Mr. Amol Prabhu, Partner at Shashi Prabhu & Associates shares trends in architecture and upcoming projects in India
1. Brief about the recently commissioned projects and upcoming projects in India.
Recently Commissioned Projects:
a. Garware Club House: High end sports club in the heart of South Mumbai. Amenities such as Half-Olympic swimming pool, gymnasium, health club, residential rooms, squash courts, badminton court, table tennis, four restaurants, card room, billiards, theatre, library, tennis court and misc. amenities.
b. MCA Recreational Club at BKC: High end recreational/ sports club in Bandra Kurla Complex. Amenities such as Half-Olympic swimming pool, gymnasium, health club, residential rooms, squash courts, badminton courts, Restaurants, card room, billiards, theatre, library, tennis court and misc. amenities.
c. KIMS Hospital: This 1,000 bed multi-specialty hospital was made operational in 2004. The hospital is accredited by the NABH, NABL and Pharmacie De Qualite from Bureau Veritas. The facility has received numerous awards/ accolades such as being the number one multi-specialty hospital in Hyderabad by the Times of India Survey in 2015. The hospital was the recipient of the Times Healthcare Achievers Awards in 2016 and the laureate of the Asia Pacific Society of Infection Control CSSD Excellence Silver Award in 2015-2016. It is the only hospital in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to have been Green OT certificate and has performed the highest number of surgeries of Epilepsy.
d. Reconstruction of Sir Hirkissondas Hospital for Reliance: This 375 bed super specialty hospital is constructed over 800,000 sq ft and conforms to AIA design standards, ASHARE for HVAC, NFPA for Medical Gases, the American Disability Act, AERB for Radiation & Nuclear Medicine, and the Drug Controller of India for the Blood Bank. The OT Complex is truly ‘modular’ and was designed to manage infection, increase productivity, and adapt to future technology changes. The hospital was designed to be the first in India to have Pneumatic Tube system transports medicines and materials, while separate, parallel lines carry Bio-Medical Wastes. Each In-Patient room was designed with the capability to be converted into a single-room step-down ICU. There is a seamless integration of all radiology equipments, HIS (Hospital Information Systems) and the PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) to ensure real-time transfer of data and reports across hospital systems. The hospital meets the LEED Gold rating standards for sustainability.
e. Wankhede Stadium: Demolition of the existing two stands of the Cricket Stadium and reconstructing it to not only allow for a column less obstruction free vision to all spectators but also to modernise it and to provide better amenities to players and spectators. Improve safety and security of all people.
Upcoming Projects:
a. Construction of 600 bed tertiary hospital for MCGM at Borivali: The project will involve demolition of the existing Bhagwati hospital and construction of a brand new 500 bed multi-specialty hospital in its place. The project, once completed, will have OPD’s, Operation Theatres, ICU beds, casualty beds, general beds and special beds. There will be a burns and dialysis ward. The diagnostics will house latest 1x MRI, 2x CT Scan, 2x USG, BMD and Mammography. Our role will be Architecture, Interior and Project Management.
b. Construction of 500 bed tertiary hospital for MCGM at Govandi: The project will involve construction of a brand new 580 bed superspecialty hospital. The project, once completed, will have OPD’s, Operation Theatres, ICU beds, casualty beds, general beds, special beds, Chemotherapy beds, burns beds and dialysis beds. The diagnostics will house 1x MRI, 2x CT Scan, X-Ray, Mammography and BMD. Our role will be Architecture, Interior and Project Management.
c. Redevelopment of 13 bus stations of MSRTC into modern Bus Ports on PPP mode: The project will involve preparation of a design and feasibility report for selection of a developer who will then construct state-of-the-art-bus-ports at 13- 1st and 2nd tier cities of Maharashtra such as Mumbai, Panvel, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nashik, Kolhapur, Sangli, Dhule, Solapur, Nanded, Akola, Jalgaon. Each bus port will be roughly 1,00,000 sq ft and will house the bus station as well as bus depots. Our job will be to provide detailed design for the bus port and manage the construction of the entire project.
d. Construction of 10,000 houses for Police Constables and their widows: Project is located in Panvel and hopes to provide homes for Police constables of Maharashtra and their widows. This township will house schools, colleges, shopping centres and healthcare facilities. Our job will be Architecture and Project Management of the township.
2. Current trends in architecture, with focus on green projects.
Indian architecture is a highly fragmented society made up of numerous individuals and organizations each aspiring to improve the working life of the people within their surroundings by experimenting with creativity and design. At the same time, Indian designers are being continuously influenced from the developed nations, the reasons being two fold - One is the increase in size and strength of the Indian market making it attractive for the international designers to venture working in our country. Second is the upsurge of tourism which allows Indian designers/ citizens to get exposed to the developed nations thereby wanting them to experiment further with that style. One of the biggest benefactors of this continued exposure is the awareness to creating sustainable designs. The introduction of LEEDS, BREEAM and GRIHA are redefining the way Indian architecture is evolving. This trend will continue further. We have adopted a blanket policy to imbibe Green Architecture noms in each of our designs, whether the clients intend to seek the Green certification or not. We have been able to convince our clients to understand the importance and long term benefits of such thinking.
3. Future growth path or vision.
The current scenario of Architecture in India is mixed. While the real estate markets appear to be sluggish due to excessive prices, low demand, and numerous drastic changes in regulations such as RERA and GST, the sustained investment in Infrastructure sector such as roads, ports and airports is likely to bring long term boost to the real estate sector especially for the 2nd and 3rd tier cities. As a result, we will see the growth in the interior sector of the nation in the coming times. Anticipating such growth, especially in the sectors of healthcare, Mass Housing and Hospitality, we hope to utilise our 50 years of experience in making our contribution to this segment.
4. Indian Construction Industry in the next 2-3 years.
One of the biggest challenges Indian construction industry will face is the difficulty of scalability caused due to past paced expansion of all markets. Indian contractors will continue to struggle due to lack of adequate qualified workforce, and hence, investment in Training and knowledge sharing will go a long way in building a solid foundation to support the growth of the nation.