Swastik Harish is the founder and director of SHA. He is an urban development and capacity building expert with more than 24 years of experience, with expertise in land and housing for the urban poor, design and the development sector, public healthcare systems and climate change. He has worked closely with the public, private, non-profit, and academic sectors on practice, pedagogical, and research projects. His portfolio includes research and research methods, evidence-based practice and policy-making, and pedagogy for practitioners.

He was trained as an architect at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. He started his career co-founding Anagram Architects, an architecture design consultancy based in Delhi, and led and taught architecture design studios in several architecture schools. He worked independently between 2004 and 2010, providing architectural and design services to a variety of clients including art professionals, multinational manufacturing firms, and individuals, on projects that include apartments, houses, factories, and several art installations.

From 2010 to 2020, Swastik worked with the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), where for 4 years he led the Urban Practitioners’ Programme (UPP), IIHS’s capacity building and training function, the Design Lab, which focuses on architecture in the development sector, and co-led the urban housing research and practice team.