We need to design, architect and build our cities from the lens of environmental conservation, adopting approaches that align with climate friendly laws and policies !

Netra Naik, our next pathbreaker, Research Fellow at Arctic Basecamp (Netherlands), supports polar science research projects with a focus on understanding the impact of polar change on global climate risks such as droughts, floods, wildfires and extreme weather events.

Netra talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about how her background as an architect gives her a deeper perspective on understanding global environmental challenges and the need for climate protection through climate responsive designs.

For students, while it is important to understand your strengths and play to them, it is equally important to follow your heart and intuition !

Netra, tell us what were your growing up years like?

I was born and raised in Pune, India. I grew up in a strong women centric home, where I was never told I could not do something because I was a girl. My father worked as an electrical engineer in Saudi Arabia while my mother worked as a supervisor at BSNL office. My father later joined us in India after having enough savings for his family and he also happily shared all the household responsibilities, while my mother continued her job at BSNL. Observing my parents and our home having absolutely no gender bias when it came to doing life and daily chores be it at work or home, set me up to not have any limiting beliefs and dream big and beyond as a girl. My elder sister is a nanotechnology scientist and also shares a passion for innovative research like me.

After completing my 12th board exams with science as my specialization I was just like any other confused child not sure what career path to take. However, I was absolutely sure I did not want to follow the rat race and was also keen on pursuing my creative skills in combination with my scientific curiosity. 

Hence, I came to the conclusion as a 16-year-old that I did not want to take up engineering, medical or IT. This was the beginning of my exploration into what other unique fields exist?

What did you do for graduation / post-graduation?

After much reflection and research, I shortlisted Architecture to be an interesting field that would fire my creative and technological skills. On this exploration journey, I visited the best architecture colleges in my city and gathered the required information on what pre-training or skill set is required to pursue Architecture.

I did my BArch (Architecture) and MArch (Environmental Architecture ) from Savitribai Phule Pune University

Can you share with us some of the key influences that led you to such an offbeat, unconventional, and unique career in Climate Research?

I found my professors to be my friends and mentors while pursuing Bachelor of Architecture at Dr. B.N College of Architecture. Our college functioned on the principle of freedom of thought and gave me flexibility and a free hand to truly explore my passion and higher calling. 

Eventually during the course work, I developed an affinity for Ar. Laurie Baker’s work which focused on environmentally friendly building design.

To summarize, I had no major triggers that made me opt for Architecture. It was purely intuition, some research and clarity about what I didn’t want to do – engineering and medical.

How did you plan the steps to get into the career you wanted? Tell us about your career path

As a young architect, while exploring my interests, I stumbled upon Ar. Laurie Baker’s work that catered to the needs of the environment and people. As a final year student, I was lucky enough to intern at Laurie Baker’s firm in the summer of 2012 summer. I learnt about building to blend with nature, explore and conduct hands-on sessions on use of natural materials, and visited various social community projects undertaken by him. His environment sensitive designs inspired the architect within me to pursue a Master’s Degree in Environmental planning and design. 

The course entails understanding building and city design from the lens of environmental conservation and benefits. It includes subjects such as environmental law and policy, climatology, studying sun path and wind patterns to design buildings for adequate daylight and ventilation. It also looks at macro scale projects such as land use planning for co-habitation of wildlife and humans.

During my post-graduation, I learnt various technical skills required to build and design green buildings. We undertook various environmental planning assignments which included planning for co- habitation of wildlife and people, development of resilient urban spaces and smart cities, environment management plans for villages. The assignments sensitized me towards global environmental challenges and the need for climate protection through climate responsive designs. 

My 1st job after masters was at Gangotree. The firm specializes in designing environmentally friendly buildings that use local materials, and provides optimum thermal comfort while reducing the electrical consumption. The firm also undertook various unique and social projects such as campus design for National Federation of Blind Women. Designing for differently abled women provided me with a unique experience that involved being material and space conscious. We chose materials with a lot of texture and integrated spaces with gardens that heightened other senses such as smell and touch, to enable the blind women to experience the space.

I had gained enough knowledge to start executing independent design projects. I believe a small sapling cannot grow to new heights under the shade of a bigger tree. This thought made me establish Green Lantern. I conceptualized the design of our ancestral home in Karwar, based on principles of climate responsive design. I consciously took up teaching positions as a means to share and document my first-hand construction site knowledge. You remember the details of any project most when you share the knowledge ahead.

My professional years as an architect helped me apply all the knowledge gained during my student tenure to real time projects. As a faculty, I gained interest in Environmental research, which led me to realize that research can not only lead to innovation, but also help plan for preventive measures in events of extreme weather changes. As an environmental professional, I believe that collaborative research can help design a better today for a resilient tomorrow.

How did you transition from being an Architect to a career in Climate Research? 

In 2019, it was alarming to see my city Pune, India grapple with flooding and extreme heat. My first-hand experiences with weather extremities motivated me to step into climate change research. As an architect, I was curious to understand how built urban environments modify bioclimatic parameters leading to urban heat islands, excessive flooding, and greenery loss. Through extensive reading and research, I understood that a degenerated urban environment severely impacts citizens and planet health. Highly urbanized cities promote occurrences of allergic, inflammatory, and auto-immune diseases as well as certain types of skin cancers. 

