Over the last few years, ITP Media Group has pulled together meticulous research each year to assemble the Smart Office India Summit for Commercial Design magazine. Entitled “Minds behind the best workspaces”, this year’s summit, in partnership with LG and Jaquar, was held at The Ritz-Carlton, Bengaluru, on November 23, 2018. Through the all-day event, delegates received valuable insights from, and a chance to interact with, leaders of some of the biggest companies.
Keynote speaker: Khurshed Gandhi, MD, Consulting, Cushman & Wakefield.
Bibhor Srivastava, group publishing director, ITP Media Group, welcomed the gathering and invited Khurshed Gandhi, MD, Consulting, Cushman & Wakefield, to deliver the keynote address. Speaking on ‘Intelligent Office Design: A smart business investment’, Gandhi said, “It is important for us, and our service-oriented country, to adapt and evolve rapidly,” while discussing the evolution of office spaces, the factors that drive changes and the future. “IOT, AI, biophilic design, automation, etc, are key drivers that need to be managed with strong adaptability, flexibility and integration to create an up-to-date workspace,” he pointed out. After delivering a token of appreciation, Sunil Khatwani, VP and business head – System AC Division for LG India, presented ‘Greenovation by LG’, highlighting the company’s programmes that support its energy efficiency mantra.
Speakers of the first panel discussion: (L to R) Sunil Khatwani, Arpit Mehrotra, Dhanmoni Sharma, Shishir Prasad, Partha Pratim Bhattacharyya,Fancy George, Shailendra Nath, and Vistasp Bhagwagar.
Following his address, Dr Reena Valecha, chief ergonomist, Godrej Interio, spoke about ergonomics and a user-centered approach in designing offices towards occupational wellbeing and productivity. She said, “We offer organisations services that improve the ergonomic quotient of their workspaces. Our three-step approach includes understanding problem areas, corrections as well as preventive measures to help sustain the change.”
Gaurav Bhalla, national head for Commercial Lighting, Jaquar Lighting, spoke about the benefits of intelligent lighting that can be integrated in workspaces in terms of efficiency and productivity. Bhalla also touched upon the various smart lighting solutions offered by the company.
First Panel:
- Arpit Mehrotra, Senior Director, Office Services, Colliers International India (Moderator)
- Sunil Khatwani, VP and business head, System AC Division, LG India
- Dhanmoni Sharma, associate director, head of Real Estate & Workplace, Myntra
- Shishir Prasad, director and head, Operation (India), Denali Asset Management
- Partha Pratim Bhattacharyya, VP, CRM & Strategies, Eleganz Interiors
- Fancy George, director, KGD Architecture
- Shailendra Nath, executive GM, Operations, Commercial, Embassy Services
- Vistasp Bhagwagar, principal architect and MD, Architect Vistasp & Associates
Next came the first panel discussion, which had architects, business heads and operation heads deliberating on ‘Tomorrow’s working world — The smart office is the answer’. As moderator, Mehrotra revolved the dialogue around four key points — employee benefits, design and layout, key features, and challenges and learning in smart offices.
Bhagwagar rightly defined a smart office as “a working space that enables people to connect socially and technologically.” Nath added, “In any office, the way engineering is built around the human space, and the way it is integrated to the whole structure and environment around is important. Ultimately, all the elements of a smart office should come together to generate efficiency.”
When posed to share about how smart offices benefits employees, Sharma said, “It is critical for offices to create an environment that encourages employees and generates the best out of them. It directly attracts and retains employees in favour of the organisation.” Prasad, from the perspective of the client, shared, “There are two major challenges in our way: employee productivity and engagement. Smart technology, integrated with automation and sensors, can stimulate employee working patterns and lead to creation of a better lifestyle and increased wellness.”
