Realty majors turn to international design

Gujarat's booming realty beckons foreign architects.

Imagine owning a house, which has an English kitchen, a Greek living room and a French pavement. Gujarat's developers are going that extra mile to cash in on the realty boom.

Realtors are catering to the changing lifestyles and preferences of the denizens, who don't mind shelling out a few extra bucks for it. No wonder, many of them have been hiring foreign architects for projects.

Jaxay Shah of Savvy Infrastructure has outsourced some of the architectural work to a London-based project development and management firm and a Singapore-based architect and planning firm.

"We have outsourced the landscaping of some our projects to a Singapore-based firm. We have also hired a London-based project development and management firm, which looks after the designing and signage work," says Shah.

In an attempt to generate new ideas for its upcoming residential bungalows, plots and flat schemes, Bakeri Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd has hired a Greek architect through an architect firm Development 20:20.

Utilising the talent and exposure of foreign architects helps in churning out new ideas as well as stay ahead of the competition, feels Pankaj Shah, managing director of Bakeri.

For Jaxay Shah, who is building a new IT park and a hotel on SG Highway, it is the technical know-how of these foreign architects that adds value to the projects.

"Ahmedabad has one of the best architects in the country but what the developers are looking for is some international inputs. These foreign architects carry better knowledge and exposure to international standards of construction like green buildings, housekeeping, maintenance and better material awareness. Moreover, unlike Indian architects who might think 5-10 years ahead of the current projects, their counterparts can think of a building and its growth for the next 50-60 years," he says.

Yet, developers agree that there has to be a synergy of ideas and designs. According to Pankaj Shah, a European way of living has to be synthesised with the local requirements and tastes of the customers.

"Some people might not like the open European kitchens as compared to the closed Indian ones. Therefore, these architects have to undergo orientation to familiarise with local tastes and accordingly design the projects," adds Shah.

However, for many small developers it is the cost factor that comes into play while opting for international designers.

"The cost definitely goes up by at least 15-20 per cent in the process of hiring foreign architects. But for better designs and unique projects, it is a small price to pay. Big developers who can afford such increase in costs are ready to spend given the quality of output," opines Jaxay Shah.