CHARU KOKATE: DESIGNING BETWEEN WORLDS

Urban architecture across Asia is going through a massive shift courtesy of Senior Partner at Safdie Architects Charu Kokate. Through iconic projects like Marina Bay Sands and Jewel Changi Airport, she weaves cultural fluency, sustainability, and human-centric design into vibrant, inclusive spaces that redefine how we connect with our cities

- Kashish Kaushal

Some buildings are built in a way that transcends the city they belong to. It doesn't matter if you belong to that city or even visited it once in your lifetime. There are some buildings that stop you in your tracks—not because they tower above the skyline or gleam with architectural bravado, but because they pulse with life. Case in point, Singapore's Jewel Changi Airport.

Travellers make it a point to reserve some time from their transit to marvel at the world's tallest indoor waterfall (130 ft) gushing through an indoor forest. To design such spaces, it is paramount that the architect realises that great structures aren't just about form following function, they are about encouraging connection. Get it right, and you create spaces that become integral to a city's identity. Get it wrong, and you've built an expensive monument to missed opportunity. Charu Kokate, Senior Partner at Safdie Architects, has made a career of getting it right.

Her work demonstrates that the most successful international projects aren't those that impose a foreign vision, but those that amplify what already exists, creating spaces that feel both unmistakably local and universally resonant. In conversation with us, she reveals how her multicultural journey has shaped her approach to design, the collaborative processes behind some of Asia's most celebrated architectural achievements, and her vision for an architecture that serves community, sustainability, and human connection. Read on to discover how one architect is helping to redefine what it means to build for a global world while staying rooted.