# Policy Advocacy, Collaborative Lab

Speculative futures

Collaborative Lab is the studio’s research platform, investigating emerging questions through research, prototyping and policy advocacy to anticipate the forces shaping architecture in the decades ahead and translate these insights into practice.

## Design Policy for the State of Kerala

Strand: Policy Advocacy. Led by Lalita Tharani and Mujib Ahmed, Collaborative Architecture.

### Design as a driver of development

Mujib Ahmed and Lalita Tharani, alongside Collaborative Lab’s research team, contributed to the development of a comprehensive design policy for Kerala. With its adoption, Kerala became the first state in India to establish a policy framework positioning design as a strategic instrument for shaping development priorities and guiding the state’s long-term trajectory.

- Partners: Government of Kerala

- Lead: Mujib Ahmed, Lalita Tharani, Lab research team

- Status: Adopted

- Partners: Government of Kerala

Page: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/lab/#lab-policy-advocacy-design-policy-for-the-state-of

## Design Audit of Kerala’s Public Schools | Evidence-Based Educational Infrastructure

Strand: Policy Advocacy. Led by Lalita Tharani and Mujib Ahmed, Collaborative Architecture.

Collaborative Lab, in collaboration with the Building Science Lab at the College of Architecture, Trivandrum, initiated the much-needed assessment with the Government of Kerala’s Department of Education to conduct a design audit of public schools across the state. The study maps existing facilities and evaluates the built environment as a basis for identifying opportunities for improvement. By establishing an evidence-based understanding of school infrastructure, the audit supports informed decisions on upgrading existing facilities and planning future schools.

- Partners: Department of Education, Government of Kerala; Building Science Lab, College of Architecture, Trivandrum

Page: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/lab/#lab-policy-advocacy-design-audit-of-kerala-s-publi

## The Collaborative Logs

A monthly newsletter by Mujib Ahmed on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/collaborative-logs-7413949544054530048/):

- 2026 Oct: [Architecture is Located NOT Where it is Built](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/architecture-located-where-built-mujib-ahmed-ki4rc)
- 2026 Aug: [The Narrative Environment: re-imagining the contemporary retail interface](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/narrative-environment-re-imagining-contemporary-retail-mujib-ahmed-9w1rf)
- 2026 Jul: [The profession that counts carbon should count wars](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/profession-counts-carbon-should-count-wars-mujib-ahmed-9jpcc)
- 2026 Jun: [Could architecture save democracy?](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/could-architecture-save-democracy-mujib-ahmed-hcedc)
- 2026 Apr: [Architects’ Dunning–Kruger affliction](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/architects-dunning-kruger-affliction-mujib-ahmed-q678f)
- 2026 Mar: [Hidden Cartographies: perceptive phenomenologies](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/perceptive-phenomenologyies-mujib-ahmed-lsd6c)