
Anvay Das x’26 knows the environments people live, work and play in can make them happy. As an Interior Architecture student, he wants to create spaces that support health, learning and comfort. In the following Q&A, Das digs into what makes Interior Architecture special and how he is using it to uplift the world around him.
What is your favorite class?
Professor Uchita Vaid teaches a course on the effects of buildings and outdoor spaces on people’s behavior. I still look around and analyze this world through the lens we built in that class. Learning the many, many ways our environments, built and natural, can influence our well-being was mind-boggling!
And while it isn’t a class, I have to mention the digital fabrication lab! If they had a frequent flier program, I would definitely be in the highest tier. Having access to these resources and such knowledgeable, friendly, and supportive staff allows me to come up with ideas for my projects that I wouldn’t have otherwise. Not being bound by my previous knowledge of materials and fabrication is a game-changer for visualizing concepts and larger ideas. The lab helps me bridge the gap between conceptual elements of design and physical spaces.

How did you feel about your internship scholarship?
Seeing that email and receiving my scholarship — I couldn’t believe it! I remember the way I bubbled in excitement, my elation overflowing and my cheeks hurting from a very, very toothy grin. In addition to the immense financial load it would take off my shoulders, this scholarship from the School of Human Ecology meant I could pursue the opportunity of a lifetime — one that had always been a dream, too far out of reach. Now it was possible, and I am beyond lucky to have this incredible community to thank for it.
It sounds like your internship taught you a lot — what stuck with you?
Where do I begin? We’d come in some mornings, and realize we needed a desk or a ladder, and while it took some getting used to, the solution was always to build it ourselves! Eventually, through the construction of furniture, roofs, and even smaller crafts like a matcha whisk, I developed a robust bamboo vocabulary.
Later, I was given a task from a community in Kenya, which had two parts. One goal was to design a 50-foot tower that could be used for a range of functions, from preparing other bamboo poles for construction to becoming the centerpiece of eco-resorts – all out of less than 15 poles of bamboo. The other goal was to figure out how to actually construct this interlocking, complex shape without formal construction crews and nothing but rope, saws, and knives. It is one thing to say, “This giant beam goes here,” like we would in class, and another thing entirely to figure out how you are going to do that. The experience taught me a lot about factoring constructability and efficiency into my designs.

Standing above the treeline on a tower you’ve built, with bamboo you’ve harvested, from a forest you care for, in a community that supports you as much as you support it, makes you realize that design is not about creating something entirely new or breaking all the rules. It’s about understanding what already exists, like a tree, and learning which branches you can reach for without damaging the whole.
The things I learned during my internship in Indonesia have come home with me to the School of Human Ecology. There is an Indonesian phrase “Gotong Royong”, which loosely translates to “shouldering a burden together.” This world isn’t mine to change, but it is mine to understand, and nurture. The burden, “Gotong”, is like a large bamboo stalk. If I try lifting it alone, it will drag on the ground and crack. When we lift it together, “Royong”, it is much lighter. Together we can build beautiful things, things that will be valued by generations — but only together.
Anvay Das is one of more than 300 students who were supported by scholarships from the School of Human Ecology in 2024. The generosity of alumni and donors opens doors for students to pursue unique hands-on learning opportunities, like his internship.