With the workplace economy transitioning at a pace unlike ever before and with digital technologies channelling the world we live and work in, Commercial Design address the need to share and explore the evolving trends and solutions that shape office environments today. Conceptualised to inspire, engage and share ideas and thoughts on progressive office space design, the 11th edition of the Smart Office India Summit 2023 was held last month in Mumbai.
The Summit was attended by professionals from multiple segments such as architecture and design, facilities management, project management, urban planning, environmental consultants, etc, belonging to various industries such as telecommunications, IT, infrastructure and real estate.
The welcome address was delivered by the group publishing director of ITP Media India – Indrajeet Saoji – who shed light on the “need” for smart offices. The keynote address was delivered by the curator of the conference himself, Captain Rajesh Sharma, Head – Facilities & Administration, HDFC Bank, who further elaborated on “what” are smart offices. He explained, “Through my journey of 32 years in the industry, I’ve realised that there’s been a complete shift in the power from ‘organisations’ to ‘people’. Health and well-being has become the cornerstone of modern workplace culture. Employees are no more termed and treated as “resources” but as “human beings”.
The keynote address was then followed by an industry address delivered by Agrim Nijhawan, Head Marketing & Business, AFC System, who exemplified how AFC as a brand has incessantly worked towards addressing the demand for ergonomic and sustainable office solutions by offering a range of products that prioritise employee well-being and environmental responsibility.
The day’s first session, ‘Designing & Creating Next-gen Workplaces’, moderated by Hardik Pandit – Director, APICES Studio, assembled to discuss the various opportunities, roadblocks and crucial development aspects of commercial spaces in India. The panel of speakers delved into the process of creating the most efficient and effective office design for its needs and also if inclusive design given the attention and details that it needs by architects & FMs and the measures that are being implemented by companies in this direction?
Ensuing the first panel discussion, we had Swagata Choudhury, Segment Head, Office, Retail & Hospitality, Professional Channel, India, Signify, who presented on the topic “Evolving Workplaces for Better lives from Signify Innovations India”.
| Panel Discussion 1: Designing & Creating Next-gen Workplaces |
| • Moderator: Hardik Pandit – Director, APICES Studio • Ashish Puri – National Director, Interior Design Services, Colliers India • Balaji Sankaran – Vice President – Services, Prestige Group • Poonam Kothare – Director – Workplace Design, M Moser Associates • Nitin Sharma – Regional Solutions Sales Director – Market India, Dormakaba • Tanmay Khare – Head – Administration, Human Resource, Pidilite Industries |
The second session of the evening, Shift in the “role of the office”, was moderated by industry veteran – Meera Diwan. She navigated through some very crucial points that touched upon the operational reality and complexities faced by CRE (Corporate Real Estate) professional’s in enabling businesses. This was considering the new role of office being employee centric with hybrid working style – involving flexibility, freedom working, offices having open office seating, entertainment zones etc. The panel also discussed the need for integrated thinking and closer collaboration between CRE professionals, developers, FMs, architects and designers and technology solutions providers.
Given the changing interior
| Panel Discussion 2: Shift in the “role of the office” |
| • Moderator: Meera Diwan – Industry Veteran • CT Sadanandan – Head – Facilities & Administration, Tata Communication • Vardhman Jain – Commercial Leader – Office, Industry, Retail & Hospitality, Systems & Services, India, Signify • Kartik Punjabi – Principal Architect, Vijay Punjabi Consultants Pvt Ltd (VPCPL) • Manish Gupta – Director – Commercial Sales, Hiranandani Group • Rajeev Sengupta, Consultant – Commercial Real Estate, HDFC Bank |
landscape of an office and workplace design, Vardhman Jain, Commercial Leader – Office, Industry, Retail & Hospitality, Systems & Services, India, Signify, elucidated on the role of lighting in defining the health of an office and its employees. An author of a published book on crisis management, CT Sadanandan – Head – Facilities & Administration, Tata Communication, spoke about the lessons learnt and the strategies implemented during his experience through the Covid disruption. Finally the speakers concluded the panel with their views on the changes that will come about in the workplace economy in the next 5 years and how this would impact the CRE and FM professionals.
| Panel Discussion 3: Changing Nature of Work and the Workplace |
| • Moderator: Captain Rajesh Sharma – Head – Facilities & Administration, HDFC Bank • Alhad Gore – Principal Architect, Beyond Design • Pankaj Soni – Sr Executive Vice President & Business Head – CREM, Kotak Mahindra Bank • Aman Malhotra – Head -Administration, Project & Facilities, Piramal Enterprises Limited • Col. Navinder Narang – Head Infrastructure Facilities & ESG, ICICI Home Finance • Khurshed Gandhi – MD – Strategic Consulting, Cushman & Wakefield • Nitin Sable – Deputy General Manager Commercial Air Conditioning Division, Blue Star Limited |
Gurunath Gavli, Asst Regional Manager – West India, Hafele, then took the stage to make a presentation on the company’s dynamic portfolio of holistic solutions for interior spaces.
The last panel discussion of the day was on titled “The Changing Nature of Work and the Workplace” and was directed by the very dynamic Captain Rajesh Sharma from HDFC Bank.
He delved into how the current workplace economy has changed the operational reality and complexity of CRE professional’s role in enabling businesses. He also questioned the panel on the need for integrated thinking and closer collaboration between CRE professionals, FMs, architects & designers and technology solutions provider. Are companies well-versed in the processes of crisis management is another topic that the panel discussed on.