Poonam Trambadia, an Adjunct Associate Professor at Anant, brings a unique approach to teaching the history of architecture for a pragmatic connection between the evolution of technology and the historical timeline. Her knowledge of assessing age-old structures and using technology, including laser, LiDAR, infrared imaging, etc., adds value to conventional methods. Apart from project-based research, historic architecture and heritage management are her research forte. She was an assistant researcher to Prof Adam Hardy at Cardiff University for research on Western Indian Temple architecture. Study of step-wells of Gujarat (done with TCGL) and princely fort architecture of Gujarat are some of her other field-based research works. She has guided bachelor’s and master’s theses on various topics. 

At Anant National University, she teaches BArch, BDes and BPlan students subjects like building construction, heritage and conservation, history of architecture and design studio. Several thesis projects, research papers and competition projects have been completed under her guidance. She organised a student workshop with AWHCT and a teacher’s training with the Council of Architecture in collaboration with ICOMOS India.

Poonam holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Sarvajanik College of Engineering and Technology, Surat (South Gujarat University), and a Master of Architecture with a specialisation in Architectural Conservation from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi.

Professionally, Poonam has been teaching since 2008. A practising Conservation Architect working with national, state and private heritage stakeholders, she has undertaken several remarkable projects, including the Conservation of Kochrab Ashram, Ahmedabad, the Destination Development Project for Polo Forest, Rajkot Darbargarh and others. She has also been a consultant to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for the European Union project on the Cultural and Heritage Management Laboratory project in collaboration with Valladolid Municipal Corporation, Spain.

Poonam and her partner Ashish Trambadia have worked as consultants with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), World Monuments Funds (WMF), Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL), Municipal Corporations of Ahmedabad (AMC) and Rajkot (RMC) and NGOs and private heritage property owners. The firm was also nominated for the Grohe NDTV Design and Architecture Awards 2014 for the Heritage Conservation category for one of its projects. It received the Best Conservation Architecture and Design Firm of the Year 2020 and the National Excellence Award in Architecture and Interior Design in Bengaluru in November 2020. 

Poonam has been acting as West Zone Representative ICOMOS India since 2017 and is an active member of the National Scientific Committee of NSC Historic Towns and Villages. She contributes to NSC Disaster and Risk Management, is an advisory committee member for the Temple site upgrade and development of Gujarat Pavitra Yatradham Vikas Board, Gujarat and is also a WICCI, Gujarat Chapter member.

Apart from professional and research fields, her areas of interest are dance and embroidery. A trained Bharatnatyam and Latin dancer, she also has hands-on practice in hand embroidery with learnings from South Gujarat and Saurashtra styles.