I’ve found myself returning to the same themes for many years.
My exploration has led me through engineering, natural building, ecology, experiential education and contemplative practice. Each became another perspective from which to explore the processes that shape the outcomes I care about—healthy landscapes, thoughtful buildings, resilient communities and meaningful work - and each revealed connections I hadn’t noticed before.
Over time, one idea has quietly held those experiences together.
Many of the challenges we face are not simply technical problems waiting for technical solutions. They are questions of relationship: between people and places, between work and rest, between tradition and innovation, between ourselves and the landscapes we inhabit.
What if architecture is not the design of objects and buildings and even the idea of “place”, but the design of relationships?
This gradually shifted my attention from designing outcomes towards cultivating the conditions from which they emerge. Whether working with a landscape, a team, a material or a building, I am intrigued by circumstances that support long-term care, skilled craftsmanship, shared understanding and ecological reciprocity. These are qualities that cannot be designed directly, but they can be carefully cultivated.
While the work itself continues to change, the underlying practice rarely does: noticing relationships, and designing for the conditions that allow life to flourish.
Laya is simply the current expression of that ongoing exploration.
Founder,
Surya Nimmagadda
- MEng. (Hons) - Structural Engineering with Architecture - University of Edinburgh
- 1 year course in Natural Design and Contemplative Architecture from Dharmalaya Institute
- 1 year as a Carpenter’s apprentice.
- 2 years as a Mason’s apprentice.
- Drink every time you hear him say “best practice” (please don’t)
- Imagines things in 3D by walking around silently interacting with imaginary objects on site.
- Hates all digital tree assets.
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