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1PAX Announces Nayra Gouda and Sanya Malhotra as the Selected Fellows of the 2026 Graduate Fellowship
Two young architects from Egypt and India will spend six months researching the future of mobility, infrastructure, and human-centered design.
1PAX, the international architecture studio specializing in airports and mobility hubs, has selected Nayra Gouda and Sanya Malhotra as the fellows of its 2026 Graduate Fellowship. They were chosen from nearly 70 applications received from 21 countries.
The six-month program combines remote collaboration, mentorship from an experienced researcher, and a fully funded visit to one of 1PAX’s offices. Each fellow will develop her own research project while working with the studio’s international teams.
Meet the Fellows
Nayra Gouda is an Egyptian architect completing her MSc in Architecture and Urban Design at Politecnico di Milano. Her experience spans architectural design, sustainable development, and urban research. She is particularly interested in how transportation systems can reconnect communities with their surroundings. Her research on the regeneration of Alexandria’s Mediterranean waterfront has led her to see mobility infrastructure as more than a technical necessity: it can also make cities more accessible, connected, and socially responsive.
Sanya Malhotra is an Indian architecture graduate of the School of Planning and Architecture in Bhopal. She gained international experience at Gehl Architects in Copenhagen, contributing to urban design projects in the United States and Australia. Her interests include human-centered design, public space, and sustainability. Her undergraduate thesis reimagines an electronic waste recycling facility in New Delhi as a public-industrial campus that brings together ecology, community, research, and industry.
Although their backgrounds differ, both fellows share a commitment to research-driven design and a willingness to challenge conventional approaches to the built environment.
Why a Graduate Fellowship?
1PAX created the fellowship program to give early-career architects from around the world the opportunity to work at an international architecture firm while providing the space and support to pursue their own ideas about the challenges facing mobility infrastructure. The studio believes the field needs more than technical expertise: it also requires curiosity, critical thinking, and a deep understanding of how people experience and use these spaces.
“We want emerging architects to question established approaches, explore new ideas, and contribute to the future of architecture and mobility. Nayra and Sanya bring distinctive perspectives that we are excited to welcome into the 1PAX community,” says Mabel Miranda, CEO and Founder of 1PAX.
As the 2026 fellowship gets underway, 1PAX looks forward to supporting Nayra Gouda and Sanya Malhotra throughout their research journeys and sharing the ideas and insights that emerge from their work.
