed as part of the GLA University campus in Mathura (Uttar Pradesh). The 800-room, student hostel creates organic spaces that tie and stimulate the characteristics of the urban environment.
Housing hostel rooms along with common facilities, including cafeterias, game rooms, gymnasiums, etc. The contextual responsive architecture features the orientation of all buildings to the north for maximum sunlight absorption with a view to generating a north-facing garden and overlooking a vast playground.
Designed as five linear blocks rising four levels across a wedge-shaped site, the hostel twists and turns to break monotony and create an organic flow. The linear building zoning generates lively squares and breathing spaces, with smaller pockets that enhance internal circulation and inviting natural light. The climatic and environmental strategies include wedge-shaped bay windows that face the playground and north, while distinctive corridor openings ensure cross ventilation.
Rainwater harvesting, water recycling, and solar panels further boost sustainability, making the building energy-efficient and climate responsive, and a model for environmentally attuned campus architecture.
3. Excellenseaa 126 By Happy Homes, Surat – India
Location: Surat, Gujarat, India
Typology: Housing, Apartments
Completed: 2020
Excellenseaa 126 in Surat embodies a perfect blend of luxury and sustainability, shaped by Sanjay Puri’s design philosophy of “creating spaces that engage people holistically and foster social interaction.” Comprising 126 apartments spread across six buildings, the project is designed to minimize its carbon footprint and enhance the site’s microclimate. The buildings are designed along the perimeter, creating a vibrant central courtyard, serving as the community’s heart, and nurturing meaningful social connections. This thoughtful design not only elevates everyday living but also creates a lasting model for sustainable urban housing.
The site is designed to be pedestrian-friendly, with vehicular movement restricted to the periphery, ensuring safe and vibrant open walkable spaces. Each building welcomes residents with an 11-metre-high entrance lobby, setting a grand tone before leading into just two apartments per floor, planned for abundant sunlight and cross ventilation. The residences come in three sizes (750, 850, and 950 square metres), each featuring cantilevered balconies, expansive living areas, five bedrooms, a study, a gym, a home theatre, and office space.
At the ground level, the complex transforms into a vibrant community hub with a temple, children’s play zones, outdoor courts, life-size games, an amphitheatre, and landscaped gardens with angular planes, complemented by a partially subterranean recreational club and sports facilities.
4. Aria Resort & Spa, Nasik – India
Location: Nashik, India
Typology: Hospitality, Hotels
Completed: 2020
Sitting on a gently rising site that slopes 9 metres from north to south, the Aria Hotel is nestled in India’s wine-growing region. The site, with the north opening to sweeping views of the river, distant hills, and the south merging into the rising terrain, the design responds intimately to its contours by blending with the landscape, climate, and natural materials to craft a series of unique spatial experiences.
Alongside 60 rooms and leisure amenities, according to the clients’ requirements, the hotel features a grand 15,000 sq. ft. banquet hall, strategically placed at the site’s lowest edge for direct access from the main road to host large gatherings with ease.
The hotel offers a blend and a variety of private and public facilities, from elegant rooms to lively restaurants, bars, a spa, business centres, and banquet halls. Its bold design features rectilinear terracotta cuboids angled to frame balconies against striking black basalt walls, with rooms elevated to capture sweeping views of the river to the north and hills to the south. All circulation within the site is naturally lit and ventilated, creating a distinctive energy-efficient building.
From utilizing natural black basalt stone for more than 50% of the walls, all sourced from the site’s proximity, to solar panels on the rooftop over the banquet kitchen and parking spaces, generating fifty percent of the hotel’s requirement. Rainwater harvesting tanks with water recycling and reuse further add to the sustainable methods.
5. The Interstellar Offices, Ahmedabad – India
Location: Ahmedabad, India
Typology: Offices
Completed: 2022
The Interstellar, designed by Sanjay Puri Architects, situated in Ahmedabad, is a unique office architecture composed of a rectilinear composition interspersed by landscape spaces, creating this unique form. The unique retail and office building is situated in Ahmedabad’s emerging and centrally located business district. The design, in addition, has been cognizant of the city’s climate, segregating retail and office spaces and focusing on creating a responsive architecture. The three levels of retail spaces are situated on the frontage of the site along the arterial 30 metres wide road with sheltered arcades.
