We started with a direction, not a style.
Headed North was founded by Ritiman Mukherjee in 2022. North is a direction, not a destination.
It suggests movement, curiosity and a willingness to find your way rather than follow a fixed path. That is how we like to approach design, with a clear sense of direction, but always open to where a project takes us.
We work across architecture, interiors and spatial design from Kolkata and Hyderabad, with a strong inclination towards hospitality.
Close to the work. From first sketch to final site visit.
We’re a small design practice by choice, built around direct involvement. The people who develop an idea are the people who carry it forward — through drawings, materials, details and decisions, all the way to the site.
We work closely with our clients and collaborators, taking the time to understand what each project needs. We care about the big idea, but just as much about how a door feels in the hand, how light changes through a room, or how a space works on an ordinary Tuesday.
For us, good design isn’t just about arriving at the right idea. It’s about staying with it long enough to make it real.
We design for opening day. And every day after.
The success of a project isn’t measured when construction ends. It’s measured months later. When a restaurant runs effortlessly. When a hotel feels intuitive. When a home quietly supports everyday life.
Getting there means holding architecture and interiors as one problem rather than two, and keeping you in the room while we solve it. Six principles below are what that commits us to.
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01
Listening First
Windsong Cafe — the first board We take the time to understand your story, your goals and everything that matters to you. Sometimes you arrive with a detailed brief. Sometimes with nothing more than an idea. Both are equally good places to begin.
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02
Operational Clarity
Hotel Royal Highness — seventeen rooms, one atrium Before lines appear on paper we study the context, the movement, the light, the operations, the budget and the experience you want to create. A restaurant that photographs well and runs badly isn’t finished.
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03
Documentation as Craft
The specimen board Every drawing, detail and coordination package is prepared so consultants, contractors and vendors can build with clarity and confidence. Material honesty is a number on a drawing, not an adjective — ours name the ply and the laminate.
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04
Respect for Context
Aerosky — the roof, taken apart A rooftop in Dibrugarh, a brewery in Bangalore and a bistro in Bhubaneswar don’t share a climate, a light or a calendar. We design from what a particular site does across a whole year — its sun, its rain, its wind, its seasons — instead of carrying the last project’s answer to the next one.
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05
Involvement Through Construction
Aerosky — on site We stay involved — answering questions, reviewing details, solving what the site throws up, and making sure what gets built stays true to what was imagined. Somebody who drew it is there while it goes up.
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06
Craft Over Catalogue
Pow-ow — the counter, built The counter with the paw cut into it, the shelves dimensioned by hand for a Montessori classroom, the columns stencilled with the names of legends. We’d rather draw a thing properly for its own room than pick it out of a catalogue.
Hospitality asks different questions.
A beautiful restaurant is only successful if it also works behind the scenes. The kitchen has to flow. Service has to move without crossing the guest. People should feel looked after without ever noticing how carefully it was arranged.
Guest Journey & Covers
Arrive, wait, seat, order, pay, leave — planned as a sequence, and counted. Seat numbers are a design decision, not an afterthought.
Back-of-House & Kitchen
Pass, wash-up, dry store, cold store, staff flow and extract routed before the dining room gets its first sketch.
Service Flow & Staffing
We design around how many people work the floor and how far they walk. A plan that adds ten steps per cover is not a good plan.
Bar & Counter Design
Well layouts, speed rails, under-counter services and the sightlines that make a bar the centre of a room rather than an obstacle in it.
Specialist Coordination
Kitchen consultants, equipment suppliers, extract, AV and licensing — coordinated by us, not left for the contractor to reconcile.
Operating While Building
Phasing work around a business that still has to trade, and handing over in a state that can open on the date it said it would.
Every project is shaped by the same team.
Architects and designers who stay closely involved from concept to completion. Different perspectives, one shared commitment to thoughtful design.
Ritiman Mukherjee
Founder & Principal ArchitectRitiman graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from the Manipal School of Architecture & Planning. Before founding Studio Headed North in 2022, he worked with Studio Matter (Goa), Open to Sky Architects, and later led design at Curry Fwd Collaboration in Kolkata under Avinandan Banerjee. His work spans architecture, interiors, and hospitality design, where he combines concept development with a strong focus on execution and detail.
He continues to lead every project personally, working closely with clients from the first conversation through completion.
Sarthak Nandi
Junior ArchitectSarthak holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the Piloo Mody College of Architecture, Cuttack. Since joining Studio Headed North in 2025, he has contributed to design development, visualisation, and technical documentation across residential and hospitality projects, with a keen interest in thoughtful detailing and digital representation.
Outside the studio, he enjoys reading history and watching documentaries.
Jayatri Dhara
Junior ArchitectJayatri completed her Bachelor of Architecture at NIT Tiruchirappalli before beginning her professional journey with Dulal Mukherjee & Associates. Since joining Studio Headed North in 2024, she has worked across interior design, furniture detailing, and material development, bringing a careful and considered approach to every project.
Outside the studio, she enjoys creating handcrafted artwork and exploring new materials and finishes.
We’re not a young studio pretending otherwise — but the recognition has already started.
