SOHO Architects is an architecture and interior design firm based in Calicut (Kozhikode), Kerala. Founder-led, climate-responsive, working across homes, workplaces, and quiet rooms since 2011.
Selected work
A small selection. Houses that learned from their hillsides, rooms that hold the afternoon, workplaces that don't pretend to be elsewhere.
An architecture firm in Calicut, for Kerala's climate and the way it lives.
Founded in Calicut in 2011, SOHO is a founder-led architecture and interior design practice. Every project is run by one of three partners from the first conversation to the last site visit — not by a junior team you only meet on signing day.
We design for the place we're from. Malabar light, long monsoons, laterite ground, courtyards that breathe, verandahs that work harder than they look. Most of our work is in Kozhikode and across Kerala — Malappuram, Kannur, Wayanad, Thrissur — with the occasional project elsewhere in India.
The studio works across three lines: residential architecture (houses, villas, second homes), commercial and workplace projects (offices, hospitality, small institutional work), and interior design — rooms detailed the way the building was drawn. Recognised by IIA Kerala and a small number of editorial publications, but mostly by clients who came back for the next house.
- Residential
- Homes for the way Kerala actually lives — verandahs, courtyards, families that gather.
- Workspace
- Offices that read the climate before the brief. Daylight first, air second, screens last.
- Hospitality
- Small hotels and retreats that belong to their site, not to a style.
- Interiors
- Rooms finished the way the building was drawn — every joint resolved twice.
- Heritage
- Tile-roofed buildings rethought without losing their bones.
Most of our work is in Kerala, where the monsoon writes half the brief. Some of it is elsewhere. The principles don't change with the postcode.
About the studio →Working with an architect in Calicut.
Most of our clients arrive with a plot, a budget that isn't yet fixed, and a sense that a house has to do more than fit on a drawing. The first meeting is unhurried — usually at our studio in Malaparamba, sometimes on the site itself if it's nearby. There's no presentation. We listen, ask, and try to understand what the place is asking for before any line is drawn.
Design begins with a site visit and a measure. Light studies, soil notes, the trees worth keeping, the neighbour's wall that's already deciding part of your plan. A concept follows — usually within six to eight weeks. Schematic drawings, then design development, then the working set the contractor builds from. Each phase has a sign-off so we're moving forward with you, not ahead of you. A typical residential project takes four to six months from first meeting to construction-ready drawings.
Construction is supervised. We don't hand over a set of drawings and disappear. One of the partners is on site every fortnight at minimum, more often during finish stages. Material samples are reviewed in person. We work with a small group of contractors across Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kannur, and Wayanad who know how to build what we draw — which means fewer surprises and a build that holds its lines.
Fees are a percentage of the build cost, set in writing at the first meeting before any work begins. We're happy to talk about budget early — the earlier the better. A site visit and the first conversation are always at no cost.
Working with an architect in Calicut.
- Where are SOHO Architects based?
- Our studio is on Golf Link Road, Malaparamba, in Calicut (Kozhikode). Most of our work is in Kerala — Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kannur, Wayanad, Thrissur — with the occasional project elsewhere in India.
- What does SOHO Architects work on?
- Three lines of work: residential architecture (houses, villas, second homes), commercial and workplace projects (offices, small hotels, institutional buildings), and interior design. Every project is led personally by one of the three founding partners.
- How much does a house designed by an architect in Calicut cost?
- Architect fees in Calicut typically run between 6% and 10% of the build cost, depending on scope and the level of detailing involved. Build costs vary widely by site, finishes, and structural system. We discuss budgets openly at the first meeting so there are no surprises later.
- How long does it take to design and build a house in Kerala?
- From the first conversation to handover, a typical SOHO house takes 18 to 30 months — roughly 4 to 6 months of design and drawings, the rest in construction. Larger or more complex projects take longer. We'd rather move at the pace the building deserves than rush a draft.
- Do you work on small projects or interiors only?
- Yes. About a third of the studio's work is interiors — homes already built that want resolving — or smaller renovations and additions. We're happy to start with a single room and stay through the rest of the house.
More questions? Start an inquiry — we reply within three working days, always from a person.