Dhaval Barbhaya

Dhaval is an architect, master planner, and urban designer with over 20 years of professional experience. He plays a crucial role in SWA’s Global Planning and Urban Design Practice by creating bold context-specific solutions that integrate the environmental, social, and physical infrastructure of cities and regions. His work ranges in scale from regional and land use planning to district and block level spatial design that involves layering of buildings, mobility, infrastructure, open spaces, and natural systems into functional and vibrant urban environments. His unique blend of architecture, planning, and urban design skills have allowed him to bridge the gaps between disciplines and synthesize various aspects of placemaking. His work experience comprises of design and development of new towns and cities, mixed-use destinations, transit-oriented developments (TODs), airport cities, land reclamation projects, special economic zones, industrial parks, urban revitalization projects, and streetscape corridors and greenways.

Dhaval joined SWA Laguna Beach in August 2015 after three years in Singapore, leading EDAW-AECOM’s master planning and urban design studio for Southeast Asia as a Practice Line Director. Prior to that, he spent 12 years in St. Louis with HOK, leading and delivering a wide range of master planning and urban design projects both, locally and internationally. Apart from his work in North America, his projects have taken him to South America, China, the Middle-East, Southeast Asia, and back to his home country, India, where he devoted 10 years to designing and building award-winning projects.

Dhaval’s travel has strengthened his belief that each place is unique and rooted in its strong social, cultural, environmental, and political history. In his projects, he continually attempts to strike a balance between tradition and modernity and to make each project distinctive with a strong sense of belonging.

Dhaval has published articles and given talks on the subjects of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD); Smart and Sustainable City Planning; and High-Density Livable Places.

Dhaval holds a Master's in Architecture and Urban Design (MAUD) from Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, and a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture from CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India.