What are the advantages of modular furniture to different types of real estate?

Consider high-rise buildings. “It is easier to transport wardrobes and cabinets in a knocked-down condition to, say, 100 apartments in a high-rise, through lifts, and assemble them on site, than it is to transport readymade pieces of furniture,” observes Nagesh Singh, Founder, Studio Svelte. “In residential projects, modular wardrobes, beds, TV consoles and shoe racks are very popular nowadays,” says Bijayini Dash, Studio Head, Designqube Bangalore.

“RERA necessitates projects to be completed in time and modular furniture, which can be factory-made and transported to the site for a fit-out, helps developers stick to tight deadlines,” says Digvijay Dhabriya, Managing Director, Dynasty Modular Furniture. That said, he believes much of the modular furniture available in India is semi-modular, in that it can only be partially (not fully) disassembled.

“From the perspective of the occupant-owner, buying property ready furnished with modular furniture is a win-win proposition for multiple reasons,” says Dhabriya. “Reputed developers bring in top-rated designers, the fit-outs happen before handover of the property, which saves a huge amount of time, and the cost saving to the owner is about 40-50 per cent of the market price of the furniture. This is because component vendors, hardware brands such as Hettich, Hafele and Blum, which are preferred brands for offering lifetime guarantee, offer bulk buyers such as modular furniture companies roughly double the discount they would offer a single buyer. Also, the owner gets to buy the furniture on a tax-deductible instalment because the cost is included in the property price, which is usually covered by a bank loan.”

“In low-rise housing projects as well as hotel construction, modular interiors have gained a firm foothold for offering faster project completion time, which means multifamily units and hotel rooms will begin streaming revenue sooner, a metric of strong interest to capital investors,” says Manoj Rathi, AVP and Head, U&US Home Design Studio. “Additionally, modular properties are seen as having a lower barrier to entry, which means price-conscious clients and those with budgetary limitations may gain access to housing or commercial properties in attractive locations that might otherwise have been beyond their reach.”

“In offices, modular furniture is a modern-day convenience for permitting dynamic company structures,” says Sonali Rastogi, Founding Partner, Morphogenesis. “The multifunctional and highly adaptive nature of modular furniture accommodates changes in resourcing, working formats and groups, and tailors to the user’s needs. It allows for flexibility and gives immense possibilities for planning and transforming one’s space depending on the working style and requirements of storage, partitioning, etc. Hence, for companies undergoing organisational re-structuring, I would advise modular furniture. It also works well where affordability is a prime concern. As it is component based, one can simply start with the workstations, and later bring in partitions, etc.”

“Modular furniture is amenable to shifting office, inexpensive and lightweight compared to traditional furniture and, hence, easy to procure and transport,” adds Dash. “Workstations, storage, pedestals and tables are generally modular in nature.”

“Education is an important segment for Featherlite,” says Dhiren Gopal, Director, Featherlite. “More and more institutions are opting for modular furniture for their classrooms, training rooms, laboratories and the like, for offering both aesthetics and comfort.”

CHARU BAHRI