He graduated from Cambridge University, where he obtained both his bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering sciences with honours.
His focus is to use water and environmental sanitation infrastructure as a principal catalyst for poverty alleviation.
In structures, Mr. Parikh has developed the concept of ‘mindful buildings’ based on simplicity, frugality, and multiplicity.
"[3] On the structural engineering front, his work offers an alternative paradigm to "green buildings" in order to deliver affordable and low embodied energy structures within the holistic framework of light, ventilation, and thermal comfort.
Parikh was a professor at the School of Planning, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, a visiting lecturer at the Human Settlements Management Institute in Delhi, and has taught occasionally at Martin's School of Architecture at Cambridge University.