Adithi Garood

Hometown: Bangalore, India
Education Background: Bachelor of Architecture

How did you get interested in your field?
Architecture was always something I was drawn to. I believe it gave me the ability to create and design not just built forms but how communities interacted, and societies thrived within these spaces. Through my bachelor’s degree I was exposed to the architecture and construction industry and its undue effects on the environment. Realizing that buildings interact beyond people and touch ecology in a much deeper sense brought me to the world of environmental design.

What was your background prior to coming to Penn?
From a strict Form follows Form school of thought taught during my undergrad at RV College of architecture, Bangalore India, I shifted focus after graduation to a form follows health approach in a studio firm, where healthcare and retreats were the main projects handled. I spent my days perfecting on building norms, coordination service drawings and interior curation.

Why did you choose Penn?
The incredibly niche program of merging sustainability along with building analysis and human centric design led me to the EBD program. I found that it was a perfect blend between technicality and creative design freedom, where merging the two gave innovative ideas of how buildings could be shaped soon. It helped seeing how hands on the programs are planned to be with experimenting and research that truly takes your project beyond the studio. Penn’s long-standing tradition with architecture also added to the point. Studying about and in a Louis Khan building truly seems inspirational.

What has been your favorite class so far? 
Every class is enjoyable in its own way, but the Introduction to Biomaterials with Dr. Laia Mogas-Soldevila has to be the most interesting one. It cracked open a whole new world of thinking sustainably, right from the molecular level. Finding out that humble cellulose could become a wall, a tile, or even a roof was mind-blowing. Honestly, I walked out of class feeling less like an architect and more like a mad scientist about to patent something strange and wonderful.

What are you learning right now that will help you in the future?
Developing skills at the intersection of structure, materials, and building simulation, alongside a strong foundation in design and architectural history, will not only prepare me for the future but also enable me to approach problems with comprehensive, holistic solutions.

What do you like best about Philadelphia?
It’s walkable! Philly is greatly connected in terms of the transit and has a lot of spaces to visit such as the Fairmount park. With easy accessibility to major cities like New York and Washington DC, it thrives on being a digestible version of a metropolitan. The weather is lovely and coming from a tropical climate I enjoy the sunny Philly days!

What kinds of activities and/or organizations are you involved in?
Outside of architecture, I enjoy swimming, sketching, photography, and watching sports. Go Eagles

What are your career ambitions?
I see myself working at a firm that focuses on high-performance building design, while also exploring new ideas in materials, circular economy, and large-scale energy solutions that can shape the future of architecture