Bhattacharyya shared his take on generating employee productivity in a smart office, saying, “It is important to understand and measure human requirements. If we design our offices considering the temperature and lighting requirements of a human body, one that also caters to the mood swings that occur during the day, we can generate happiness and wellness amongst our employees. Studies have proven that this approach can increase employee productivity by about 20%.”
George agreed, adding, “The approach and user experience often goes wrong while designing a complete package of facility with technology. The whole experience created and amenities provided should be cared for and monitored. Apart from air, light and acoustics, nutrition and fitness add to the experience as well.”
At the end of the discussion, Bhavin Makwana, product manager – Acoustics and IAQ, Saint Gobain India – Gyproc Business, took the stage to shed light about the importance of acoustic comfort in an office space. He highlighted the basic flow chart for correcting or solving problems related to acoustic design in different spaces of a workplace.
Speakers of the second panel discussion: (L to R) Sathish Rajendren, V. Vishwanath, Suresh Mallath, Renuka Rajagopal, Nisha Mathew Ghosh, and Padmanabhan. L. Kannan.
Second Panel:
- Sathish Rajendren, COO, FM Services, Knight Frank (India) (Moderator)
- V Vishwanath, principal architect, Vishwannath Associates
- Suresh Mallath, senior associate director, PJM, CBRE
- Renuka Rajagopal, head – Facilities, VM Ware
- Nisha Mathew Ghosh, co-Founder and co-principal architect, Mathew & Ghosh Architects
- Padmanabhan L Kannan, GM and global head, CREW, Mindtree
The second panel discussion focused on the ‘Future of Design — The changing nature of work and the workplace’. Moderator Rajendren asked the panelists about workplace transformation and key attributes of the future of design. Vishwanath responded, “The transformation starts from home. Little practices like bringing the employees to office, considering the response of the family, etc, has a strong, positive impact. As architects, we need to keep up the design quotient.”
Speaking from the perspective of a service-provider, Mallath added, “Providing solutions to the ever-changing demands of the incoming mass is a major challenge. Agile, flexible and open spaces are trending currently, and architects are asked to provide futuristic designs. But I think it is nearly impossible to predict what is in the future.”
Rajagopal shared the point-of-view of the user, saying, “Human experience is an important factor. For me, it is more to do with integration of an emotional and a digital experience, while being agile and technology-savvy at the same time. We always need to be ready to accept and adapt to change and innovation.” Ghosh reflected similar thoughts as she said, “Even as we are building the new digital ecosystem, we need to be conscious about the ecological and natural parameters to balance the operational core — the human being. All the functions should, ultimately, support growth and wellbeing.”
Summing up, Kannan said, “I think the transformation of the workspace and the future of design is more a mental exercise than a physical one. The mindset of all stakeholders, decision makers, managers, workers, etc, needs to be in sync with the emotional, social and digital parameters of the space. Plus, they should have an accepting and adapting attitude towards what’s coming.”
Ajay Gupta, executive director, KGD Architecture, delivered a special address.
Following the panel discussion, Ajay Gupta, executive director, KGD Architecture, delivered a special address. Rather than talking about workspace trends, he chose to discuss the ‘whys’ and ‘whats’ of the trends. His enlightening talk was followed by a presentation by Peter Staelens, EMEA Regional Manager, Solar Gard, on ‘Enhancing workplace comforts with improved energy savings’. Focusing on windows, Staelens explained the aspects directly related to the design of windows and window supplements, how to control basic parameters with the help of proper fenestration elements and how to alter the comfort level inside the building.
The final segment of the conference, brought forward all individuals who were featured in Commercial Design’s fifth anniversary issue – titled “Minds behind the best workspaces in India”. Each of them were felicitated for their excellence and best practices incorporated in managing and designing the best commercial spaces in the country.
At the end of this inspiring and eventful summit, it was obvious that the fifth Smart Office India Summit aptly showcased the leading lights of business and provided a platform for sharing best practices and creative intelligence. Srivastava, on behalf of ITP and the event’s partners, closed the day with a note of thanks.