The architecture of the building has been designed for maximum energy efficiency, featuring bold vertical sunbreakers and screen walls. Extensive landscaped spaces are seamlessly integrated with the architecture and sustainable elements, including solar panels and water recycling considerations, creating a self-sustainable architecture.
This self-sustaining mixed-use design minimizes air-conditioning needs while placing retail at the street frontage and stepping back-office spaces above, creating lush landscaped terraces. The large elevated terrace doubles as a vibrant community hub, with shaded seating and greenery offering a refreshing breather for office users.
6. Mirai House of Arches, Bhilwara – India
Location: Bhilwara, India
Typology: House
Completed: 2022
The Mirai House of Arches is a distinctive and dynamic architecture designed on a small 622 square metre area, a corner plot of a residential villa. The plot location, the southern and eastern sides with minimum open spaces with adjacent villas, while the northern and western sides front a road junction. Sitting in a climatic setting of the hot desert climate of Rajasthan, the Mirai is a contextual house in response to the climate and context. The characteristic sculptural house with a terracotta-toned façade is designed contextually, considering climate, the client’s requirements, resulting in architecture with an interesting play of volumes.
The villa is a bold interplay of volumes – with open, enclosed, and semi-enclosed spaces to create dramatic spatial experiences across three levels. Designed as an energy-efficient building for a three-generation family, it houses four bedrooms, two living rooms, a gym, and a study, with varied volumes that range from intimate single-height bedrooms to double-height dining and 1.5-level living spaces.
Its curvilinear punctured façade envelopes the home, carving out green pockets and semi-open zones that reduce heat gain while enhancing light and airflow. Built in collaboration with local craftsmen using bricks, sandstone, and lime plaster sourced nearby, the design embraces sustainability through rainwater harvesting and solar energy.
7. Studios 90, Kodla – India
Location: Kodla, India
Typology: Residential, Apartments
Completed: 2022
India is a country known for its vivid use of colors for festivals and traditions everywhere. The project vividly features three primary colors- red, blue, and yellow that highlight the cantilevered balconies. The bold composition of bright coloured cantilevered cuboid balconies creates a sculptural residential project amidst Kodla. Each room is designed with balconies, creating an identity and also enhancing the architecture of the structure. The unique feature of the building is its sustainable and economical design that emphasizes natural ventilation and natural sunlight, making it a very energy-efficient apartment complex.
The design brief for these mid-rise buildings was to create studio apartments, a hostel, and a guest house to house the working people of a new cement plant. Each room is designed and oriented towards the north as a climate-responsive feature against the hot climate of Kodla. The complex includes 18 studios, 54 hostel rooms, and 18 guest rooms arranged in 4- and 5-level blocks, all oriented north to reduce heat gain and open to views of the landscape and playground.
Designed along with facilities such as a cafeteria, game rooms, a lounge, and a gym, housed on the ground level. From fly ash brick construction and rainwater harvesting to water recycling and shaded spaces, make it an energy-efficient response to site and climate.
8. Zen Spaces, Jaipur – India
Location: Jaipur, India
Typology: Houses
Completed: 2023
The Zen Spaces by Sanjay Puri Architects is a distinctive architecture that blurs the lines between the interiors and the outdoor space. The 4-level residence located in Jaipur spans across 27,000 square feet. Situated on a corner plot with a road on 3 sides, the clients wanted a new house for their family to grow. The building integrates existing landscape and dynamic screens that allow filtered sunlight in distinctive ways within each space.
The screened volumes of the façade, light, and shadow are transforming differently at different times. The new home is designed in the extreme northern end, with their existing house located on the southern side.
Thoughtfully designed architecture weaves around existing trees, with cuboid volumes arranged around a vibrant central courtyard that brings in light and ventilation. The house’s design integrates courtyards, GFRC screens, indirect natural lighting, and natural ventilation, making it an extremely energy-efficient house. A sunken courtyard brightens the subterranean level with a gym and lounges, while common spaces, a winter deck, and an upper-level multipurpose room with terrace flow seamlessly around the green spine.
