The real estate industry is experiencing a major change in design perception postcovid-19, which impacts not only designers but also customers. Deben Moza, Executive Director - Head of Project Management Services, Knight Frank India believes that disasters have been catalysts for major changes in architecture. “As more of us flocked to urban living, city designers kept reinventing building designs and spaces for the people. While, we shape our buildings, our buildings shape us afterwards,” he quipped.
The combined impact of climate change, the pandemic, economy, instability, and growing mental health difficulties, according to Moza, have prompted systemic adjustments in how people define wellness. As per Kavita Sastry, Principal Architect, KS Designs & Chair IID Bengaluru, Covid-19 has been an unprecedented event in the recent times. "When something like this happens, it causes a paradigm shift in every field.” She is of the view that climate-responsive architecture and self-reliance or locally available goods will gain prominence among the designers as well as clients in coming times.
From an urban planning perspective, Mohanbir Singh, Founder and Director, Creative Designer Architects feels the shift will be towards moving away from cities built around the central business districts and towards decentralizing central city areas. “We've started pursuing multi-modal, self-contained modules that include neighborhood centers, commercials, schools, and health facilities. This module can then be divided into sub-modules like the red zone, purple zone, etc.” “When it comes to strategy there is a clear inclination for mixed-use developments,” added Rakesh Kumar, Chief Design Officer, Design Strategy, Godrej Properties Limited. He differentiated spaces into three categories: office, home, and social. “Realty developers are blending these three spaces within an integrated township encompassing various building types and creating a sustainable environment with all amenities present within a mile.”
CONJUNCTURE OF SPACE,MATERIAL & DESIGN
Circular design is not only feasible but also scalable given the advanced building systems and material now available. Sridhar Rajagopal, Head of Sales, Marketing, Strategy, and M&A, Otis India, pointed out services such as integrating Bluetooth in the elevator and using a mobile app to call the elevator and select the level.m“The purpose is to achieve efficiency in vertical transportation systems and reduce energy consumption apart from the convenience for the users. Modular elevators are the latest introduction that are customized elevators manufactured offsite for speed and quality. They arrive onsite with a prefabricated hoistway, elevator cab, controls, rails, and drive systems—all pre-wired.” Rakesh Kumar touched upon how sustainability has to be inherent. “A simple reorientation on the building, understanding the solar path, understanding how the wind flows and integrating it with design reduces energy consumption and these require zero input costs. Rather than creating a monstrosity of glass buildings facing west and then trying to triple glazes and air condition, it is counterintuitive. Biodiversity is another important aspect which starts with planting local flora that will spawn local fauna as well.”
Mohanbir Singh expressed that while there has been some intermixing of architecture from the west and the east, the stumbling obstacles are people's mindsets. “It is the crisis situations that force us to think differently. For example, in present times people are weaning off mere aesthetics to minimalism and eco-architecture.” "Everyone wants the Italian marble," Kavita Sastry said, "But now designers are advising the clients to use the locally accessible stones that are equally beautiful, and clients are receptive to such suggestions.” Speaking on technology shaping architecture, Sridhar Rajagopal talked about the use of augmented reality at the design stage that helps save time, effort and most importantly the natural resources even before the building is constructed. Deben Moza concurred that virtual platforms and modularity in design are the elements that will shape the architecture of future. 3D printing, Drones, AR and VR are just some of the changes and the design processes are continuously evolving.
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