“A house is a personal experience, but our designs are simple yet innovative to create a sense of belonging. They can be adapted by different people at different places with locally available energy-efficient methods of construction.” Rinka D'Monte co-founded SDM Architects with Samir D'Monte in Mumbai, India, in 2008. She is a graduate of Dr. D. Y. Patil College of Architecture at Mumbai University, and is registered, like Samir, with India's Council of Architecture (COA). Samir's degree is from the Centre of Environmental Planning & Technology University, Ahmedabad. Before founding SDM, Rinka and Samir worked for international engineering and architectural firms. SDM Architects specializes in residential, commercial, and educational building. Energy-efficient design is a key interest, especially in the use of structural insulated panels (SIPs), rammed earth, and compressed stabilized earth block (CSEB) construction. Rinka teaches the history of Indian architecture at Rizvi College of Architecture, Mumbai, and Samir teaches architectural design at Mumbai's Academy of Architecture. Samir has written numerous design articles for The Times of India, Civil Engineering Magazine, Time Out, and Mumbai Magazine.
