South Asian Heritage Month is celebrated annually between July/August (18 July to 17 August 2025), and is an opportunity to celebrate South Asian cultures, histories, and communities. This year鈥檚 theme is 鈥� exploring the unique stories that help shape who we are today.
Roots to Routes open call
鈥淓ach of us carries a unique story shaped by our roots and the routes travelled to get to where we are. This year, the invitation is to reflect on your journey whether from ancestral origins to the paths you鈥檝e taken, or something much more recent, and how these experiences shape your identity today.鈥�
This year, we're looking to share the diverse pathways in which South Asian architects have entered the profession. If you are an architect, or architecture student, and of South Asian heritage, we want to hear your story.
In approximately 250 to 500 words, tell us:
- What inspired you to join the built profession
- What did your journey into the profession look like? (Education, alternative work placement practice, etc.)
- Is there anything specific you would like to share about your cultural background and how it helps to shape your practice/design?
Please send your submissions to inclusionanddiversity@riba.org and include your name and practice/school if you wish to share. Any information that is sent to us will be considered approved for publication on our website and across social media channels.
Closing date: 11 August 2025
Blogs and resources
What architecture can learn from South Asian culture
In this professional feature, learn about the concept of sev膩 (or sadaqa) and how it underpins some South Asian architects鈥� approaches to design.
鈥楥ommunity architecture鈥� as an emerging role for design professionals
Suhailey Farzana, a community architect in Bangladesh, discusses her process of 鈥榗o-creation鈥� with local communities and what architects can learn from Bangladesh鈥檚 recent protest movement.
'Only when you become comfortable with uncertainty can you innovate and evolve'
Director of DesignAware, Takbir Fatima, reflects on her creative and entrepreneurial journey.
Remembering Minnette de Silva: the architect in a sari
Sumita Singha OBE explores the contributions made by Sri Lankan architect, Minnette de Silva, to the built environment and gender equality.
Areesha Khalid channels memories via 'Diaspora Digest', an imagined magazine cover to create impact and cultural candour, earning her a commendation in RIBAJ's Eye Line drawing competition 2021.
RIBA Books reading list
These titles have been curated by the RIBA Books team and cover themes around South Asian architecture, history, and design culture.
Explore the history of Modernism in India, a living testament to the original modernist belief - architecture as the manifest union of technology, aesthetics, and social reform.
This book captures some of the diversity inherent in premodern Indian traditions of civic building and the history of building in early India.
This book presents a curated selection of Balkrishna Doshi鈥檚 exceptional writings since the 1950s.
<figure><iframe width="100%" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JvKV-c5RvUo?si=WF-SCK15mkbxjkpR" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe><figcaption>Balkrishna Doshi鈥檚 Royal Gold Medal 2022 award film</figcaption></figure>
A rich exploration of the extraordinary life and work of celebrated architect Yasmeen Lari.
<figure><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/85nDCxBxJiw?si=WozLIUCIM3FtUpo4" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe><figcaption>Yasmeen Lari鈥檚 Royal Gold Medal 2023 award film</figcaption></figure>
A practical guide for students and architects which explores the history of women in architecture and examines how the profession can better serve women in future.
A guide to understanding and addressing colonial inheritances in the built environment.
This lavishly illustrated 'atlas' celebrates over 90 queer spaces across the world.
A flagship reference for women's contribution to architecture, offering inspiration to readers through 100 profiles.
