Runit Chaya

Principal, Landscape Architecture

Runit brings extensive experience in landscape architecture and urban design to firm leadership at Grain, where his projects center community values, sustainable design, and dynamic teamwork.

Runit is known for his bold thinking; this can be seen in his unconventional design solutions or the unexpectedly vivid color palette of an urban playground. He has worked on projects internationally, with a critical mass of work in New York City in both the public and private sectors. A savvy leader, Runit assembles diverse teams of experts and stakeholders to realize complex projects through productive collaboration; in New York he works regularly with large agencies including NYC School Construction Authority (SCA), NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA), and the NYC Public Design Commission.

Runit lived and worked in India, Australia and the United Arab Emirates before moving to New York City. After finally giving up on his Bollywood dreams, he settled in Brooklyn with his wife, daughters, and the family’s (and now the firm’s) black Lab mix.