A Studio Profile of EDW, Ekamsthala Design Workshop
Walk onto almost any construction site and you will often see the same sequence. The architecture comes first. The structure takes shape, the facade is developed, floor plans are finalised, and only later does the conversation turn to the space around the building.
Landscape can become an afterthought.
A patch of lawn. A few trees. Some planting around the entrance.
EDW, Ekamsthala Design Workshop, takes a very different view.
The Bengaluru-based studio works across landscape architecture, urban design and master planning, with a simple but powerful premise: landscape should not be the finishing touch to a project. It should help shape the project from the beginning.
Founded by Shruthi Padmanabhan, Director and Landscape Architect, and Keval Kaushik, Director of Urban Design, EDW brings over two decades of combined experience on projects globally. Their professional journeys across India and London have shaped a practice that combines ecological thinking, urban design, public realm and master planning with a distinctly Indian understanding of place.
The results can be measured. On One Trade Tower in Bengaluru, EDW helped increase green cover from approximately 20% to nearly 50% of the site while introducing more than 150 plant species.
But the numbers are only part of the story.
The Founders Behind EDW
Shruthi and Keval come from different professional backgrounds, but their thinking meets around a common question: how can design respond to the way a place actually works?
Shruthi brings a landscape and ecological perspective. Keval approaches projects through urban design, public realm and master planning.
Together, those perspectives create two complementary tests for every project: does the design work with the land, and does it work with how people actually use it?
Shruthi Padmanabhan: Designing with Land and Greenery
Shruthi's relationship with landscape began long before professional practice.
Growing up in Kerala among paddy fields, waterways and dense greenery shaped the way she understood places. Land was never simply an empty surface waiting for a building. It had its own ecology, character and memory.
She trained as an architect before completing a Master's in Landscape Urbanism at the Architectural Association in London. Her professional experience includes Townshend Landscape Architects and Foster + Partners, where she worked across public realm, landscape, urban design and large-scale projects.
Returning to India gave her the opportunity to bring that experience into a very different context, one where questions around water, heat, biodiversity and rapidly changing urban environments are increasingly important.
Keval Kaushik: Designing for People and Cities
Keval's journey began with architecture at the University of Mysore and early professional experience at Stapati in Bengaluru.
He later completed a Master's in Housing and Urbanism at the Architectural Association in London. His experience includes public realm and street redesign work at Jana Urban Space Foundation in Bengaluru, followed by large-scale master planning and regeneration work at HTA Design LLP and Prior + Partners.
That experience gave him exposure to projects at very different scales, from streets and public spaces to strategic frameworks for new districts.
Outside EDW, Keval contributes to design reviews and critiques at BMS College while continuing to engage with the profession through reading, research and writing.
His interests extend beyond individual buildings towards the larger question of how people experience and shape cities.
From Global Experience to an Indian Practice
The founders' international experience has influenced EDW, but the studio's work is not about importing a ready-made model.
It is about adapting professional rigour to the realities of Indian sites.
The practice brings together landscape architecture, urban design and master planning to understand projects at multiple scales. A courtyard, a campus, a commercial development or an entire urban corridor can all be part of the same conversation.
The founders' experience in London provided exposure to large-scale practice and complex urban projects. Bengaluru provided the context in which that experience could be reinterpreted through local environmental, social and cultural conditions.
Why Landscape Should Not Be an Afterthought
In much of the AEC industry, external space is still treated as something that comes after the building.
EDW challenges that sequence.
When landscape is considered from the beginning, it can influence building orientation, movement, water management, planting, biodiversity and the experience of the entire site.
Instead of fitting greenery into whatever space remains, landscape can help determine how a project works.
Instead of treating stormwater as a drainage problem to solve later, water movement can be understood early.
Instead of choosing planting purely for visual appeal, planting can respond to biodiversity, climate resilience and local ecology.
And instead of treating landscape as a budget item that can be reduced when costs rise, it can be considered part of the project's infrastructure.
For EDW, making this case has required more than attractive visuals. The studio has used ecological analysis, water-management strategies and evidence of economic value to demonstrate what thoughtful landscape design can contribute to a project.
The Challenges of Building a Landscape-First Practice
Convincing Clients That Landscape Belongs at the Beginning
One of the studio's early challenges was changing the perception that landscape is primarily decorative.
EDW responded by bringing evidence into the conversation. Ecological site analysis, stormwater strategies and an understanding of long-term value helped demonstrate that landscape decisions can have practical consequences for a project.
Balancing Global Rigor With Local Reality
Both founders trained and worked in London, in practices operating across large projects and complex urban environments.
Bringing that experience into India required adaptation.
Rather than simply reproducing a London-based process, EDW developed a methodology suited to Indian conditions. For landscape, this includes a four-lens approach covering spatial, social, cultural and environmental factors. Keval's structured approach to master planning adds another layer of analysis.
Building a Practice Around Listening
The same philosophy that shapes EDW's projects also influences how the studio works internally.
Shruthi describes her leadership approach as leading "from the side, not the front." Team members are given ownership of projects and encouraged to develop their own design voice.
Keval brings a complementary approach through structure. He establishes frameworks for how a site is studied, how a masterplan is tested and how a team moves from research to design decisions, while remaining closely involved throughout the process.
Different approaches, but the same underlying instinct: listen before deciding what to add.