Designed as a simple RCC structure with fly-ash brick walls and sustainable methods like rainwater harvesting, recycling, and solar heating, its muted grey interiors, custom furniture, and a central pooja room complete the serene design.
9. Stellar, Ahmedabad – India
Location: Ahmedabad, India
Typology: Work Spaces
Completed: 2019
The Stellar is a 110-metre-long building with a dynamic rectilinear composition, creating the office spaces into landscaped terraces. It is a commercial building designed with a specific brief composed of retail spaces on the lower levels (3 levels) and office spaces on the upper levels (4 levels). Small angular office spaces are located on the upper levels, with 30% of offices opening onto the landscaped spaces. The client clearly wanted 500 square metres of discernible office spaces, characterised by bold and dynamic angular folded plate enveloping the office spaces.
This office and retail building is designed contextually to the site’s climate and location, which blends seamlessly. The characterised angular folded plate, created with rust-red coloured solid aluminium sheets, was deliberately designed in contrast with the rest of the building, creating an interesting juxtaposition of colour, volume, and geometry, creating an individual identity to the architecture. The muted lower-level contract to the complex bright geometry creates a unique composition.
Large openings towards the northern side and smaller recessed windows on the southern side, reducing heat gain considerably to tackle the high temperature of Ahmedabad.
10. The Rajasthan School, Ahmedabad – India
Location: Rajasthan, India
Typology: School
Completed: 2020
The Rajasthan School, a bright and bold architecture, imbues the organic character of Indian villages and old cities in India. The low-rise 3-level architecture is designed with open, enclosed, and semi-enclosed spaces with varying volumes. The southern side of the plot is designed with an auditorium, primary school, and administration spaces opening into large sheltered spaces, and the north area with secondary school classrooms, library, and cafeterias. All the school’s classrooms are placed thoughtfully, oriented towards the north direction to absorb the indirect sunlight.
The school’s organic design gives each space a unique character, with open and closed volumes oriented to capture distinct views while responding to Rajasthan’s hot climate. The two zones of the school are related to a semi-sheltered courtyard, creating multiple angular paths with landscape play spaces that foster engagement and social connections. Semi-sheltered courtyards and angular landscaped pathways create playful, social connections, while open, ventilated corridors lead to a multipurpose playground and athletics track.
The façade mass is broken by a series of linear trapezoidal frames and sun breakers, creating an interplay of light and shadow depending on the sun’s direction. The trapezoidal frames and sun breakers on the façade cast dynamic patterns of light and shadow.
5 Projects on the Horizon by Sanjay Puri Architects:
1. The Prestige University, Indore – India
Location: Indore, India
Typology: Education, University
Completed: Yet to Completion
Sanjay Puri Architects has designed a new building for the Prestige University in Indore, with unique stepped green terraces that blend seamlessly with the landscape. The 100 Acre campus with various spaces is currently under construction.
2. Shiva Museum, Jaipur – India
Location: Jaipur, India
Typology: Community, Temples
Completed: Yet to Initiate
Located in Jaipur City of Rajasthan, the design takes cognizance of the requirements, a contextual building for the community, with climate, locally available materials, and existing temple location were considered for creating the responsive architecture.
3. Learning Curves, Raipur – India
Location: Raipur, India
Typology: Education
Completed: Design Board
The characteristic organic flowing architecture is interspersed with small open courtyards situated along the site perimeter, creating large focal pen gardens and playgrounds.
4. Emami Club, Kolkata – India
Location: Raipur, India
Typology: Retail and Entertainment
Completed: 2026
An enormous organic architectural volume integrated with landscaped spaces designed as a part of the 450-gated community of villas.
5. WA Vivanta, Gujarat – India
Location: Navsari, Gujarat, India
Typology: Hospitality and Recreation
Completed: Yet to Initiate
WA Vivanta is a recreational club & Hotel that weaves across the site in the east-west orientation, spanning 51,380 square metres in Navsari (Gujarat), India.
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