Rashmi Sirkar is an architectural designer and researcher investigating the potential for circular design practice through building reuse, material reuse and bio-based construction. As a partner at Ha/f Climate Design she has led research on the embodied carbon impact study of the City of Toronto’s Urban Design Guidelines as well as ongoing work with Rehousing.ca for low-carbon and climate resilient construction strategies. Her grant-funded Master of Architecture thesis at University of Toronto proposed the creation of a circular economic model for Toronto’s postwar stick-frame housing stock and explored the various pathways of wood reuse for wood within the actor-network of a reuse economy. 

Her commitment to the social and environmental aspects of materials is deeply informed by her prior experience as a textile designer and social entrepreneur in India.  Rashmi served as Managing Director of Pitara Design and Textiles overseeing design and manufacturing processes that work extensively with natural materials and craft communities across the country. She also co-founded Mana Organics; a women-led organisation that works with collectivised small farmers to facilitate organic farming at scale in India.