(“Text as submitted by architect”)
Aman Sohal
Aman graduated from Chandigarh College of Architecture in 2009. He began his professional journey as an architectural assistant to Architect Balkrishna Doshi and artist Jatin Das in Ahmedabad, contributing to the Jatin Das Centre for Arts (JDCA), Bhubaneswar, from 2010 to 2011. He then joined CnT Architects, Bangalore, where he worked from 2011 to 2014 on a range of housing and institutional projects, including the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Tiruchirappalli.
In 2014, Aman returned to Chandigarh and worked with Architect Namita Singh before establishing his own architectural practice, ForumAdvaita, in Mohali in 2016. Since then, the practice has been engaged in designing a diverse portfolio of residential, institutional, commercial, and healthcare projects.
Alongside architecture, Aman has actively pursued his passion for the visual arts. He has been practicing watercolor painting for over nine years and has exhibited his work across Chandigarh and the Punjab region. In 2017, he received the Punjab Lalit Kala Academy Award in the Painting category. He was also selected for the Aura Art Stay Artist Residency in Chandigarh in 2016.
Aman is a formally trained Indian classical flautist and studied under Pandit Pundalik Shenoy in Bangalore, continuing to nurture his artistic practice alongside his work as an architect.
Practice Ideology
ForumAdvaita is an art and architecture design studio that focuses on creating designs that heighten the experience of living.
The philosophy of the studio is rooted in the meanings of its name. A forum is a place for the exchange of ideas, and at ForumAdvaita this exchange takes place with the objective of following Swami Vivekananda’s philosophy of Advaita. Advaita can be interpreted in two ways—as an experience and as a philosophy. As an experience, it is the journey towards a non-dual connection with the ultimate reality, achieved by passing through the unreal world. As a philosophy, it is an attempt to create a mysterious atmosphere and a world that is constantly changing and evolving. The unreal is something that is familiar, yet exists in a transformed state, always striving to become something else.
Since its inception, ForumAdvaita has received several recognitions for its work. The studio was awarded “The Most Innovative Architecture and Interior Design Firm” of the Year 2022 (Punjab) at the Architecture and Interior Design Excellence Awards and Conference 2022. It was also recognized among the “Best 40 Under 40 – Best and Trendsetter Architects and Designers, India 2022.” Projects such as World Within, New Public School Extension Block, Salon at Nalagarh, and Mondrians Volume have been published in architectural journals and platforms including The Architects Diary, Interior Exterior Architecture Magazine, and Buildofy. ForumAdvaita received the Aces of Space Design Award for its project Mondrians Volume at the awards ceremony held in Mumbai in December 2022. The firm was also a finalist in the Best Institutional Project category at the Aces of Space Design Awards for its New Public School Extension project.
Aman Sohal was honoured with the Young Architectural Talent Award by the Indian Concrete Institute during the Concrete Day Celebrations in January 2023. He also received the Young Achiever Award from the A3 Foundation in March 2023. ForumAdvaita was shortlisted in the Top 50 Under 40 category organized by Architects and Interiors India. The firm actively participates in design debates and architectural discussions at institutions including Chandigarh College of Architecture and Chitkara School of Planning and Architecture, as well as platforms such as the MapMyHouse Upsurge event held at Hotel Lalit in December 2022 and the Design Debate organized by Architects and Interiors India in 2022. Aman Sohal also serves as a Visiting Faculty at the Chitkara School of Planning and Architecture (CSPA).
