The evening of September 24 at Ashok Lalit in Bengaluru witnessed over 40 winning architects and builders, assessed by seven different jury panels comprising a total of 41 jury members, cheered on by
Real Estate

The evening of September 24 at Ashok Lalit in Bengaluru witnessed over 40 winning architects and builders, assessed by seven different jury panels comprising a total of 41 jury members, cheered on by

The evening of September 24 at Ashok Lalit in Bengaluru witnessed over 40 winning architects and builders, assessed by seven different jury panels comprising a total of 41 jury members, cheered on by a houseful of 300 industry stalwarts! “The root...

The evening of September 24 at Ashok Lalit in Bengaluru witnessed over 40 winning architects and builders, assessed by seven different jury panels comprising a total of 41 jury members, cheered on by a houseful of 300 industry stalwarts! “The roots of true achievement lie in the will to become the best that you can become.” These words by writer Harold Taylor embodied the spirit of the 14th CONSTRUCTION WORLD Architect & Builder Awards. Bigger and brighter than before, the event awarded over 40 winners across the categories of India’s Top Architects  and Top Builders, Regional Top Architects and Top Builders, Noteworthy Projects, and Top Challengers 2018-19. For the first time in 14 years, CW chose a location beyond Mumbai for the ceremony. And adding a smart flair to the awards evening in Bengaluru was CWAB’s collaboration with the 6th SM@RT URBANATION event at Ashok Lalit on September 24-25.  As Falguni Padode, Co-Founder & Group Managing Editor, ASAPP Info Global Group, said in her opening note, “We have now integrated this landmark event with Smart Urbanation, in a new city, understanding that the meeting of the minds of architects, designers, builders and city planners, on a forum of this magnitude, is a potent recipe for development.” This year celebrated design excellence with a unique theme – STAR – an acronym for ‘sustainability’, ‘technology’, ‘aesthetics’ and the ‘rationale’ behind incorporating these in any project. The aim was to recognise a firm that envisions, plans, designs and develops keeping in perspective this STAR quality.The CW approachThe objective was to recognise and award firms that have a pan-India presence with projects across segments. As Falguni Padode said, “The national category, which opened to nominations for the second year in a row, received 134 nominations. These were shortlisted and put to an elite jury, whose connect with the industry helped arrive at the final selection. In 2016, we added a new category: Noteworthy Projects. We received 627 entries for the category this year.” She added that, last year, another category was added to recognise Regional Players striving for excellence. “We received 317 regional nominations,” she remarked. “In all, across categories, over 1,078 nominations were received!”The First Construction Council, a non-profit trust set up in 2003, has been working with CW to facilitate such awards and recognition for the industry.From the key dignitaries Pratap Padode, Founder & Director, FIRST Construction Council, welcomed the audience on an empowering note. “It has taken us 14 years to reach a time when a smart city event can be blended with an architect and builder awards programme,” he said. “It is time for developers, architects and communities to come together to work towards policies that will pave the path for creating an imprint that will last for centuries. In a small way, we at FIRST Construction Council and CW, have been promoting the cause of India’s top architects and builders, and we hope this motivates all the winners and potential winners to set audacious goals that leave sustainable imprints for the future generation.” Guest of Honour Anjum Parvez, Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department, Government of Karnataka, said, “This is the first time I am seeing so many stars in a single hall. CWAB Awards, thank you for coming to Bengaluru; it is an honour for the Government of Karnataka. It was my dream to have this award ceremony in Bengaluru; thanks for making it happen!” And, in the words of dynamic architect and Keynote Speaker Dr David Fisher, Founder & Chairman, Dynamic Architecture: “Architecture is not the sculpture, it is first of all feasibility – how much did it cost to build and how much is the value after being built. Architecture should not try to make beautiful buildings but correct buildings.” Architects speak!A beacon of India’s architectural and design excellence, India’s top architects have been true to this year’s theme: STAR. As he walked up the stage to receive his trophy, Dikshu Kukreja, Managing Principal, CP Kukreja Architects, said, “We architects love to dream, we dare to dream and, at the same time, we have a sense of responsibility towards our environment. We all have a bright future and a great responsibility ahead.”   