Sourabh
Maheshwary

Sourabh Maheshwary is currently working at HOK, San Francisco, as an architectural designer. He does research on complex geometrical optimizations and designing living materials as a part-time researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, alongside Prof. Maria Paz Guiterrez.

In May 2022, he graduated from UC Berkeley with a Master of Advanced Architecture and Design. The studio investigated California bullrush, also known as tule, and constructed a pavilion out of it, planning to utilize it in 2071 for extreme habitat conditions. Tule is essentially grass that grows very quickly, is lightweight, and improves air quality. It is found in Northern America and Central Europe. Numerous honours were bestowed upon the studio, including the coveted DETAIL Magazine and AIA East Bay awards.

He worked as a research assistant for the Singapore University of Technology and Design's Architectural Intelligence Research Lab (AIR LAB) prior to earning his master's degree. Over the course of three years, he participated in spectacular and one-of-a-kind research-based pavilions there. These projects included the design and construction of lightweight structures, interactive installations, and the use of 3D printing in architecture. The projects published research papers at renowned conferences and received numerous notable honours from around the world, including the Good Design Award, the German Design Award, and the President Award - Singapore (P*DA). 

He has taken an active role in research to combat climate change. In the Indian Himalayan area of Ladakh, one such effort intends to seed artificial glaciers and stop the melting of glaciers. The manmade ice reservoirs employ zero energy methods to store water in the form of ice in nature to supply water to mountain settlements experiencing drought due to glacier melt. A paper highlighting the value of artificial glaciers in the battle against climate change was published in Nature Journal.