Rhizome is shaped by the convergence of two distinct yet complementary disciplines: design and systems thinking.
Dr. Rebecca Reubens founded the studio in 2009 following an education that spanned the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi, the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and a PhD at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Her doctoral research explored the intersections of sustainability, craft and design, culminating in the development of the Rhizome Approach—a holistic design framework that continues to guide the studio's work today.
For more than two decades, Rebecca has explored the possibilities of bamboo as a contemporary material, serving as an ambassador for the World Bamboo Organization. Alongside her practice, she is an educator, author and researcher whose latest publication, The Routledge Handbook of Craft and Sustainability in India, reflects her ongoing contribution to global conversations on craft, materiality and sustainable design.
In 2022, Col. Rohit Tyagi joined Rhizome as co-founder, bringing over two decades of distinguished service in the Indian Army and an education from the Management Development Institute, Gurgaon. His years in the Army instilled an instinct for measured risk, decisive leadership and calm under pressure—qualities that continue to shape the studio's evolution.
Together, Rebecca and Rohit have cultivated a practice where rigorous thinking is matched by thoughtful execution. Rebecca shapes the studio's creative vision and intellectual direction, while Rohit provides the discipline, strategic clarity and conviction that allow ambitious ideas to be realised. Their partnership ensures that Rhizome's work is not only thoughtfully conceived, but thoughtfully brought to life.
