Bijoy Jain

Jain trained as an architect at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri (USA), and went on to work with Richard Meier in Los Angeles and London before returning to India in 1995, where he founded Studio Mumbai. His work cleverly combines the traditions of Indian artisans with contemporary techniques, and he is known for his particular attention to local materials and climactic conditions. The result is spaces that are in active dialogue with their environments, reflecting the inherent importance of the genius loci, or spirit of place. Whether in his work with furniture or architecture, Jain emphasizes an economy of means, born of the realities of limited resources, and advocates for an architecture that validates the human element, all the while integrating a collaborative approach that involves the skills of local artisans and workers as well as the community in the process of architectural creation.

Jain's work has been widely shown and recognised. He participated in the Venice Biennale in 2010 and 2013, and has been the recipient of many awards, including the Alvar Aalto medal in 2020. He teaches at the Accademia di Architettura, and the Università della Svizzera Italiana de Mendrisio in Switzerland, as well as being a visiting professor at Yale University, and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. In 2024, the Fondation Cartier presented Le souffle de l’architecte Breath of an Architect, an exhibition especially created for the foundation by Jain.