_pages-to-jpg-0001.jpg)
In a world where architecture often juggles beauty and function, Ar. Sachin Rastogi, Co-Founder of Zero Energy Design Lab (ZED Lab), has made sustainability its very foundation. Since 2009, the Delhi-based studio has been at the forefront of net-zero energy design, creating buildings that respond to climate, culture, and community. For Rastogi, sustainability is not an afterthought but the starting point, shaping everything from orientation and materials to courtyards inspired by India’s forts. In this conversation with Asma Rafat, he reflects on design, responsibility, and the cities of tomorrow.
How do you balance aesthetic vision with practical constraints like budget, climate, and regulations?
Sachin Rastogi: For us, constraints aren’t obstacles, they are part of the design language. If everything is a given, nothing feels restrictive. Constraint only becomes a problem when it’s introduced late, but when you consider it at the very beginning, it shapes the project in a meaningful way.
At ZED Lab, we begin each project with the intent of reaching net-zero energy. If clients are not immediately ready to invest, we at least place the project on a roadmap that ensures it will be net zero in the next five or ten years.
From the earliest stages, we think about orientation, glazing, shading, and transitional spaces to control energy performance. Thermal and insulation analyses guide us before aesthetics come into play. And when aesthetics are considered, they are chosen within the framework of performance, not outside of it. We prioritize local materials, local labour, and low-carbon practices, ensuring beauty emerges from sustainability itself.
What role does sustainability play in your design philosophy, and how do you integrate it into projects?
Sachin Rastogi: To us, sustainability isn’t something you integrate, it is the core of the design. Every project must be sustainable; it is not a trend, nor an add-on. It is the need of the hour. For us, sustainability is not a concept we attach to design, it is the design principle itself.
Can you share a project where local culture or history significantly influenced your design choices?
Sachin Rastogi: Every project we do draws from context. For instance, the ‘House Under Shadow’ was inspired by the double-roof concepts found in forts. The courtyards there are direct reinterpretations of traditional forms.
Similarly, in the Cantilever House in Ghaziabad, courtyards became central tools for creating favourable microclimates. We designed summer and winter courts, adapting ideas from historical practices in Jaipur’s forts, where people shifted between levels and corners depending on the season.
We aren’t copying history, but reinterpreting vernacular wisdom for modern living, allowing culture and climate to guide contemporary design.
With rapid urbanisation, what do you think future cities should prioritise in their architecture?
Sachin Rastogi: At a city scale, we still struggle with basics. Look at our urban flooding—this shows that before dreaming of futuristic models, we must first fix the fundamentals. Cities need to balance energy demand, manage migration patterns, and design systems that serve current populations.
We need to upgrade infrastructure to meet present needs, and only then can we effectively prepare for the future. Resilient systems not just iconic buildings should be the priority for urban India.
For Sachin Rastogi, architecture is not about choosing between aesthetics and performance, but about dissolving the boundary between the two. His practice embodies the conviction that a home or city doesn’t just stand on the land, it should emerge from it. With courtyards echoing history, walls designed to breathe, and cities imagined with balance, Rastogi’s work at ZED Lab is proof that sustainability is not the future of design, it is its foundation today.
