How Mixed-Use Architecture Is Reshaping Indian Urban Life

Did you know? By 2030, over 600 million Indians will live in urban areas, yet more than 60% of the urban landscape lacks integrated planning. It’s no wonder that mixed-use architecture is emerging as a transformative force in India’s rapidly evolving urban fabric.

At Auroma Architecture, under the visionary guidance of Architect Trupti Doshi, we’ve witnessed first-hand how architectural thinking rooted in ecology and human connection can rewrite how we experience city life. As one of India’s foremost pioneers of sustainable, integrative design, Trupti Doshi champions projects that combine purpose, performance, and poetry.

If you are envisioning a project that is inclusive, ecological, and visionary, book a consultation with Architect Trupti Doshi. Her team will guide you through a process that goes far beyond square footage and zoning—to co-create spaces that nurture the human spirit.

Why Mixed-Use Architecture Is the Future of Indian Cities

Mixed-use architecture is not a trend—it is a response. A response to pollution, long commutes, social fragmentation, and disconnected lifestyles. It creates self-sufficient neighborhoods where people live, work, learn, shop, and play—all within walking distance. Architect Trupti Doshi’s projects, like the Auroma French Villaments, exemplify this philosophy through a hybrid of villa-style homes and communal spaces that merge residential serenity with active social life.

Gone are the days of rigid zoning. In India’s high-density urban landscape, we need smart, fluid environments that optimize every inch of land. That’s where community design becomes vital.

Community Design: The Soul of Mixed-Use Planning

Community design isn’t just about shared courtyards or open gyms. It’s about fostering interdependence and inclusivity. At Auroma Architecture, our design process begins by listening to people—their aspirations, needs, and rhythms of daily life. We don't impose, we co-create. In projects like the Sharanam Convention Centre and Auroma Homes Phase - 3, Architect Trupti Doshi masterfully integrated spiritual, educational, and social functions into a seamless, vibrant environment.

By integrating workspaces, play areas, meditative zones, and shared kitchens, we help catalyze emotional wellbeing and social cohesion. As our cities grow vertically and sprawl horizontally, walkable cities become the bridge between isolation and community.

The Role of Walkable Cities in Human-Centric Planning

Imagine leaving your apartment and walking just 5 minutes to your workplace, your child’s school, a farmer’s market, or a community amphitheater. That’s the promise of walkable cities. Not just efficient, but delightful. Not just carbon-reducing, but life-enhancing.

Architect Trupti Doshi believes that the footpath is the most democratic piece of urban infrastructure. Her site designs prioritize pedestrian flow over vehicular dominance. Lush tree-lined streets, shaded verandahs, and sensorial architecture ensure that every journey on foot is an act of wellbeing.

Live-Work Spaces: Designing for a Fluid Future

The future is hybrid. Post-pandemic urban life has shattered the 9-to-5 office mold. The emergence of live-work spaces acknowledges that our professional and personal worlds are no longer separate silos. Architect Trupti Doshi’s own office in Puducherry is a testament to this evolution. Built as a living lab, it integrates private work pods, communal courtyards, and green thresholds that blur the lines between duty and delight.

Incorporating live-work spaces in residential enclaves is not a compromise. It’s a liberation—from traffic, pollution, and unnecessary formality. When you can ideate, collaborate, and rest in the same ecosystem, productivity becomes purpose-driven and joy-infused.

Eco Urbanism: Cities as Living Ecosystems

Eco urbanism is more than green roofs and solar panels. It is the conviction that cities, like forests, are living ecosystems with metabolism, resilience, and consciousness. At Auroma Architecture, every detail—from site orientation to material palette—is guided by ecological intelligence.

Trupti Doshi’s work reflects a shift from anthropocentric design to biocentric design. In Sharanam, the entire structure was built from the earth excavated onsite. In Gratitude EcoVilla, water, waste, and energy cycles were designed to regenerate local biodiversity. This isn’t tokenism—it’s transformation.

Reimagining Indian City Planning for the 21st Century

The biggest hurdle in Indian city planning is its reactive, fragmented nature. Our cities were designed for a different time, a different scale, and different values. Today, they need to adapt—fast.

Architect Trupti Doshi is part of a new wave of thinkers advocating for systemic, regenerative Indian city planning. Through her lectures at TERI, Stanford, and the World Bank, she inspires planners and policymakers to embed ecology, psychology, and dignity into urban blueprints. Her call is clear: Don’t just retrofit, reimagine.

Architecture Trends India Can’t Ignore

The pandemic was a wake-up call. The climate crisis is a siren. These are not blips but signals of a deeper misalignment in how we build and live. Emerging architecture trends suggest a tectonic shift toward designs that are adaptable, inclusive, and emotionally intelligent.

Some of the trends Trupti Doshi embraces include:

• Biophilic and sensorial environments
  

• Low-carbon materials like lime and fly-ash brick
  

• Zero-energy campuses and water-positive buildings
  

• Buildings as teachers, healers, and entrepreneurs
  

These architecture trends are not imported — they are rooted in India’s architectural heritage, now rejuvenated through modern science and heartfelt intention.

Let’s Build the Cities We Deserve

At Auroma Architecture, we don’t just design buildings. We cultivate legacies. Architect Trupti Doshi’s deep belief is that every structure should unfold human genius, nurture the soul, and honor nature.

If you are planning a school, retreat center, eco-residence, or a visionary urban project, let’s co-create it. Fill out our contact form, and let us help shape the future—together.