Jigna Desai
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Jigna Desai

Professor
Programs
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About Jigna Desai

Dr. Jigna Desai is a Professor at Faculty of Architecture, and founder and head of the Center for Heritage Conservation. Her research, pedagogy and practice meet at the intersection of sustainability and conservation of historic built environment.
Jigna is an architect with a post graduate degree in Theory and Practice of Sustainable Design from the Welsh School of Architecture and a PhD in Conservation Studies from CEPT University. She has worked for over a decade in consolidating conservation education at CEPT, and was a part of the Guest Scholars Program at the Getty Conservation Institute in 2025. She has written extensively on the subject and has lectured on international platforms and is a part of many national and international initiatives that work towards advancing the discourse in heritage conservation. She is an expert member of the International Scientific Committee for Historic Cities, Towns and Villages (CIVVIH), International Council for Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and has been part of international mission for World Heritage Center, UNESCO. Jigna is also a co-founder of a small, award winning architecture practice, JMA Design Co. where she brings resource conservation perspective to design and production of architecture at all scales.
  • Architecture
  • Heritage Conservation
  • Sustainable Design
  • Political Economy of Conservation — S‑2026
  • Political Economy of Conservation — S‑2025
  • History, Theory and Legislation of Conservation — M‑2025
  • Political Economy of Conservation — S‑2024
  • Equity, Agency and Proximity in Architecture — S‑2024
  • History, Theory and Legislation of Conservation — M‑2024
  • History, Theory and Legislation of Conservation — M‑2023
  • Sustainability and Conservation — M‑2023

Journal

  1. Seminar Proceedings, Conservation and Local Development, Agakhan Foundation and CEPT University, Co-Editor with Dr. Raj Issar; Co-Authored with Ratish Nanda, K T Ravindran, Neel Kamal Chapagain, Poonam Verma Mascernhas and Benny Kuriakose. Conservation and Local Development, Agakhan Foundation and CEPT University
  2. Invited Speaker, Decolonising Conservation for an Indian Context, UCL, Bartlett, UK, June 2022. Decolonising Conservation for an Indian Context
  3. Invited Speaker, Ethics in Digital Documentation, Discussing Informed Consent, Nottingham Trent University, UK, June 2022.¯ Ethics in Digital Documentation
  4. Invited Speaker, Radical Proximity, Discussing the Conservation Site School Model, Society of Architectural Historians, USA, 8th June 2022. Radical Proximity, Discussing the Conservation Site School Model
  5. Invited Speaker, Sustainable Conservation, American Association of Civil Engineers, 14th May 2022. Sustainable Conservation
  6. Paper and Presentation, Digital Documentation and Public Participation, Can the two meet?, International Scientific Committee for Historic Cities, Towns and Villages, ICOMOS Belgium, June 2022. Digital Documentation and Public Participation, Can the two meet?
  7. Invited Speaker, India’s World heritage Cities and Living Sites, Quo Vadis, talk at Habitat Forum, INHAF, August 2021. India’s World heritage Cities and Living Sites
  8. Paper and Presentation, Counter Stories, a case of conservation site school at Ahmedabad, co-authored with Pithawala, Z. and Shaikh N.. Diversities and Genders: Our World Heritage Initiative, 2021. Counter Stories, a case of conservation site school at Ahmedabad
  9. Paper and Presentation, Role of Cultural Institutions in Urban Resilience, the case of Ahmedabad, co-authored with Bafna, J.. ENGAGE papers, Case Study – South Asia Hub, Heritage Borders of Engagement, 2021. Role of Cultural Institutions in Urban Resilience
  10. Invited Lecture ​‚The Impossible Burden of Conserving Heritage, A Case of Amritsar India, University of New South Wales, Built Environment. 20th June 2020. The Impossible Burden of Conserving Heritage
  11. Invited Speaker , Dilemmas and Directions: Heritage Conservation in India, Urban Design and Architecture Sessions at Kala Ghoda Festival, Mumbai, 3rd February 2020. Curated by Kaiwan Mehta. Dilemmas and Directions: Heritage Conservation in India
  12. Invited Speaker, Conservation and Sustainable Development, Invited Speaker, Emerging Trends in Architecture, E‑Faculty Development Program, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow. 23rd June 2020. Conservation and Sustainable Developmen
  13. Invited Speaker, The Conservation Praxis, Lessons from Ahmedabad and Agra, Indology Festival, Tamil Heritage Trust, 6th December 2020. The Conservation Praxis
  14. Keynote speaker, About Heritage and Conservation in India, APIED, Vallabh Vidyanagar, February 2020. Heritage and Conservation in India
  15. Speaker and Discussant at the public meetings organised by The Ahmedabad Project. In collaboration with Alliance Frances, Ahmedabad. 29th January 2020.
  16. Invited Speaker, Heritage Conservation and Sustainable Development, Scientific Symposium of Internationals Scientific Committee of Historic Towns and Villages, ICOMOS. 15th – 16th November, 2019 at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. Heritage Conservation and Sustainable Development
  17. Co-Chair of the Scientific Committee for the Symposium: Heritage and Democracy; Theme01 — Integrating Heritage and Sustainable Urban Development through engaging diverse communities. ICOMOS General Assembly 2017, 11 — 16 December 2017, New Delhi. Scientific Committee for the Symposium: Heritage and Democracy
  18. Invited Speaker, Why Communities Matter, Public Outreach Series towards the 19th ICOMOS General Assembly, Integrating Heritage and Sustainable Urban Development by including diverse communities. IIC, Delhi (26th August 2017). Why Communities Matter
  19. Paper and Presentation, Heritage and Equity Principles, Examining conservation processes in Ahmedabad. School of African and Oriental Studies and Presidency University, Kolkata. Kolkata – February 20 – 21, 2017. Heritage and Equity Principles
  20. Scientific Committee Member for the Symposium, History and Conservation, As if People Matter. Jointly organised by CEPT University, Sushant School of Arts and Architecture — Ansal University and ICOMOS, India (1st — 2nd August 2017). History and Conservation, As if People Matter
  21. Invited speaker, Problematizing Heritage in Context of Sustainability; Arriving at Principles of Ethical Engagement, OWHC – AP, Geongju, September, 2015. Problematizing Heritage in Context of Sustainability; Arriving at Principles of Ethical Engagement
  22. Paper and Presentation, The City and the Shop house – Historic City of Ahmedabad, The Shophouse Symposium at Melaka, 28 – 31st March, 2011, National University of Singapore. The City and the Shop house – Historic City of Ahmedabad

