--- description: Find out how Vinu Daniel is shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership. title: 2023 TIME100 Next: Vinu Daniel image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef9488f31e52101/698a400716d884d28dc3c2e2/time100-next-vinu-daniel-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 13, 2023 # Vinu Daniel by Paola Antonelli  Vinu Daniel Vinu DanielJoe Maher—Getty Images for the Royal Academy of Arts Vinu Daniel once told me his best teachers were masons, workers, and locals in [Kerala, India](https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194593/kerala-india/ "undefined"). While a student there, he met his hero Laurie Baker—an architect celebrated for energy-efficient, evocative buildings—who shared Gandhi’s advice: the ideal house should be made of materials found within a five-mile radius. --- ### More from TIME --- Hyperlocal materials and techniques make for mighty elegant buildings, it turns out. In the hands of Vinu’s studio, Wallmakers, mud bricks swirl in pirouettes, and debris from previous walls becomes new walls. Pictures from construction sites exude pride and delight in craftsmanship and teamwork. Vinu teaches us respect for local wisdom and material culture are key for a truly responsible attitude toward the environment and [the future](https://time.com/6227277/qatar-extreme-heat-world-cup-2022/ "undefined"), saying, “Whatever project you’re working on, can you reduce something about it? Can you reduce it by one bag of cement? Can you save one tree? Then you are on your own path to sustainability.” _Antonelli is a senior curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art_ Vinu Daniel Is on the TIME100 Next 2023 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2023/6308503/vinu-daniel/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2023/6308503/vinu-daniel/"},"headline":"Vinu Daniel","datePublished":"2023-09-13T11:00:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:19:12.984Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2023/6308503/vinu-daniel/","keywords":["TIME 100 Next","sponsorshipblock","time100nextartists23"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef9488f31e52101/698a400716d884d28dc3c2e2/time100-next-vinu-daniel-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef9488f31e52101/698a400716d884d28dc3c2e2/time100-next-vinu-daniel-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2023/6308503/vinu-daniel/","name":"Vinu Daniel"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See Everyone on the TIME100 Next List","description":"TIME100 Next, our annual franchise recognizing the rising leaders in health, climate, business, sports, the arts and more.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/QxIk3IJu/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-09-13T11:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QxIk3IJu.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2023/6308503/vinu-daniel/","duration":"PT1M58S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2023/6308503/vinu-daniel/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```