Prof Ruchie Kothari, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, is an educator, environmental consultant and architect working at the intersection of climate action and the built environment. At Anant, she is building an integrated ecosystem to mainstream climate education through studios, technology courses, live-projects and research initiatives. Her focus is clear: move architecture toward data-driven, evidence-based and performance-led design that creates measurable on-ground impact.

Previously, Prof Kothari served as Joint Director- Academics and later Director- Academics at the Anant Fellowship in Sustainability and Built Environment. In this role, she led curriculum development and academic strategy, oversaw operations, managed institutional processes and supported outreach and admissions. She also launched the MSc in Sustainability in the Built Environment, a research and design-focused extension to the postgraduate fellowship diploma programme. Earlier, she developed and taught Innovation and Design at B.D. Somani International School. She integrated the MYP curriculum with the UN Sustainable Development Goals through problem-based and maker-centred pedagogy.

Before academia, she practised as an environmental consultant on high-performance buildings, green infrastructure and urban sustainability projects. As Project Manager for the Building Energy Modelling and Advisory Project, under the Indo-Swiss Fairconditioning Programme, she led a national capacity-building initiative to advance energy-efficient design practices among architects and engineers.

Today, her work centres on shaping the next generation of architects to think systemically, design responsibly and act with measurable climate accountability.

Prof Kothari holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the Academy of Architecture (Rachana Sansad), Mumbai and a Master of Science in Sustainable Design from Carnegie Mellon University. She is an alumna of the Global Shaper network, a World Economic Forum initiative, a Climate Reality Leader and an Anant Fellow for Climate Action.