Design Excellence Unveiled At Realty+ Architecture & Design Fest 2024 - South

The South edition of Realty+ Architecture & Design Fest (AADF) on Nov 29, 2024, at Royal Orchid, Bengaluru was a melting pot of innovation, creativity & recognitions.

BY Realty+
Published - Saturday, 30 Nov, 2024

Design Excellence Unveiled At Realty+ Architecture & Design Fest 2024 - South

The South Edition of Realty+ Architecture & Design Fest (AADF) 2024 brought together the Masters of Design of Southern India to celebrate design beyond the limits of time and place.

The event was proudly supported by VOX as Conclave Partner, Nemetschek Group as Co-Partner and Prographer as Event Associate

The first panel discussion on Unlocking Innovation & Creativity In Built Environment" was led by Arnab Ghosh, Managing Director, Corporate Fitouts, Colliers India, and featured esteemed speakers including Ajay Koshy, Head - Design Management, Brigade Group, Dr. Anup Naik, Founder & CEO, Urban Frame Pvt. Ltd., Deepu Shyam Prakash, Managing Director, Aedium Design, Nagakrupa Srinidhi, Director – Development, RMZ, and Sowmya Prakash, Senior Vice President, Provident Housing. The speakers spoke about the challenges for architecture in the coming years and the need to design with resilience.

The second panel discussion Technology Shaping Future Of Architecture & Design was chaired by Ashwini K.T, General Manager - Research and Design Services, Vestian, and featured Akhil Kiran Ganatra, Director, Clancy Global, Ananiah Livingston, Managing Director, Space Matrix, Bangalore & Chennai, Ranjith K Kartha, Director & Principal Lighting Consultant, Veda Lighting Design, Reema Bhandari, Director, M Moser Associates, and Nishigandh Gandhale, Practice Manager, Middle East-Architecture, AtkinsRéalis. They emphasised on how technology will make a difference for architecture and design in the coming times as an enabler for both professionals and the end users.

The discussion on Social Media & Design Industry was moderated by Fancy George, CEO,Thomas workplace design, and featured insightful insights from Aashita Chadha, Co-Founder, The KariGhars, Govind Rai, Co-Founder & CEO, Insomniacs Digital Pvt. Ltd, Nishit Gururani, Founder, Onedigital, Saritha Hegde, Founder and Chief Alchemist, Not Just Hot, and Patricia Rodrigues, Architect, Designer & Conceptualist. The speakers spoke about how the social media has become part and parcel of every industry and the dos and don’ts of PR & media, when it comes to the design professionals.

The panel discussion on Unlocking Infrastructure Development For Liveability was moderated by Indrajit Kembhavi, Managing Partner, Kembhavi Architecture Foundation, and featured insightful presentations from Dr. Hariharan Chandrashekar, Trustee, Alttech.Foundation, Chairman IGBC – Bengaluru, Ar. Mahendra Mohan, Managing Director, MARS Architects, Ponni M. Concessao, Principal Architect & Founder, Ponni & Oscar + Rahul Architects, Chennai, and Prem Chandavarkar, Managing Partner, CnT Architects. The speakers spoke about the imbalances between liveability and infrastructure development, as the planners emphasize on maths of the development rather than the cultural context of the city.

The Design Dialogue – Fusion of Art, Space & Design session was chaired by Sunitha Kondur, Co-Founder, Hundredhands Design, along with esteemed speakers Kavita Sastry, Principal Architect, KS Designs, Sarvdeep Basur, IALD, Principal, Lucent Worldwide, Siddhartha Rao, Regional Director - Bangalore, Edifice Consultants Pvt. Ltd, and Swathy Sivaraman, CEO & Principal Architect, Storeyboard Design. The speakers took the audience on a captivating journey, showcasing the powerful intersection of art, space, and design through their personal experiences, notable projects, and the meaningful impact they created.

The conclave concluded with Realty+ Real Talk – Inspiring Success Stories led by Sapna Srivastava, Editor, Realty+, and featured Design Gurus Dr. B Shashi Bhooshan, Architect, Academic Researcher, Writer, Principal of BSB Architects, Bengaluru and Mysuru, and Naresh Narasimhan, Principal Architect, Managing Partner, Venkataramanan Associates. The distinguished speakers shared insightful anecdotes from their professional journeys, while also offering valuable advice on the path forward for aspiring architects and designers.

Honouring Outstanding Acheivements

The outstanding evening of Realty+ AADF Awards began with a Keynote address by Tom Thomas, Principal Architect, Thomas Associates Architects. Speaking about how the state of architects in the country has been bothering him he said, “We are under attack now as a profession as we are taken over by various agencies who seek to take over whatever little role we had in the eco-system. The roles have been switched and for that the blame is on us as we ourselves do not put our foot down as an important stakeholder of city development. We are under attack on the legalities of the work that we do. We are made to sign government documents with no limits. There are many issues and these issues worry me about the future as they are not tackled by us as an organized industry. The future of architecture won’t be much unless we look after it ourselves. We need to stand up and speak for ourselves and on behalf of the citizens of the city.”

The inspiring address set the tone for the next motivating segment of Realty+ Iconic Designers of India felicitations. The recipients were:

B Shashi Bhooshan, Architect, academic researcher, writer | Principal of BSB Architects, Bengaluru and Mysuru
Professor Architect. Krishna Rao Jaisim, Founder, Jaisim FountainHead
Lester Rozario, Founder, Kamat & Rozario Architecture
Naresh Narasimhan, Principal Architect | Managing Partner, Venkataramanan Associates
Prem Chandavarkar, Managing Partner, CnT Architects
Ranjith K Kartha, Director & Principal Lighting Consultant, Veda Lighting Design
Sarvdeep Basur IALD, Principal, Lucent Worldwide

The glittering ceremony of Realty+ AADF Awards 2024 South began with the Lifetime Achievement Award for none other than TM Thomas, Founder & Director, Thomas Associates Architects for his exponential work and contributions to the design industry for more than 50 years.

Other Awards of the evening included:

Architectural Design Project of the Year – Institutional

Ponni, Oscar & Rahul Architects for DR. B. R. AMBEDKAR TELANGANA STATE SECRETARIAT

Architectural Design Project of the Year – Residential.

C O L L A G E Architecture Studio for House of Nooks and Gardens

RSP Design Consultants for BIRLA TISYA

Architectural Design Project of the Year – Healthcare

Urban Precinct for Oasis-Redevelopment of Institute of Palliative Medicine, Kozhikode

Architectural Design Project of the Year – Hospitality category.

Thomas Associates for Double Tree by Hilton, Kalyani Developers, Whitefield, Bangalore

Architectural Firm of the Year – Industrial & Warehousing

DSP Design Associates