Shekhar Patki, Principal Architect, PG Patki Architects, thanked CWAB Awards, which he called “the Oscars of the construction industry”. And, Sanjay Puri, Founder, Sanjay Puri Architects, said, “It is interesting to see the way we are pushing the boundaries with all the work you are doing around sustainability and green, and bringing people together on such platforms.”Sharukh Mistry, Founder, Mistry Architects, added, “The ground levels of climate change are starting to grow louder and, as architects, we must pay attention and listen to all the voices that have not been heard for so long.”Meanwhile, Yatin Patel, Co-Founder, DSP Design Associates, said, “It is a huge responsibility for us architects in this day and age to embrace technology.” And Naresh Narasimhan, Managing Partner, Venkataramanan Associates, made an interesting point: “While interiors and private-sector buildings have started reaching world-class levels, the same focus on design and quality is missing in the public sector. I appeal that architects should be considered in designing public spaces for India.”Partners in success!CWAB 2019 was supported by Platinum Partner: Shapoorji Pallonji; Associate Partners: TAC System Formwork and Turner International; and Association Partners: National Real Estate Development Council, TERI, GRIHA and Builders Association of India.In his address to the audience, Jairam Panch, Managing Director, Turner India, said, “We are talking about Growth 2.0. While the government’s first term was effectively leveraged to understand issues and nuances, and adequate measures and policies were announced, Growth 2.0 will and should be about the effective implementation of these policies and plans. The future will be driven by technology; a technology-driven approach must become a priority like it has for the Smart Cities mission.”Read on to know more about our winning companies and projects...“The opportunity to build cities that last centuries is available to our current leaders.”- PRATAP PADODE, Founder & Director, FIRST Construction Council It has taken us 14 years to reach a time when a smart city event can been blended with an architect and builder awards programme.Centuries earlier, emperors called talented architects from far and wide to design structures that articulated their vision to last for centuries. Those, like the Taj Mahal, Sun Temple, Nalanda, Hampi, Ajanta-Ellora, etc, are the signature of many a city. Their designers, visualisers and developers left an imprint that has lasted several lifetimes. But the same cannot be said about structures that have come up in the last 50 years. In fact, the need for good architecture has never been as strong as now. Currently, cities are under tremendous pressure of mounting population while there is an insatiable need for natural resources. Infrastructure is crumbling, climate governance has been breached and those who govern have not enlisted the services of those who are talented enough to design. The opportunity to build cities that last centuries is available to our current leaders. The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor has planned eight industrial cities. Planned to come up around a radial distance of about 25 km from the proposed international airport at Navi Mumbai, NAINA city will now be developed on just over a 334-sq-km plot. (Greater Mumbai is built on a 440-sq-km plot.) Its development plan was recently cleared. Navi Mumbai was probably the last greenfield city that was planned and it has held its course. China has developed 30 cities in the past 30 years with over 1 million population. India has 53 cities or rather urban agglomerations with over 1 million population while China has over 160. Among the six largest metropolitan cities, Hyderabad saw the biggest inflow of migrants in the 2001-11 period, followed by Chennai and Bengaluru – not Delhi or Mumbai!The science of architecture for designing cities now not only needs to observe the behaviour of the natural habitat but the commercial and social behaviour of citizens. It is clear from our country’s Budget that cities are the engines of growth and the revenues they bring in subsidise our countryside.It is time for developers, architects and communities to come together to work towards policies that will pave the path for creating an imprint that will last for centuries. In a small way, we, at FIRST Construction Council and CONSTRUCTION WORLD, have been promoting the cause of India’s Top Architects and Builders, and we hope this motivates all the winners and potential winners to set audacious goals that leave sustainable imprints for the future generation. FIRST Construction Council is an infrastructure think tank and works at various verticals of construction in policy advocacy, bringing and promoting best practices in the industry and the cause for capacity building among others. Our next event, India Construction Festival, where we recognise India’s Fastest Growing Construction, Steel, Cement, Tiles, Paint and Equipment Companies, will be held on October 15-16 in New Delhi. Our tie up with New York-based magazine ENR brings the top global engineering firms to the country as they get recognised at the event. The event also unveils a Roads Conference and a Leadership Summit; this year, the theme is ‘Technology’ as this is the year of construction technology.It is time to recognise the designers of new India. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together and let us hear it for the winners!“Architecture should not try to make beautiful buildings, but correct buildings.”