Saurabh Tewari studied Architecture (B. Arch, 2003-08) at Sushant School of Art and Architecture, Gurgaon and Communication Design (M. Des, 2008-10) at IDC, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. He obtained his doctorate in Design from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in 2021 for which he received the "Outstanding PhD Thesis Award". His thesis, "Design Paradigms: A Post-colonial Design History of India", intends to be foundational in the under-articulated South Asian and Indian Design History.  

Saurabh has a teaching and research experience of 15+ years elaborating the discourse on Design History, Design and Architecture Studies. In 2018, he co-initiated the Master of Design programme at the School of Planning and Architecture Bhopal with an integral focus on Socio-Cultural Design. He has published various threads on design, sustainability, and urbanism.

Saurabh has travelled and presented at academic events worldwide. He has co-edited India's first publication on the emerging field of Landscape Urbanism, Blue Lines of Kolkata (2017). His forthcoming publications include a co-edited volume on sustainability and design education with the Design Research Society (UK) and a seven-volume Cultures of Design series with Springer Nature.

Saurabh is a recipient of various research and travel fellowships from national and global institutions, including the Earth Institute at Columbia University, the USA in 2007; Department of Science and Technology MHRD, Government of India 2008-10; UNESCO/UNEP/BMU TU Dresden, Germany 2010; DRONAH Gurgaon, 2011; IIT Kanpur, 2015-17; Design History Society, UK, 2017 and 2019; Society of Architectural Historians, USA, 2018; Environmental Planning & Coordination Organisation, MP, India, 2019; College Art Association & Getty Foundation, 2020, Distinguished Alumnus Award by IDC School of Design IIT Bombay in 2020; Outstanding PhD Thesis Award from IIT Kanpur; two TU Delft–IIT Delhi collaborative research grants; and the University of Antwerp’s Global Minds Fellowship (2025). 

In 2025, he hosted the SiDE symposia (IIT Delhi and TU Delft) and the 14th ICDHS, Cultures of Design, the reputed conference’s first edition in South Asia.