Written by Aditya Swaminathan
The Construction World Architect and Builder Awards (CWAB) hosted a panel discussion on July 4 at Novotel. The panel included some of the leading architects in the western region — Shrikant Paranjpe, Shashi Prabhu, Deben Moza, Mala Singh and Anurag Shukla. The topic of discussion was: “What buyers want?”. Paranjpe said, “We are catering to a need-based demand which has changed to an investment based demand.” The recent designs in housing projects have made a major emphasis on being economical from a maintenance point of view, but also keeping in mind the aesthetic requirements of the buyers, he added. Shukla said, “Buyers are keen on maintenance of product and its sustainability.”
Development and environment were two sides of the same coin, said Singh. “There is an increasing demand for Green buildings as they are more energy and water efficient, incorporates waste management during and post construction, and mainly have 30-40 per cent energy conservation, all this at hardly any additional cost,” she added.
Prabhu, giving the example of Mumbai where there was hardly any place left for infrastructural growth, said, “We have built more than we can solve.” “There should either be a reduction in price or reduction in development area…affordability is what the buyer is looking for,” Prabhu added. Moza said, with Pune becoming the next IT hub, infrastructure was becoming important to support industrial growth.