I felt a certain responsibility, as a future planner, to be cautious about the design choices I make. I was drawn to work towards finding solutions to improve urban environments. As my interest in research in climate change, health, and nature-based design grew, I stumbled upon the International Climate Protection (ICP) Fellowship offered by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. 

I was fortunate to successfully apply for the (ICP) research grant at Building Health Lab in Berlin and start my fellowship journey as a Humboldt Fellow from March 2021 onwards. The fellowship provided a much-needed platform for climate scientists to come together and work towards larger global goals such as caring for the planet.

My primary research focused on linking climate change causes and impacts to city and building design and planning. My research expanse includes urban heat mapping, studying impacts of flooding in urban areas, specifically street design, studying impacts of melting polar regions on global climate risks such as droughts, floods and wildfires, understanding how vulnerable and indigenous populations are affected by climate change, etc.

How did you get your first break?

Even though I worked in multiple roles immediately after my Masters such as an architect, academic faculty, and an environmental consultant, winning the Humboldt Fellowship Grant was my first breakthrough that provided me international exposure and changed my career path. I was actively looking for fully funded international research experience. My drive for an international platform and relentless internet search for funding helped me transform this dream to reality.

What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?

The main challenge was conducting an independent research project in a new country where language, culture and way of life is different. To add to that, I was working on my independent research project in a foreign country (Germany) during a pandemic. I overcame isolation and administrative challenges by creating a network of friends and colleagues who motivated and supported me through the hard days. I continued to adapt to a new life everyday with a positive spirit.

Where do you work now? Can you tell us about your current role?

At present, as a research fellow at Arctic Basecamp, I support polar science research projects with a focus on understanding the impact of polar change on global climate risks such as droughts, floods, wildfires and extreme weather events. Furthermore, I am actively involved in climate change advocacy activities with Climate Scorecard, where I author blogs on climate change developments involving policy analysis for Indonesia. Until March 2024, I also assisted CIPSEM, TU Dresden as a research assistant, which involved supporting general research and social media communications for the UNEP/UNESCO/BMUV Courses themed around environmental management. It involved documenting global projects such as ecosystem based adaptation, mangrove restoration, tree plantation, water conservation undertaken by course participants in their regional contexts, that bring the united nations sustainable development goals into on ground action.

Along with pursuing these interesting research roles, I pursue hobbies such as swimming, martial arts, Kathak dancing and painting. My hobbies help me recharge and bring new creative energy to my work.

I currently work at the intersection of research and digital innovation for finding climate friendly solutions based on science communication. However, I am still an architect by profession and am currently putting my architectural skills to use in my personal life where I am overseeing the design of my own home – which is in the making.

What are the skills needed for your role? How did you acquire them?

Thorough knowledge about climate change science and analytical as well as research skills are required for my job. I have gained these skills over the years through my degree course work and specifically fellowship exposure as well as interaction with diverse experts in my field of interest.

What’s a typical day like?

While I was a Humboldt fellow, my typical day consisted of reading plenty of research articles about urban heat and climate change impacts and on some other days, I was outdoors doing field work with a thermal imaging camera to map urban heat in a Berlin neighbourhood.

I absolutely love that my work investigates today’s complex challenges such as climate change. It gives me a sense of having a larger purpose to my life.

How does your work benefit society? 

My work strives to make complex climate change science easy to understand for the common public and thereby encourages building a sustainable lifestyle. It envisions creating innovative digital solutions to better understand climate risks.

Tell us an example of a specific memorable work you did that is very close to you!

The urban heat mapping project was a memorable project where I meticulously collected data consisting of about 1000+ thermal images of Berlin neighbourhoods which assisted in urban heat analysis. The research project focused on developing methods to review urban environmental problems in cities using visual tools. Consequently, I also studied various health impacts of urban heat, flooding, and biodiversity loss to support the research project. I successfully curated an urban materials catalogue for Berlin providing details on properties such as albedo (how much sun radiation is reflected back), stormwater runoff percentage (excess rainwater), and biotope factor (amount of green trees and plants). I methodized calculations using google earth to grade an urban scene for its environmental performance using above listed properties.

Your advice to students based on your experience?

Follow your heart and intuition, don’t have limiting beliefs about what you can do with your life, don’t fall prey to societal stereotypes of doing certain things by a certain age. Be curious and open to possibilities. Never stop exploring and firing your passion. Make plenty of mistakes and grow as a person.

Making time for your hobbies, friends and loved ones is equally important while you search for your passion and purpose. Enjoy your journey and don’t miss out on the fun side of life.

Most importantly, invest in a healthy lifestyle, eat well and exercise. It will give you all the vigor required to achieve your life goals.

Travel whenever you can, experiences bring you closer to finding your true passion.

Future Plans?

A doctoral degree under the umbrella of Climate Change and Urban Planning. A well-rounded life with the love of my life. A truly successful life is one that balances career, family, finances and most important your mental and physical health!

Cheers to breaking stereotypes!