Brinda Somaya  Brinda Somaya (born 28 June 1949) is an Indian architect and urban conservationist. Somaya was born on 28 June 1949 to K.M Chinnappa and Ganavati Chinnappa. She later joined the Cathedral & John Connon School's science program. Somaya won 1966 a prestigious American Field Service International Scholarship to study in the United States (North Carolina). Afterwards, she was highly inspired to take up architecture. In 1967, she returned to India and completed her Bachelor of Architecture from Sir J.J. School of Architecture in Mumbai, graduating in 1971. Somaya chose to return to the U.S. and joined Smith College in Northhampton, Massachusetts, where she graduated in 1973 with a Masters of Arts degree. She attended a short design course at Cornell University in 1972. Somaya began her architectural practice in 1978 in Mumbai, India. Her firm's first office was in the back of her garden. From 1978 to 1981 she was joined by her sister Ranjini Kalappa, also an architect. After her sister left for Holland, she worked on her own. Somaya has travelled to the rural parts of India, from where she has got knowledge and inspiration for vernacular architecture. One such example is The Nalanda International Schools in Vadodara where she reflects the vernacular architecture by using the locally available resources and techniques, pergolas and courtyard. She reflects the Indian ethos in her architecture, her designs are called both traditional and sustainable Her work includes corporate, industrial and institutional campuses and extends to public spaces, which she has rebuilt and reinvented as pavements, parks and plazas. Some of these campuses include Tata Consultancy Services, Banyan Park, Mumbai; Nalanda International School, Vadodara; and Zensar Technologies, Pune. Her firm won the competition for the Restoration and Enhancement of the historic Louis Kahn Buildings of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad as well as the new Academic Buildings of the Indian Institute of Technology. She is currently the Chairperson of Board of Governors for School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada and has built more than 200 projects in a span of 40 years. In 1999, Somaya was a founder trustee for the HECAR Foundation in India. In 2000, she served as the Chairperson and the curator for the Women in Architecture 2000 Plus-Conference and exhibition on the works of the South Asian Women Architects, a global showcase platform for women architects from India, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Australia and Pakistan.