Biography

Rakhi Mariam Johnson is an Assistant professor at KMEA College of Architecture, Aluva. Her background includes experience in Architecture, Heritage Conservation and Architectural research. She is a partner at City Futures Design Collaborative an architectural design firm based in Aluva. Her practice is focused on architecture and heritage conservation that focuses on context, climate and the social fabric of the state of Kerala. Before joining KMEA COA, she worked at Kochi, Kollam and Chennai as an Architect and a Conservation Architect. She is also a member of ICOMOS India and is part of its many activities and projects related to Shared Heritage of India and Cultural Routes. Her research interests include Historic maritime routes of Kerala and Church architecture of Kerala.

Teaching

Rakhi started her teaching career at KMEA College of Architecture in 2018. She teaches design for second year studio. The design studio has been focussing on a process oriented work frame. She has also been handling conservation subject imparting the values of heritage and cultural identity to students.

Experience

Rakhi is a partner and conservation professional at City Futures Design Collaborative. As part of her private practice, she focuses on residential projects, commercial and institutional buildings. As conservation professional she has worked with heritage experts from India and for ICOMOS– India. She is currently part of Cultural Routes National Scientific Committee of ICOMOS-India developing the database for maritime routes. She is also part of the team preparing position paper for Shared Built Heritage of India as part of National Scientific Committee on Shared Heritage – ICOMOS India.

Publications

Johnson, R. M. (2020) Baroque Church Facades of Kerala, Designer + Builder Publications, April Issue- Online Journal

Johnson, R. M. and Augustine, A. (2020) Ideology politics in Urban Spaces, International Journal for scientific research and development, Vol. 8, Issue -2, 2020 ISSN- 2321-0613.

Johnson, R. M. (2020) Renaissance church facades of Kerala: Seeds of Cross Cultural Alliances, International Journal of Science and Research”, Issue 4.

Johnson, R. M. (2018) “Every building has a story” article on heritage issues, rules and regulations published in The New Indian Express.

Shared Built Heritage of India – poster (co-authored with NSC-SBH team, ICOMOS) presented at General Assembly of ICOMOS International at New Delhi, December, 2017.

Johnson, R. M (2017) Pre-colonial and post-colonial elements in the Syrian Christian churches of Kerala: Establishing the plurality and multi religious base of Syrian Christian architecture in Kerala, Indian Institute of Architects Journal, Volume 82, issue 05, ISSN-0019-4913

Johnson, R. M. and Augustine, A. (2017) Designed Chaos over imposed Chaos: An exploration into a pedagogy of architecture by understanding chaos, Proceedings of the International conference – Thanima 2 (2nd international conference on Design pedagogy & contextual aesthetics), NIT Calicut (under TEQIP) EKF Pune & IIA Calicut Centre from 19th to 21st January, 2017.

Documentation of Adham Khan’s Tomb, Mehrauli Delhi, selected and exhibited at Qutb Minar Complex, New Delhi as part of World Heritage Week by ASI, 2015.

Monologues

Historic water transportation routes of Travancore, guest speaker AMITY University Dubai – Webinar, 2020

Maritime Routes of Travancore, speaker for the webinar – Routes as part of Cultural Heritage organized by ICOMOS India, 30th April, 2020

Fort Kochi and her heritage, SPA-UD students, Fort Kochi, 2020

Awards

Commendation in Water metro station design for Vytilla Kochi, organised by KMRL.
4th rank, B.Arch, Kerala University
Selected among top 20 Young Photographers by Malayala Manorama Daily in 2011.