Brinda Somaya was a member of the Board of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction (2017-24) and was a keynote speaker at the 4th Holcim Forum 2013 on “Economy of Sustainable Construction” held in Mumbai. She was also a member of the Holcim Foundation Awards 2014 jury for Asia Pacific.

Brinda Somaya is an acclaimed architect of India and South Asia with a prolific work portfolio. Her expansive volume of work over three decades has led to her name being associated with the league of post-independence Indian masters of architecture and the creation of a successful, multi-project practice. It includes commercial, educational, institutional, interior, corporate and conservation commissions including rehabilitation of a village impacted by an earthquake, to the restoration of an 18th century cathedral. She founded SNK in 1978.

The Government of India appointed her Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the School of Planning & Architecture (SPA) at Vijayawada (2016-). SPA is one of three schools of planning and architecture designated as an “Institute of National Importance”.

She was a member of the Committee of Environmental Impact Assessment of New Construction Projects for the Indian Ministry of Environment & Forests; a member of the Mumbai Urban Heritage Conservation Committee; a member of the board of the International Archives of Women in Architecture (USA); and is a founding trustee of the HECAR Foundation. She is also a member of the National Advisory Board of NCSHS (National Centre for Safety of Heritage Structures) and a member of the Council of Architecture Committee to Review the Profession & Education of Architecture in India.

The Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) awarded her the Baburao Mhatre Gold Medal for excellence in the field of architecture (2014). It is the highest honor of the IIA for lifetime achievement in architecture. She received a special mention in the International Union of Architects (UIA) Vassilis Sgoutas Prize for the Bhuj Village project (2008). The UIA prize recognizes individuals and groups contributing in an efficient manner to the struggle against misery of those living below the poverty line. She was the first woman to win the peer evaluated Wienerberger Golden Architect Award (2007) for lifetime achievement.

She received the Award of Distinction from the UNESCO Asia Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conversation (2019) for the conservation of the Vikram Sarabhai Library at the Indian Institute of Management campus in Ahmedabad, India. Through careful studies and extensive modelling, the conservation team conquered a range of difficult technical challenges to extend the life of the composite brick and concrete structure with its distinctive geometric forms. She has also received awards for master-planning and building design including Tata Consultancy Services, Banyan Park, Mumbai; Nalanda International School, Vadodara; Zensar Technologies, Pune; and is restoring the historic Louis Kahn Buildings of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

Brinda Somaya was chosen in the 100 Global Public Interest Design persons working at the intersection of design and service globally (2013). Public Interest Design places emphasis on sustainable design that includes ecological, economic, and social issues; and on designing products, structures, and systems that address issues such as economic development and the preservation of the environment. Her monograph, titled Brinda Somaya Works & Continuities, was published in 2018.