In this conversation, the Bangalore-based architecture studio ShoulderTap reflects on one of the most pressing yet persistently overlooked issues in Indian architecture: the living and working conditions of construction workers. While architects continue to receive recognition and the discipline projects an image of progress, they point to the striking continuity of labor conditions on building sites, where the people who physically make architecture remain excluded from its narratives of advancement. Against this backdrop, ShoulderTap draws attention to how these conditions also reinforce the field’s male dominance, since they remain deeply incompatible with care work, childcare, and basic needs related to women’s hygiene and everyday dignity.
