Shivani Pinapotu is a spatial thinker and designer interested in how space intersects with story, society and our sense of self.


Her earliest memory of a space was a pillowfort that her aunt had built when she was young. The experience of having a space that fit her and a place to call her own fascinated her beyond measure. She has since then been driven by the impact of empathy, wonder and a story well-told, and always finds herself reaching for these virtues to position herself within a project. Her practice is, therefore, an attempt to humanise the built environment.

She holds an MDes. in Interior Studies from the Rhode Island School of Design, where she concentrated in Exhibition and Narrative Environments, and has extensive experience in architecture, interiors, exhibitions and theatre design across India and the States.

She is presently working at Home Studios, Brooklyn.

Reach out to spinapot@gmail.com or find her on Linkedin, if you have anything in mind!

WORK ︎︎︎




public space design

Rooting For You


The kiosk was to be designed for a maximum permissible area of 25sqm., for a fast-approaching Convocation Ceremony to be held in KMC greens, an event ground in the campus of Manipal Academy of Higher Education. With the restriction to have the built structure be no more than 20sqm, the kiosk was required to be temporary and portable.

A plant nursery symbolises growth from a tiny spurt, and promotes sustainability and eco-sensibility. In the context of a convocation, it represents a new life, branching into the various paths of life. The design is, therefore, inspired by the life and form of a tree, from its roots to its branches, signifying growth.

The theme of a nursery kiosk seemed fitting to give away plant saplings, along with the diploma, as a breathing part of the town that the student spent their college years in. The student can either plant it in the campus, symbolically rooting their presence, or take it away with them for the adventures that lie ahead.


program kiosk design - academic

level conceptual + design development

place KMC Greens, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal


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