Sahiba Chadha
Partner
For Sahiba, a holistic approach leads to the most humane and beautiful design for people and the planet. She feels the delight of practising architecture lies in listening and responding to the unique perspectives of each client and project. Having been with the studio for over a decade, Sahiba is a keen purveyor of the cooperative spirit, which she believes helps us to work in a productive and meaningful way. As Sustainability Manager for the last five years, she has aimed to foster connections with sustainable business networks, as well as encourage our studio to push beyond best practice in its local and global impact.
Sahiba is devoted to improving social mobility and working towards a truly equitable industry, working with Open City to deliver Accelerate, a widening participation programme for students from non-traditional backgrounds. In daily life, she enjoys challenging herself to greener lifestyle choices, championing everyday cycling, attempting to follow the four paths of yoga and the odd foray into the wider arts, most recently as a novice podcaster.
Project Experience
Exemplar gardening for our changing climate
The relevance of RHS Hyde Hall’s Dry Garden seems to grow year on year. Our design for their new restaurant, education space and events complex perches above the garden. It has unlocked new aspects over this rich and beautiful collection of planting suited to a drier or more arid climate, set against a panorama of the rolling Essex countryside.
Around the new buildings are little moments of domestic planting inspiration, designed to be replicable at home.
Pushing out for nature, pulling in for light
Inside this new home in Amersham, named Push-Pull House, a family are finally able to play out the daily life they’ve always wanted: naturally lit, connected to their leafy, mature garden and surrounded by the warmth of an exposed timber structure.
It wasn’t always this way; a fiercely protected notion of the suburban home had to be navigated first through the planning system.
Diverse designers = inclusive built environment
A huge part of architectural design, regardless of scale, is developing an understanding of how people live, and how a thoughtful intervention might enhance this.
To design cities, buildings and spaces that correctly interpret the needs of a diverse society we need an equal diversity of designers. One way of affecting meaningful change in our industry is by supporting widening participation programmes, such as Open City’s Accelerate into University.