ARCHITECTURE / DESIGN / RESEARCH /

ARCHITECTURE / DESIGN / RESEARCH /

Meherzad Shroff

An architectural practitioner, researcher, and educator based in Adelaide, Australia. He founded Archispora.Studio in 2017. He has a Ph.D in Architecture which focuses on Adaptive Reuse and Intangible Heritage. He also holds a position as a Sessional Lecturer and Tutor at the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Adelaide.

Over the past decade, Meherzad has been involved in designing and curating several exhibitions on the history of architecture and the built environment. Most recently his work was exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023 where he designed the ‘Country Demapped’ element for the Australian Pavilion based on an interpretive graphic mapping of Queenstown in Tasmania.

Meherzad’s spatial practice seeks to unite the concerns of culture and sustainability in architecture. It thus explores aspects of intangible heritage, construction history, design research, material sustainability and digital fabrication — continuously strives to push the boundaries of architectural innovation as well as cultural production and preservation. CV

Archispora.Studio

The studio seeks to achieve an interplay between techne and tectonic. Techne represents cutting-edge technologies, digital tools, and design research that inform the making of new architectural concepts, where the practical application of knowledge is realised through spatial practice. In parallel, the studio prioritises tectonic principles and craftsmanship, grounded in a deep engagement with construction history. This dual approach positions architecture as a cultural practice capable of expressing identity and heritage through the poetics of construction.

Within the studio’s practice, architecture extends beyond physical space to foster a sense of belonging, bridge communities, and preserve cultural heritage through spatial experiences and effects. A reframed understanding of diaspora underpins an exploration of relationships between people, cultures, and spaces across geographical and political boundaries. Archispora.Studio embraces the diversity of diasporic communities, forging connections to cultural origins through architectural and spatial practice while cultivating identity and belonging within adopted contexts. Here, “architecture becomes a method” for cultural and spatial production, strengthening the agency of architectural theory through cultural studies and critical inquiry.

The studio’s portfolio reflects a commitment to architectural heritage, sustainability, material reuse and their narratives, and user agency, deploying these strategies through technology alongside architectural history, theory, and production. The work in architecture, design, and research spans various building typologies and media, including the design of interpretive structures, exhibitions, sustainability advocacy and consultation, and the documentation of existing and future spatial conditions.

¹ Scriver, P., Srivastava, A. & Lu, D. (2018), ‘Re-Asia: Architecture as Tactic’, Architectural Theory Review, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 301–308.

ABN: 21 565 700 340