Alankriti Gopinatha (She/Her)
Architect . Urban Practitioner . Researcher. LEED GA
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Professional Summary
Urban planner, designer and architect with a focus on housing justice, inclusive planning, and climate-responsive development. Skilled in leading residential projects, co-producing housing typologies for communities, and facilitating participatory design processes. Brings a critical, community-rooted approach to urban practice, combining design, policy thinking, and research to shape equitable and context-sensitive environments.
Education
The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London
MSc Building and Urban Design in Development
2024-2025
The MSc program explores the role of design in shaping socially just urban futures. The program integrates critical urban theory with spatial practice, focusing on participatory design. Through interdisciplinary studios and research, I developed tools to engage with urban inequality, spatial justice, and community-led development.
Manipal School of Architecture & Planning, Manipal Academy of Higher Education
B.Arch- Bachelor of Architecture
2018-2023
The B.Arch program provided a strong foundation in spatial design, technical drawing, and urban theory. My academic focus included gender-sensitive design, housing systems, and cultural heritage conservation. Studio work, combined with critical research shaped my interest in socially responsive and context-driven architectural practice.
Work Experience
Female Architects of Minority Ethnic Collective (FAME Collective)
Volunteer Social Media & Research Communications Support
Sep 2025 - ongoing
Support the communications of a research-based collective examining racial, gender and intersectional barriers experienced by women from minority ethnic backgrounds in architectural education and practice. FAME’s participatory research centres lived-experience narratives to challenge systemic inequities and support a more inclusive profession.
Rhythm of Space Design Studio
Intern Architect
Jul 2022 - Nov 2022
Worked on interior design for commercial projects and architectural layouts for government projects, focusing on spatial planning and material detailing. Gained hands-on experience in detail drafting and improved 3D modelling and rendering skills using design software.
Samar Ramachandra Associates
Jr. Architect
Jul 2023 - Jun 2024
Intern Architect
Jan 2023 - Apr 2024
Led the design and execution of four major residential projects, supporting several others through detailed drawings, renders, and site coordination. Collaborated closely with engineers and project teams from concept to completion, while gaining exposure to cost estimation and structural documentation.
Contributed to SRA-Edu forums that explored architectural responses to pressing social issues through dialogue and creative exchange. Developed a rural regeneration proposal rooted in permaculture principles and conducted a policy feasibility assessment for the same.
Thisai
Volunteer Urban Researcher
Aug 2025 - ongoing
Co-developing an innovative, community-focused urban planning card game in partnership with THISAI, engaging in collaborative concept design, playtesting, and stakeholder outreach to educate diverse audiences on inclusive planning and decision-making
Foster + Partners
Urban Design Assistant
Feb 2026 - Apr 2026
Supported research and early-stage urban design work for projects involving high streets, local centres and public realm place-making, considering local character, movement, land use, demographics, heritage and development context.
Research and Focus Areas
Culture and heritage
conservation studies
​Raised in India, I’ve long been aware of the tensions between history, culture, and the evolving urban fabric. My work explores how cultural heritage, embedded not just in architecture but in people, practices, and place can inform context-sensitive design and foster belonging and care in cities.
Gender perspectives in
navigating urban fabric
Research on transgender experiences in public space and the gendered polices of care in urban informality highlighted how design often overlooks marginalised users. I’m interested in gender-sensitive approaches that foster more just and inclusive cities.
Housing as strategic entry point to urban transformation
As countries urbanise and globalise, housing is often reduced to a commodity measured by efficiency and square footage. I’m passionate about reframing it as a tool that shapes the urban realm’s social, political, spatial dynamics and a key entry point to addressing inequality.
Sustainable and climate adaptive strategies for growing mega cities
My interest stems from the global urban crisis marked by sprawl, resource depletion, and degradation in mega cities. Rethinking energy-efficient infrastructure and adaptive planning is how I explore sustainable strategies can be locally grounded yet address systemic challenges.