Ronishka Sabu Nalpathil

Ronishka Sabu Nalpathil is an incoming Ph.D. in Architecture (PhD-Arch) student at Carnegie Mellon Architecture, and a recent graduate of the Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design program from Cornell University. Existing in a realm between memory and the tangible, her B.Arch thesis titled “On Belonging + Situating” was chosen for the prestigious Undergraduate Thesis Honors Award. The thesis is an experimentation that aims at subverting the existing rule of law that celebrates the dominance of Qatari men by blurring the divide between the monumentality of the “male-dominated” spaces and the domesticity of the spaces predominantly occupied by the females of the household in the most privatized of spaces – the home. Her work ethic, drive and passion for a future within the field of architecture, design research and academia are nourished by her interests in subversive architectural design and the hidden intersections between narratives and architecture.

Ronishka’s dedication to architecture, design research and academia is underpinned by her profound interest in the anthropology of dwelling, spatial practices, gendered spaces and transnational architecture. Her proposed research intends to delve into the intersection of feminist theory and its conceptual implications in architectural design within the Middle Eastern context. During her graduate studies at Cornell, she focused on architectural disparities at the public-private interface, with a particular emphasis on women’s representation in architecture in the Middle East. Ronishka holds a master’s degree in Advanced Architectural Design from Cornell AAP (2024) and a Bachelor of Architecture degree with honors from Virginia Tech (2023).

Research Interests

• Anthropology of dwelling 
• Spatial practices 
• Gendered spaces
• Transnational architecture