Kindly share details about your brand in brief along with major recent recognized projects of the company
Godrej Properties is a design/innovation led; customer centric; and sustainability focused real estate developer. We bring the best in class professional, ethical and real estate development standards to each of our projects spread across 12 cities (153 mn. Sq.ft.) within our residential and commercial real estate portfolio. On all our projects, our in-house GPL Design Studio works collaboratively with industry leaders (both international and domestic) – planners, architects, engineers and contractors to deliver the best value and the promise of ‘Brighter Living’ for our customers.
All our projects are special to us and in some way have created landmarks for the city, micro market or community where they are located. Our flagship project, ‘The Trees’ at Vikhroli is one such recent example. This international award winning master plan designed by Sasaki Associates in collaboration with GPL Design Studio consists of 3 walkable precincts: Private Residential quarter; Mixed-use heart consisting of hospitality, retail, civic and urban residential uses; and Commercial class A office precinct – all connected together with a high quality and vibrantly programmed public realm. In planning this development, we have been able to save over 85% of the existing tree cover and old industrial buildings for adaptive reuse. All buildings are IGBC Platinum rated. Our iconic headquarters building within this development – ‘Godrej One’ is designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Associates and is a clear demonstration of our commitment to quality and design. Rarely seen in this part of the world, the award winning ‘Imagine Studio’ complex (which serves as our experience centre) is a thoughtful example of legacy reinterpreted whilst retaining the heritage and post-industrial identity of the site. We believe that the Imagine Studio has played a key role in differentiating the product, experience and brand for The Trees. The project is a testament of our Group’s exciting vision for Vikhroli and set a precedent for the leafy district to emerge as one of the most exciting case studies for sustainable urban development and inner city regeneration that India has seen in a long time.
As a designer, share the challenges you often faced while designing projects in terms of excelling in comparison to your previous works
Luxury means different things to different people and is fluid across segments. For us luxury is a state of design and experience. All our homes are well designed to offer great experiences. Our design teams work with a wide range spanning – thoughtful luxury, affordable luxury and high-end luxury to create special homes for every customer. From a design perspective, we think out of the box in preserving past legacy, enhancing present thinking and anticipating future trends of what luxury may encompass. Within the residential sector, we were amongst the first to build innovative luxury apartments, Godrej Planet in the Mahalaxhmi racecourse area, which today forms a part of the iconic Mumbai skyline. Our premium ‘Godrej Platinum’ series of homes are now available in 4 metros. Several other residential projects spanning market segments – studios, apartments, town houses, villas and villa-ments; each with distinct design, high quality construction and functional innovation continue to capture the imagination of our customers across India. Over the years, the physical scale of our projects has expanded to include mixed use and large township developments. In these projects our focus on master planning helps us bring alive a flexible development framework of buildings, blocks, streets, squares, parks, neighborhoods and districts. An active asset mix, community centric programming and a safe public realm predicated around walkability, multimodal transit and sustainability forms the backbone of a civic structure we typically put in place. Among other projects, Godrej Garden City Township at Ahmedabad and our upcoming Trees mixed-use development at Vikhroli are great examples where our in house Design Studio has worked with international firms (SOM and Sasaki Associates respectively) to continuously better our previous work.
Your predictions in designing for the current year – 2018
Renewed focus on wellness and sustainable development has emerged as a worldwide trend. Building upon the idea of wellness in real estate from an apartment to development level, our focus has been on thoughtful design, segregation of vehicular traffic to improve immediate air quality, inclusion of green – especially as a natural air filtration system, daylighting, well-engineered water systems, high performance glazing for noise reduction and a well-appointed amenity program to enhance resident fitness. We have recently prototyped an urban farm to bring back focus on connecting with the land for recreation and nourishment. Wellness as a concept is best understood at a master plan level with increasing appreciation for walkable neighbourhoods, quality of public realm – functional/people-oriented open spaces connected through pedestrian connections and sightlines and we believe this will be an ongoing focus area through 2018 and beyond.
Is there something you would like to share with your audience at large-in terms of your visionary designing views and brand motto?
‘A sense of space’ can be a rare commodity in our densely textured cities. The idea of brighter living through this sense of space is a key proposition of every GPL home. It is our mission to plan each individual building to maximize on space, light, amenities, ease of use and sustainability. Well thought through design details form the glue that holds efficiency, flexibility and space together for our customers. Simple pleasures like a comfortable spot in the bedroom to curl up with a book in or watch the rain from; a view from the dining room table; ample daylight to make the hours in the kitchen fly by; playful spaces for kids; and cleverly built-in essential utility areas are some of the examples that our human-centric design approach is predicated on. We design homes that work quietly, simply, elegantly and unobtrusively, to make life enjoyable everyday for generations alike. Our design approach is to provide maximum flexibility in terms of space usage that would evolve over the lifestyles and life stages for our residents.
In a first for any developer in the country and perhaps unique globally too, we have reconstituted our in-house design team across the country as the GPL Design Studio. The Studio’s mandate is design, innovation, product development and creation of customer experiences. A unique collective of creative people who also wear business hats – urban designers, architects, interior designers, landscape architects, graphic designers, broadcast designers, environmental planners, engineers, artists and horticulturists currently populate the Studio. This team works in collaboration with the best creative minds globally to create the magic. Some of the firms we are currently working with include Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, SOM, Sasaki Associates, Broadway Malyan, Woods Bagot and Perkins Eastman. We also work with well known and award winning Indian designers ranging from small to large practices across the country. In yet another first and perhaps a testament to our collaborative format of working the Studio is now co-credited with our design partners for every project.
