EP 127 Inclusive by Design/Sonia Sarangi

EP 127 Inclusive by Design/Sonia Sarangi

From Business In Colour by Div Pillay & Sadhana Smiles

August 3, 2025 · 40 min · Season 6 · Episode 127

About this episode

Sonia Sarangi discusses her journey as an architect and the importance of inclusivity in design.

Sonia Sarangi is a registered Architect – the first Architect on Business in Colour – Sonia is the co-founder of Andever, a Board Member at ArchiTeam and Ausdance Victoria…a mentor to many and a Mum of two.  She is the daughter of South Asian immigrants to the Middle East who then undertook her own migration journeys to Singapore and finally Naarm /Melbourne.  The duality of being an insider-outsider as a result of these multiple journeys is one that has deeply shaped her and her practice and this shows in this episode of the way Sonia things inclusively.  Sonia’s portfolio – both overseas and locally – cuts across Residential and Commercial and encompasses many project scales. She generously shares many other firms who are putting inclusivity at the heart of what they do, building for dignity and respect in both social housing and other builds.  In this episode, we move through a lot – from the design of spaces today and what is missing from an inclusivity perspective; the realities of the lack of representation and unearned privilege in those who lead the design of residential and commercial builds. She calls out…

People in this episode

Hosts: Div Pillay, Sadhana Smiles

Guest: Sonia Sarangi

Topics covered

  • inclusivity in design
  • architecture
  • social housing
  • representation
  • community impact

Keywords

  • architecture
  • inclusivity
  • social housing
  • design
  • representation
  • community

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Andever, ArchiTeam, Ausdance Victoria

Places: Middle East, Singapore, Naarm, Melbourne

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