Conference

  1. Climate Change and Historic Cities KRVIA, Mumbai
  2. Conservation of Concrete in Heritage Structures Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
  3. Key note for Conference on Heritage Conservation University of Leeds, UK (Online)
  4. Post Disaster Recovery of Heritage Symposium of International Scientific Committee for Historic Cities (Online)
  5. Rethinking Vernacular, Endangered Wooden Architecture of Gujarat Oxford Brookes University
  6. Documenting Material Culture Bhartiya Dharohar evam Sanskriti
  7. Ethics of Documentation in a digital age. ICOMOS General Assembly and Scientific Symposium, Sydney, Australia.
  8. Historic Cities and Climate Change Home, Family and Climate Change, Home Renaissance Foundation, Nottingham, UK
  9. Invited Speaker, Situated Knowledge and Production of Meanings, SAMVAD Conference, Tata Steel Foundation, 16th November 2022. SAMVAD Conference
  10. Exhibition Panel, Pedagogy of the courses: ​‘Streets for People’ and ​‘Designing with People’, presented at the World Environmental Education Conference, with Madhavi Joshi, 29th June to 2nd July, 2015, Gothenberg, Sweden. Pedagogy of the courses: ​‘Streets for People’ and ​‘Designing with People’
  11. Paper and Presentation, Whose History? What Heritage? International Conference on ​‘Conserving Living Urban Heritage’ by ICOMOS and Shrishti Institute of Design, 26th to 28th November, 2015, Bangaluru. Whose History? What Heritage? International Conference on ​‘Conserving Living Urban Heritage’
  12. Paper and Presentation, Future Directions for Conservation Studies; integrating Sustainability, Co-authored with Prof. R. J. Vasavada, York Conservation: 40th Anniversary Conference, 6 ‑7 th July 2012, University of York, UK. Future Directions for Conservation Studies; integrating Sustainability
  13. Paper and Presentation, A Study of the Architecture of Walled City of Ahmedabad as a Dynamic System; Accessing the codes of Sustainability, Economy Conference, 5 – 6 th July 2011, Cardiff University, UK. A Study of the Architecture of Walled City of Ahmedabad as a Dynamic System; Accessing the codes of Sustainability

Book Chapter

  1. A City Doesn’t Forget Jigna Desai Amritsar, Editors, Gurmeet Rai and Raghu Rai, Om Publishing
  2. Decoding a Craft Habitat, Identifying Spatial and Temporal Relationships of Craft Practices of Nirona, Kachchh. Jigna Desai Indigenous Architecture in India, Exploring Plural Lifeworlds, Editor, Gauri Bharat, Routledge, London and New York.
  3. The Ahmedabad House Jigna Desai Shop house – Town house, Asian Perspective. Edited by Wong Yunn Chii, Johannes Widodo, 2016. National University of Singapore
  4. World Heritage Cities in India, Whose Voice is it Anyway? Jigna Desai Conservation and the Indian City, Bridging the Gap. Editors, Poonam Verma Mascarenhas and Vinayak Bharne
  5. Restoration vs Redevelopment, Embodied Carbon in Conserving 20th Century Heritage in India Jigna Desai, Rajan Rawal Embodied Carbon for Sustainable Building Conservation, Editor, Oriel Prizeman, Routledge, London and New York.

Journal Article

  1. Aesthetics of Sustainable Design Jigna Desai Indian Architect and Builder
  2. Conservation; in context of Sustainability, Journal of Architecture Jigna Desai Chandigarh College of Architecture
  3. Gendered Encounters, Engendered Places — Democratising Heritage Jigna Desai Seminar
  4. The Paradox of Protection — Ahmedabad: the city and her soul Jigna Desai Seminar
  5. Role of Cultural Institutions in Urban Resilience, the case of Ahmedabad Jigna Desai, Juhi Bafna ENGAGE papers, Case Study – South Asia Hub, Heritage Borders of Engagement.
  6. Building with Local Resources Jigna Desai, Sanjay Chikermane Context, Dronah
  7. Conservation of a 20th Century Heritage, Case Study of the School of Architecture, CEPT University, Ahmedabad Nigar Shaikh, Mehul Shah Restoration and Strengthening of Historical and Heritage Structure, edited by Arun Menon, in Structural Engineering Digest

Book

  1. Equity in Heritage Conservation, the Case of Ahmedabad. Jigna Desai Routledge, Oxon and New York
  2. Documenting Serampore Jigna Desai, Flemming Aalund, Bente Wolff CEPT Press
  3. Hriday Reflections — A study of cities under Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana. Jigna Desai, Gurmeet Rai, Rutul Joshi ICOMOS India
  1. Ahmedabad Cross Section,A Dossier for the participants of Archiprix Workshop Jigna Desai, Inigo Cornago Bonal CEPT Press

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