INTERVIEW: Covid-19 has shifted focus from materialistic to experiential attainment, says Aditya Kilachand, founder and CEO, Avas Wellness

Today luxury is wellness and healthy living, said Aditya.

Emphasising that Avas Wellness is not just a premium luxury offering for the discerning few, its founer and CEO Aditya Kilachand said the project set amidst the idyllic locales of Alibaug is about reinforcing the concept of a sustainable wellness community. Speaking to Rishi Ranjan Kala, he pointed out that the project aims to merge traditional and modern concepts of holistic living that are customised to reflect individual tastes and preferences. Edited excerpts:

Covid-19 has altered the perceptions about owning a house. Homebuyers, particularly in the luxury segment, today explore accommodations offering a holistic living experience. How does Avas Wellness Living Project match up to these?

Avas Living is built on the concept of merging luxury development with holistic wellness. We are creating a first-of-its-kind wellness community in Alibaug which will have a limited number of villas as well as a state-of-the-art wellness centre and spa that will focus on rejuvenation, detoxification and relaxation. At Avas, we want wellness to be fun and have designed bike trails, curated hike routes aside from having a fitness centre, yoga and pilates studio and a vegan cafe to ensure that it’s easy to make wellness a part of the everyday. Especially when everyone in the community is united in their vision of optimal health.

How was the project conceptualised and how many investors are part of this?

I invested in Alibaugh long before the pandemic with a vision to builf a luxury community. I worked very closely with a school friend of mine and his investment bank in New York to formulate the strategy and only approached very few people to invest in the project. I’m fotunate to have partners in Adar (Poonawala) and Gaurav (Kapur), as well as a fantastic team of people that I work with at Avas who share my passion and are aligned with the greater vision.

Accommodations such as Avas reinforces the growing trend of second homes or even vacation homes. What are your views on this and do you think such a trend would help your project?

The pandemic has shifted the focus from materialistic attainment to experiential attainment and this is evident in the growing demand for second homes. Today luxury is wellness and healthy living, which unfortunately you can only get outside the city and away from daily stressors. So, people want to invest in second homes where they go to relax and recharge.

What were the reasons behind choosing Alibaug for the premium luxury wellness project? Also, are there other areas around Mumbai that you feel have similar potential?

I’ve spend a lot of my childhood at our family home in Alibaugh and it holds a place close to my heart. But besides the familiarity, Alibaugh has the ease of connectivity from Mumbai – 20 minutes by speedboat and 60 minutes by RORO. I’ve said this before, Alibaugh will be the destination in India within five years.

Offering wellness solutions is one of the cores of your project. Could you share some prominent features related to wellness living at your project?

Everything at Avas is geared towards wellness, right from the biophilic design of the villas that allows you to reset your circadian rhythm, to the Avas mobile app that reads the data off your custom fitness wearabe to tailor-make programmes for you and offers suggestions on nutrition, sleeping hours and more. The app aso converts the villa into a smart home giving you access to control the lights, music, temperature and even water and air quality. I love the way we have integrated tech with wellness to give more holistic and data-driven insights.

Avas is a premium luxury offering, but what kind of homebuyers are you looking for the project?

The kind that believes in the Avas philosophy of expansive wellness and is looking for a personalised experience with measurable results. I’m looking at building a community.

Architectural firm, SAOTA has designed Avas Living and its state-of-the-art spa and wellness centre. Could you share with us the main highlights of the spa?

The wellness centre and spa are truly one of a kind, right from its nature immersed design to the treatments offered. The spa will blend wisdom of Ayurveda with the modernity of European therapies, backed by personalised data-driven biometrics to help you detoxify, distress and let go. The wellness centre will also have a juice bar, restaurant, studiio for group classes and so much more. My favourite part of the spa is the Room of Wonderment.