Sangram Shirke

I am a Lecturer of Architecture with a perticular interest in understanding architecture and city making as a cultural practice. I have been a teacher at Umeå School of Architecture (UMA) since 2012 and Programme director for both Architecture and Masters programme at the department since 2020. 

I have a double degree in architecture, a Professional degree in architecture from CEPT University, India (2007) and Masters degree in Laboratory of Sustainable Architectural Production from Umeå University, Sweden (2012). My experinces in professional practice include working as a senior architect in Sri Lanka and India on several small and large scale housing, retrofitting and hospitality projects between 2006-2010 and a small stint working on small-scale urban design and housing compitition in Austria in 2012. As part of my education my research thesis 'Configurational analysis of the influence of Geoffrey Bawa on some contemporary Sri Lankan architects' looked into the socio-cultural evolution of the Sri Lankan house through typological study applying space syntax as a methodology. 

At Umeå School of Architecture, I have the experince of teaching at all levels of education. At the basic level, I have previously co-led in setting up and condcuting a community-engaged mapping and research-by-design studio in dense informal neighborhoods in India (Dharavi, Mumbai 2012-15; Ahmedabad, 2015-17) and co-led a theory-based design studio with focus on architectural production as a celebration of diversity and cosmopolitiansm in the city of Umeå. At the masters level, I have taught in studios with focus on proposing models of sustinable urban development on invitation by Swedish municipalities (Nynashamn, 2013; Sundsvall, 2014). My keen interest in practice and implementation of architectural pedagogy in reality, has led me to collaborations in design compititions with collougues and students over the years, most rewarding ones include Reinventing Dharavi Ideas Compitition by UDRI, Mumbai, (2014) that had a policy level impact on redevelopment of the informal residential and industrial area of Dharavi and WOOD 2013 compititon in design-built of small-scale bridge structure in Virserum Art Museum (2013).

For the past 3 years I have been teaching in Studio 10 for Year 4-5 (Architecture Programme) & Year 2-3 (Masters Programme) that has a focuses on the urgent and global challenge of displacement due to political unrest and climate crisis. The studio focuses on having a direct impact in real-life situations through engaging in live-projects, in collaboration with its research and local collaborators, to daily life of the marinalized local and displaced populations. This includes the live-project of a community classroom design and built on the rooftop of TIAFI community centre in Izmir. The body of work produced through education, research and practice over these years has been widely dissiminated through research projects such the New European Bauhaus's Visioner:i Norr in Skellefteå, Sweden to exhibitions locally in Izmir and globally as part of Global Free Unit residency in the Korean pavillion at Venice Biennale 2021 and British Academy Summer Showcase 2022. 

In the role of Programme director at Umeå School of Architecture, I am currently co-leading on an overall programme revision process at the department where we as a collective group of architects and educators are aiming to build an education that would better respond to the challenges, opportunities and needs of architectural profession now and in the future.