Thinking Beyond a Single Plot
Indian development is often organised around individual plots and projects. But water, green corridors and ecological systems do not stop at property boundaries.
EDW's work and thinking around Bengaluru's H200 water corridor reflects an interest in planning these systems at a larger scale, connecting landscape and water infrastructure rather than treating them as isolated amenities.
How EDW Reads a Site Before Designing It
Rather than beginning with a concept sketch, EDW studies a site through four lenses.
Spatial: How does the land naturally organise movement, views and gathering?
Social: How do people already use the site and its surroundings?
Cultural: What traditions, materials and meanings already exist?
Environmental: How does the site currently respond to water, heat, soil and biodiversity?
The purpose is not to collect information simply to justify a predetermined design.
It is to understand what the site itself is telling the designer.
That can mean a slower beginning, but it creates the possibility of landscapes designed for real use, real weather and real time rather than simply for a rendering.
Designing for Behaviour, Not Intention
Where Shruthi's approach begins with land and ecology, Keval's begins with people.
His experience in public realm and urban design has reinforced a simple lesson: people often use places differently from how designers expect them to.
A path may be designed to take people around a space, but people may create their own shortcut. One bench may become a natural gathering point while another remains empty. A desire line across a lawn can reveal more about movement than a carefully drawn circulation diagram.
EDW's response is to observe these behaviours rather than fight them.
This gives the studio two complementary ways of reading a project.
Does it work with the land?
Does it work with people?
One Trade Tower: A Measurable Example Client: Knowledge Realty Trust, Project: One Trade Tower
One Trade Tower in Bengaluru provides one of the clearest examples of EDW's landscape-first approach.
The commercial project transformed the site's green cover from approximately 20% to nearly 50%, while introducing more than 150 plant species. The approach was rooted in ecological and biodiversity considerations rather than aesthetics alone.
One Trade Tower at a Glance Location: Bengaluru Typology: Commercial / office tower Studio: EDW, Ekamsthala Design Workshop Green cover before: Approximately 20% Green cover after: Nearly 50% Plant species introduced: 150+ Approach: Regenerative landscape design
For EDW, regenerative landscape design means going beyond simply reducing environmental harm. It means actively improving a site's ecological health through biodiversity, water systems and improved microclimate.
The potential benefits can include increased biodiversity, improved stormwater management, better microclimate, stronger outdoor spaces and greater long-term value.
Beyond One Building
One Trade Tower is only one example within a broader portfolio.
EDW's work spans commercial developments, campuses, public realm, hospitality and residential projects, while its wider design expertise covers landscape architecture, urban design and masterplanning.
The same underlying process can be applied across different typologies.
A hospitality project may have different requirements from a commercial tower. A campus may operate differently from a residential development.
But the need to understand the site's ecology, context, movement and people remains.
From Individual Projects to City-Scale Thinking
EDW's ambitions extend beyond individual developments.
The studio's interest in Bengaluru's H200 water corridor reflects a larger question: what happens when water systems, green infrastructure and landscape are considered at the scale of the city rather than one plot?
This is where landscape architecture, urban design and masterplanning become closely connected.
A city is not simply a collection of individual buildings. Its streets, parks, water systems, public spaces and development patterns interact continuously.
Keval's long-term vision reflects this idea. He sees the studio being equally comfortable designing the smallest elements of a public space and masterplanning an entire district. Both scales influence how people experience a place.
Why This Matters for India's Built Environment
India's cities are growing rapidly, creating increasing pressure on water, green cover and urban temperatures.
That makes landscape architecture more than an aesthetic consideration.
It has implications for developers looking to create differentiated and valuable projects, homeowners seeking outdoor spaces that remain usable over time, architects and planners working to reduce environmental impact, and cities dealing with water, heat and biodiversity challenges.
The earlier landscape expertise enters a project, the more possibilities remain open.
Once the architecture is finalised, many of those opportunities have already been.
The Meaning Behind EDW
EDW stands for Ekamsthala Design Workshop.
The studio's original name, Sthala, is rooted in Sanskrit and means "place." That idea captures much of the practice's philosophy.
Rather than applying a fixed design language to every site, EDW begins by asking what a particular place already is: its water systems, soil, climate, social life and character.
The design follows from that understanding.
The place leads. The designer listens.
Beyond the Building
The most interesting part of EDW's approach may be how simple the underlying idea is.
A site is never truly empty.
It already has patterns of movement, ecology, water, climate and human behaviour. Design does not begin by ignoring those conditions. It begins by understanding them.
That changes the question from:
What should we build here?
to:
What is already here, and what does this place need?
For EDW, that shift is the foundation of landscape-first design.
Looking Ahead
EDW represents a broader opportunity for landscape architecture, urban design and master planning in India.
As cities grow and projects become more complex, the relationship between buildings, people, ecology and infrastructure will become increasingly important.
The studio's work suggests that landscape does not have to sit at the edge of the architectural conversation.
It can be part of the conversation from the very beginning.
And sometimes, the best way to design a building is to first understand everything around it.
Planning a Project?
If you are planning a residential, commercial, hospitality, institutional or civic project, bringing the right landscape architecture, urban design or master planning expertise into the conversation early can open up possibilities that may otherwise be lost.
Explore verified design professionals and project opportunities on AECORD and start your next project with the land, not just the building.
