About the Stapati Architects

Stapati is an architecture practice established by Tony Joseph in 1989. Tony 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, which has steadily grown into a multi-disciplinary practice emphasizing values of integrity, sustainability and innovation. Stapati’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 responds to the site uniquely, rendering it relevant and timeless. Stapati’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 100 Most influential design firms in South Asia by Architectural Digest for six years continuously, from 2014 to 2019. The Enchanted Island Resort designed by Stapati has been chosen as Seychelles’ Leading Resort 2017 by the World Travel Awards. 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. ORO is one of the reputed international publisher of art and design books, and ‘Timeless Resorts’ is one of the few monographs of an Indian architect published by ORO. Tony is also 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.