Last month, ITC Maurya, New Delhi, witnessed the get-together of leaders from the AEC industry for an evening of knowledge-sharing and ideation to fuel the development of a better future. Rashmi Naicker, editor at ITP Publishing Group, opened the forum with a short address, acknowledging the support of Saint-Gobain Gyproc and inviting Venkat Subramanian, MD, Saint-Gobain Gyproc India, for the welcome address.
“As a company, Saint-Gobain has been duly involved in improving sustainability in construction. We are constantly focused on bettering the comfort and wellbeing of occupants in living spaces, particularly in healthcare and hospitality segments. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done and, I hope, each of us will have an action plan to take forward,” said Subramanian, before calling the commencement of the proceedings.
Naicker then introduced Christine Bruckner, director at M Moser, Hong Kong, an expert in the field of architecture, who has worked extensively with the end user and stakeholder community with an aim to incorporate wellness and sustainability in both living and working spaces. Bruckner said, “Architecture is about creating a place that takes care of people and helps them exceed their own potential. Not just hospitality and healthcare buildings but all spaces should be healing. Circadian lighting control, acoustic control, colour control, air quality control and layout — all together create environments that let users stay productive, happy and healthy.”
From the architectural firm that aces workspace design, Akshay Lakhanpal, regional MD for Space Matrix, took the dais to talk about the changing aspects of how spaces are being conceived by designers and perceived by users. He said, “People are approaching the concept of health as a holistic journey, inclusive of physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. Technology is continuing to change how people learn, create and work. The concept of ‘identity’ is now broader and people are now more empowered to be their true selves.” He added, “As designers, we should create spaces keeping in mind this evolved lifestyle that demands collaborative spaces, private spaces, recreational areas and more.”
Next was a panel discussion on ‘Design & Construction in Healthcare – Gaining a leading edge with innovations and smart solutions’, Naicker invited Raviganesh Venkataraman, CEO, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals; Manu Malhotra, founder partner, RSMS Architects; Ramakrishna Paluri, head – Projects, Gleneagles Global Hospitals Ltd; and Nitin Bansal, director – Projects, Morphogenesis; as well moderator Vivek Desai, MD, Hosmac.
Desai began with the three primary elements of hospital design — physical infrastructure, social milieu and digital integration. He asked Venkataraman about how these aspects are catered to at Cloudnine Group. Venkataraman pointed out, “The infrastructure and design of our hospitals are developed keeping the user at the centre. Our cheerful interiors, right lighting, good air quality and digital integration in spaces ensure that our hospitals feel like hotels and offer home-like comfort.”
Malhotra took the dialogue forward, saying, “If we can design hospitals that are more patient-centric, it helps strengthen our top and bottom lines. We try to embody biophilic design in projects such that occupants are directly engaged with the external environment. Other than that, adequate spaces for the doctors and caregivers are provided to keep productivity at peak.”
Bansal added, “At Morphogenesis, we believe in innovation. We look at considerations of space planning that contribute to developing any project within the budget and desired design criteria. Our philosophy is based on a principle called ‘SOUL’. It stands for Sustainability, Optimisation, Uniqueness and Livability. By bringing in all stakeholders and consultants to the table at the beginning of the design process, we are able to save time, conserve energy, maintain good indoor quality, achieve design goals and optimise cost.”
When asked to talk about providing dedicated spaces for relatives and visitors in hospitals, Paluri shared, “Over the last five-six years, India has witnessed a positive change in this regard. Although, the per-bed area in our country is still low due to costs, hospitals have started looking at providing the right space, ambience and experience for relatives and visitors as well.”
In the spotlight, next was Manav Thadani, founding chairman, Hotelivate, who touched upon the scenarios of inbound and domestic tourism in India that affect the travel and hospitality sector. He said: “Bleisure travelling, virtual assistants, customer acquisition and big data, sustainable hospitality, and coliving are booming trends currently.”
His address led to the second panel discussion of the day that focused on ‘Profit by Design – Articulating on how intelligent hotel design can be a smart business investment’. The panelists included Zachary Jekot, VP, HKS; Rajiv Batra, head of Design, InterGlobe Hotels; Shiv Kashyap, VP of Technical Services, India & South Asia, AccorHotels; Reema Diwan, corporate director of Technical Services & Interiors, Taj Hotels Resorts, Palaces & Safaris; Salil Khare, MD India, Ascentis; and Thadani. The session was moderated by Sudeep Kolte, VP – S&M, Gyproc India.
Kolte kicked-off the talk, inquiring about the evolving infrastructural practices in the hospitality industry. Khare responded, “Speaking from the perspective of project management, building a hotel in a difficult location used to be a big challenge. But accessibility and availability has made the job much easier. Other than that, technology is constantly feeding the construction industry towards improving built structures.” Jekot added that a significant trend was that “each hotel brand is on the lookout to carve its own niche in the market.” Kashyap pitched in, “I believe trends are market- and demand-driven. From space requirements to F&B demands, from technology to comfort, every aspect needs to be considered. Although efficiency should always the base of all decisions, guest experience is top priority.”
To take the idea of guest experience forward, Batra rightly said, “Today, luxury is more experiential than infrastructural. The various segments that a hotel has are directly related to how the experience stimulates or influences guests.” Diwan agreed: “Earlier, luxury was all about expansiveness and volume. But now, it is more about lifestyle and experiences. This is not only favourable for building a strong and happy customer base, but also favourable for revenues and bottom lines.”
Bruckner offered a token of appreciation to each of the panel speakers on behalf of the hosts, which led to the conclusion of the forum with a vote of thanks by Saint-Gobain Gyproc and ITP India.