Studio Naqshbandi is an architectural studio located in the Auroville community, founded by Mona Doctor-Pingel in 1995. The studio is rooted in the community's essence and philosophy, offering a holistic approach to building science through the use of biologically optimized and environmentally friendly building technologies, rooted in the local climatic and cultural context.
After graduating with a degree in Architecture from the School of Architecture at CEPT University in Ahmedabad, Mona worked in Auroville for two years with German architect Poppo Pingel, before moving to Germany to pursue a Master's degree in Appropriate Technology as a DAAD scholar. There, she became familiar with Baubiologie (Building Biology), the science of holistic interactions between life and the environment. She also had the opportunity to learn earth dome construction techniques from renowned German architect Gernot Minke.
Working simultaneously with architecture, interior design, and landscaping in each project allows the studio team to enrich the sensorial experience through the built form and create a space that responds to the environment, incorporating nature and a sense of well-being. She is the author of two books on the works of Poppo Pingel and Piero & Gloria Cicionesi, part of the Auroville Architects Monograph Series, published by Mapin in 2012 and 2018.
From 2012 to 2017, Mona participated in a joint Indian-American research project on energy efficiency in buildings. This fully funded research, involving 10 prestigious institutions from both countries, involved the Naqshbandi studio, which recorded data from seven naturally ventilated buildings in the hot and humid area of Pondicherry and its surroundings for a year. The results of this research are published in scientific journals such as Elsevier's Building and Environment and the Elsevier Encyclopedia of Sustainable Materials.
Her firm has received several awards, most recently the IIA National Award for Excellence 2022, in two categories: Retail and Women Architects at the Forefront, as well as the WADe Asia Award 2024 for Fascinating Facade for our Cottage Showroom project in Pondicherry.