- Dr David Fisher, Founder & Chairman, Dynamic ArchitectureI practiced architecture in Florence, in what we believe is the city of art. Later in my career, I went to New York City and found that the towers of New York were built in the same way that we built towers in the middle ages. One big difference is that the towers we built are still up over 800 years. The towers built in New York and elsewhere are designed for just 40 years and would not live much more. To make sure they did, I started to develop the technology of construction. Some people think it is a crazy idea of skyscrapers in motion but I thought it was the right time to bring to these buildings what is called sustainability and preferred locations. These are dynamic buildings. What is dynamic architecture about? The big impact, of course, is because of motion, but in a way this is not the most important thing. It is not about the physical shape of the building designed, but the result of the motion. No skyscraper can be more simple to build and faster to build, and in most cities less expensive than a normal skyscraper because all the floors are exactly the same and are all produced off site. Dynamic buildings are an era of logic architecture. Architecture is not the sculpture, it is first of all feasibility – how much did it cost to build and how much is the value after being built. The second commandment of architecture is the functionality, the specs of the building. The third is technology: The engineering and aspects of engineering. Then sustainability, and the extremely important issue of maintenance. The last thing is the design. But it has to be a result of logic, not a target. Architecture should not try to make beautiful buildings but correct buildingsDesign is a result of technology. Take, for instance, the dome of the cathedral of Florence. The task of Filippo Brunelleschi about six centuries ago was not to build a nice dome but the biggest dome ever built in history. He was not an architect according to today’s concept of architecture; he was an engineer. Maybe not even an engineer, he was a builder; and, this structure has been here for 600 years. This is one of the dynamic buildings – the core is complete while all the floors around the core are completely prefabricated and made of steel. There are three basic innovations: The motion, so the building is on check continuously; green, so the building produces green energy; and the construction. I was asked to speak about dynamic architecture in India, and the connection between dynamic cost and low-cost housing – the connection is industrialisation! In fact, we now have the massive work of developing low-cost housing in this country. And one of the few patents has just been registered a day before we speak to build low-cost housing in India, for the first time. I took the idea from cruise ships. It can be built fast and with relatively low cost because it is built offsite, not on a construction site. So this is a building for me that is floating with thousands of people and the building is constructed in such a short time; this is the opening to low-cost buildings. We hope we can bring, through this luxury rotating skyscraper, a contribution to affordable homes as well in India.“The kind of beautiful buildings coming up only show that art is no more limited to only drawing vertical and horizontal lines; it has gone much beyond that.”- Anjum Parvez, Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department, Government of Karnataka This is the first time I am seeing so many stars in a single hall. With mostly architects, builders and city planners, I don’t think I will have such an opportunity to interact with so many talented people sitting here again in my career. I realise that all those present here are not only good in making smart buildings but have also made themselves smart. The Government of Karnataka is excited that Bengaluru has got this opportunity to host such a programme. Without an architect, no dream of a builder can be fulfilled. It is a joint team and I would like to congratulate each winner here because I know that getting an award is not an easy job – especially in the field of architecture or building or planning. It is an extremely tough fight, because gone are the days when there were a limited number of architects in a city. Nowadays, there are so many schools of architecture that are producing talent that is as good as any international architect. The kind of buildings we see in the city and our country is mind-boggling. One would not have thought of our country having our own people design these kinds of buildings. The kind of beautiful buildings coming up only show that art is no more limited to only drawing vertical and horizontal lines; it has gone much beyond that. Having said that, the issue of climate change is important to address. When we talk about urban development, it is not only construction of buildings and a few roads. Time is changing,requirements are changing, the combination of the kind of people, the segment of the people who are living in the city are changing – that is a big challenge for city planners and architect on how to fulfil their needs. Our honourable Prime Minister has declared the vision of Housing for All by 2022. This is not possible only by a government department or agency. Every person sitting here – be it a builder, city planner or architect – has to come forward and give us solutions.I know the real-estate industry is going through a difficult time. The Governmentof Karnataka is planning to promote affordable housing by bringing down the cost per unit without compromising on the security and safety of the building. In coming years, we believe we will be able to come out with good policies that will be good for builders as well as buyers. The younger generation and bureaucrats coming in will show some good design. The similarity between a bureaucrat and an architect is that they are both dreamers. We joined service with our own dream, you join the profession with your own dream. The only problem is that your hurdles are small and you can somehow manage those hurdles and fulfil those dreams! But, as bureaucrats, our hurdles are like a wall. CWAB Awards, thank you for coming to Bengaluru; it is an honour for the Government of Karnataka.It was my dream to have this award ceremony in Bengaluru; thanks for making it happen!

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