Vicky Achnani

Vicky Achnani is an educator, architectural designer and maker based in Pittsburgh. With years of dedicated work on self-initiated design-build community projects, Vicky's professional background is enriched with expertise in employing unconventional materials. Each design-build project is thoughtfully tailored around the site conditions and curated while actively involved in the production of the architecture on site. Vicky is a licensed architect from India and runs a small design practice focusing on working with sustainable materials in underserved parts of society.

Vicky's academic journey is marked by notable achievements, commencing with the acquisition of a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Faculty of Architecture at CEPT University in 2013. He is a recipient of the India2EU II scholarship 2013-14 and JN Tata Scholar 2020. Vicky holds a Master of Architecture degree from the Yale School of Architecture, which he completed in 2022. Before pursuing a professional master’s degree at Yale, Vicky taught design studios based on materials and detailing at the School of Architecture, CEPT and Auro University for several years.

After attaining his master's degree, Vicky joined the faculty of Carnegie Mellon Architecture in the fall of 2022. Appointed as Special Faculty in Architectural Design, he currently teaches design studios in both Praxis I and Praxis II, in addition to seminar courses on design-build such as the Spring Carnival Pavilion and Chair courses.

Vicky's professional inclination leans towards detailing and the intricate process of making architecture. He distinctively favors models over drawings as catalysts to instigate the design process.