MsNeetha Joseph Kalappurakkal

Graduate Researcher

Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment/School of Architecture and Built Environment

BIO

Neetha Joseph Kalappurakkal is an architect, visual designer, illustrator, and researcher based between Hyderabad and Kerala, India. She is currently a cotutelle PhD scholar pursuing her doctoral studies in Design at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad and in Architecture and Built Environment at Deakin University.

Trained in architecture and working at the intersection of spatial practice and visual inquiry, her work explores how built environments communicate through form, ornament, inscription, and surface — often situated within Keralam’s layered socio-cultural landscape. Her research engages visual culture, architectural ornamentation, typography, and material heritage, examining how visual systems shape identity, memory, and collective belonging.

Working across photography, archival documentation, typological mapping, and design-led interpretation, she approaches architecture not only as structure but as a cultural text embedded in history, craft, and circulation. Her projects reflect a sustained engagement with Kerala’s visual and material traditions while remaining attentive to broader questions of visual rhetoric and design research.

Her research and visual work have been presented through academic conferences and curated exhibitions, including the Kochi Muziris Biennale as a part of Students’ Biennale (2025–26) and Visualizing Knowledge 2025, and have been featured in OpenSea, Malayala Manorama, The Hindu, The New Indian Express, Outlook India and The Better India.

DEAKIN UNIVERSITY CURRENT APPOINTMENT

  • Graduate Researcher
    Deakin University, Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment/School of Architecture and Built Environment

DEGREES

  • Bachelor of Architecture
    Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, India2017 - 2022
  • Master in Visual Design
    Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Sangāreddi, India2023 - 2025
  • Doctor of Philosophy
    Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Sangāreddi, India2025 - 2030
  • Doctor of Philosophy
    Deakin University, Burwood, Australia2026 - 2030

CERTIFICATIONS

  • COA Registered Architect
    Council of Architecture - India, India
    Registered Architect in India

LANGUAGES

  • English
    Can read, write, speak and understand
  • Malayalam
    Can read, write, speak and understand
  • Hindi
    Can read, write, speak and understand
  • German
    Can read, write and speak
  • Arabic
    Can read, write and speak
  • Tamil
    Can speak and understand

FIELDS OF RESEARCH

  • Architecture
  • Visual cultures
  • Visual communication design (incl. graphic design)
  • Architectural history, theory and criticism
  • Design history, theory and criticism

AREA/FACULTY

  • Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment

DEPARTMENT/SCHOOL/INSTITUTE/DISCIPLINE

  • School of Architecture and Built Environment

AREAS OF EXPERTISE