Debapriya Chakrabarti is a Lecturer in Architecture, leading PRAXIS Atelier. 

Debapriya’s research focused on the role of infrastructure and its implications socio-spatial practices. She wrote an doctoral dissertation and a susequent book on cultural heritage of Durga Puja festival and its implications on the caste-based idol-making community in Kumartuli, an inner-city neighbourhood of Kolkata (India). Her research expertise is in informal practices, livelihoods, the human-infrastructure interface and sustainable urban transitions, focusing on marginalised communities in the Global South. Debapriya was previously a ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow in Architecture, The University of Manchester. At MSA she is part of CPU Lab (A3RO). 

Debapriya currently teaches M Arch Year 2 in PRAXIS atelier and a Research Methods Workshop module for M Arch Year 1, MLA, and MLAR. She also teaches BA1 studio. PRAXIS is a decolonial feminist atelier running vertically across BA3 and M Arch courses at MSA aiming to stimulate a positive intersectional feminist debate with a focus on inclusive thinking within the school and beyond.

Debapriya is part of editorial board as essays and reviews editor of The Journal of Architecture, RIBA. 

Debapriya has completed a PhD in Architecture at The University of Manchester investigating transformation of idol-crafting practices in Kolkata. She completed her master’s degree in City Planning at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 2015 with a Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), Government of India scholarship. Debapriya trained as an architect and completed her Bachelor in Architecture from Biju Patnaik University of Technology, India in 2012. She worked as an architect in a practice in Kolkata, India before pursuing a Master’s degree in City Planning. 

Previous Employment

ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow at The University of Manchester

Research Associate at The University of Manchester