Shailaja Nair is an architect by education; she holds a Master's degree in Planning from School of Architecture and Planning, Anna University, Chennai and is presently working towards securing a PhD from Jawahar Lal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. She is currently Associate Professor,Department of Architecture, College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram. She worked at the COSTFORD during 1989- 2000. She was  actively associating with Laurie Baker and his construction philosophy  and continues to do so in her professional and personal  life.