People
Giant Grass is co-founded by Munir Vahanvati and Mittul Vahanvati with the intention of exploring sustainable materials through design and construction.
Together we have over 15 years of experience in the design/built industry, including architecture, urban design, skill development, community education and construction. Additionally, we collaborate with a range of people including artists, musicians, engineers who share our passion and interest.
Core team
Munir Vahanvati
Co-founder and Design Director
Munir is a designer with a keen interest in sustainability and good design. Over past 17yrs he has designed a wide variety of projects includings cities, streets, buildings, structures, furniture, toys and much more.
He is co-author the book ‘Co-building with Bamboo’ and has presented at a range of international conferences in Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea and Australia. Currently, he is the World Bamboo Ambassador for World Bamboo Organisation and former vice president of Bamboo Society of Australia.
When not busy designing you will find him bushwalking and camping around Australia.
Mittul Vahanvati
Co-founder
Mittul is a designer, facilitator and educator passionate about design-led transformations and co-creation of knowledge around issues of housing, built environment, disaster risk reduction and community resilience.
She finished her PhD in 2018, where she investigated key factors that improved the long-term reliability of post-disaster housing reconstruction projects to enhance community resilience, in developing countries. She is also a lecturer and research fellow at RMIT University in the discipline of Sustainability and Urban Planning.
When not overwhelmed with work she likes to meditate and do some yoga.
Collaborators
Jorg Stamm
Technical Advisor
Jorg is a carpenter and bamboo master builder responsible for some of the most iconic bamboo buildings around the world. We collaborate with Jorg regularly exploring various design ideas and working on bigger projects.
Aimie Whiting
Fabricator and Artist
Aimie is a hands on person who is inspired by everyday objects, she turns these visions into unique works of art using predominantly recycled steel. She fabricates a lot of steel stuff for us with her artistic flair.
Tao Wang
Architectural Graduate
Tao is an architectural graduate who likes to get his hands dirty by building things. He has worked with us on a range of projects including making 3d visualisations, weaving woven cubbies and building bamboo structures.