Tony Joseph

Tony Joseph graduated from MIT Manipal and completed his masters in design from the University of Texas, Austin, in the Charles Moore program. Interactions and travels with Moore and his views on regional architecture had a strong influence in the direction of Tony's design. He returned to India and started Stapati in 1989, which has steadily grown into a multi-disciplinary practice emphasizing values of integrity, sustainability, and innovation. Senapati's architecture emerges from a sensitive understanding of the context; one where the evolution of design is firmly rooted in the region’s traditional narratives, while interpreting the elements in a modern context. There is an underlying acuity in the design approach, which responded to the site uniquely, rendering it relevant and timeless. Senapati's hospitality projects have been recognized for their innovative and regionalistic architectural interpretations and are the most successful in their respective areas of operation. These include the Kumarakom Lake Resort, Kerala, which has been rated as one of the top five resorts in India, the Alila Diwa, Goa and the Enchanted Island Resort in Seychelles, to name a few, all of which have garnered international acclaim. The practice has evolved continuously since its inception, constantly exploring new directions in architecture. Stapati, under Tony’s able leadership, has won numerous awards and recognitions over the years and has been selected as one of the Top 50 Most influential design firms in South Asia by Architectural Digest for five years continuously, from 2014 to 2018. In 2015, ORO Editions from San Francisco brought out a monograph on the hospitality projects designed by Stapati. Entitled ‘Timeless Resorts’, the book examines the evolution of eleven captivating hospitality projects. Tony is the Founder Chairman of Avani Institute of Design, a Center of Excellence in Architecture and Design education located in Calicut, promoting a holistic approach to design education to develop well-rounded professionals equipped with the sensitivity, empathy, social and technical skill sets to address the ever-evolving concerns of our environment. Tony was an invited artist in the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016 and had designed the Biennale Pavilion.