Born in Mumbai, India, Shefali Balwani studied at the renowned School of Architecture C.E.P.T in Ahmedabad. After completing here thesis on the Architecture of contemporary mosques she moved back to Mumbai to work with Rahul Mehrotra. In 2004 she joined the office of Channa Daswatte in Sri Lanka where she was responsible for a variety of projects such as the part refurbishment of Geoffrey Bawa's Lighthouse Hotel.