Varun Kohli

In his current role at Battery Park City Authority, Varun leads strategic design and planning efforts for the 92 acre development in lower Manhattan with a focus on urban resiliency and decarbonization of existing and new buildings. Prior to joining Battery Park City Authority, Varun led the sustainability team at Buro Happold to draft Battery Park City’s Sustainability Plan and Green Guidelines. For over a decade, Varun has worked on integrating environmental analytics with design in firms including HOK and SOM as well as his own practice, Merge Studio in New York. 

With his focus on integrating environmental sensitivities in design, Varun has collaborated with Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture (CEA) researchers on novel pedagogical models for environmental design studios. He recently authored a chapter in Energy Modeling in Architecture; A practice guide, published by RIBA. 

Varun has also taught courses at Harvard GSD and RPI (CASE) and is a frequent critic at Princeton School of Architecture and U-Penn Design. He currently serves on the board of the ‘Pokhrama Foundation,’ working to build a net-zero school, providing K-12 education in a remote region of northern India.