DesignAware

DesignAware is an inter-disciplinary experimental design and architecture studio that was born of a desire to create awareness through liveable, wearable, usable, accessible and responsible design. Situated in Hyderabad and Dubai, the studio focuses on process-oriented design, and their projects range from lighting to furniture, interior design to renovation, and residential, commercial and institutional architecture, as well as socially-relevant projects, such as a school for students of disadvantaged backgrounds in the heritage zone of the Golconda Fort in Hyderabad.

In a non-profit endeavor, DesignAware successfully raised partial funds and contributions to build the context-sensitive school on a tight budget through the social media crowdfunding campaign, #MakeProgressPossible. The school design won A’Design Award 2018, was declared Platinum Winner of Architecture Ideas 3.0 at the Festival of Architecture and Interior Design (FOAID) 2017, and a Special Mention in projects Responding to the Demands of Context and Community on The Merit List 2019. The project was awarded the Silver green building certification by the Indian Green Building Council at the Green Building Congress 2018, and is visited by architecture students from colleges across India.

Takbir Fatima is the Director of DesignAware, and is an architect and educator. She is passionate about design research, digital prototyping, teaching and figuring out how things are made, and aims to balance teaching, research and practice. Takbir was awarded the Telangana Young Architect Award by the Indian Institute of Architects in 2016. She was also recognized as Emerging Architect of the Year by NDTV Design & Architecture Awards 2016. Takbir was an invited speaker at TEDxBITSHyderabad in 2017. Takbir was included in the annual selection of 50 emerging Indian architects and designers, iGen 50 in 2019.

DesignAware’s design awareness and education initiative, the Fractals Workshop is a generative design workshop for students and professionals from all backgrounds, taught by Takbir. This hands-on workshop combines design, structure, art, mathematics and computation. Since 2011, the workshop has been to various cities in India, UAE, Bahrain and Qatar. The workshop was also an official part of Dubai Design Week 2018 and Hyderabad Design Week and the World Design Assembly 2019.

Takbir has a BArch from CSIIT School of Architecture + Planning, Secunderabad (affiliated to JNAFAU, Hyderabad), and an MArch in Architecture + Urbanism from the Design Research Lab at the Architectural Association (AA) School of Architecture in London. She is also 2016 a fellow of the Startup Leadership Program.

Asna Moazzam is an Associate Architect and heads the Dubai studio of DesignAware, and is passionate about sustainability and responsible design. She is also Founder of the sustainability initiative, ard, which carries out extensive research on building materials and traditional technology of the Emirati desert. Asna has successfully led a design project towards an ESTIDAMA Green Building rating for a government entity in Abu Dhabi. She has been invited to present several DesignAware projects to UAE planning authorities and is working with the Government of UAE to realize urban initiatives. Asna has also been invited to be a speaker at TEDxDubai in November 2019.

Asna has a BArch from SV College of Architecture, Cyberabad (affiliated to JNAFAU, Hyderabad). She is a Member of the Emirates Green Building Council and PBRS certified by the Urban Planning Council of Abu Dhabi.

Abeer Fatima is the Lead Interior Designer of DesignAware and CEO of the signature wearables brand, Eclipse. She has a BDes in Interior Design from Raffles College of Design & Commerce. Abeer is passionate about accessible and universal design and her Major Studio Project was the design of an accessible children’s library on a live site. Abeer is also experienced in project management and execution and has led the design + build team on various projects, including a micro-mosque in Masab Tank, Hyderabad, and the revival of Hyderabad’s favourite ice-creamery, Melting Moments. The project was featured in notable publications such as Design Detail magazine, was exhibited at the Dubai Design & Fashion Council during Dubai Design Week 2018 and was declared Platinum Winner of Architecture Ideas 5.0 at the Festival of Architecture and Interior Design (FOAID) 2019. Abeer was named Surface’s Reporter magazine’s Rising Star in September 2017.

Abeer has been accepted to the University of the Arts, London for an MA in Interior Spatial Design with a scholarship and plans to attend in 2020.