Mumbai, Maharashtra -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/15/2010 -- A senior partner from a European Architectural firm on a fact finding tour of India, remarked that in many ways Architects have surpassed their contemporaries in Europe. Some of the buildings he has seen in India are in many ways superior to buildings in Europe. However, in the same breath, he went on to say that there is also a plethora of new buildings in India which are abysmal in every respect.

Why is there such a large gap between good buildings and the not so good? Why does one not see a minimum standard being maintained in India, be it the architectural design or the services designs or maintaining safety regulations? The answer probably lies in the crass commercialization of Architecture. Today one sees a proliferation of ‘factory like’ setups in Architectural practices; hundreds of young Architects producing drawings from under one room, with diminished project ownership. This has resulted from the increased demand from clients to produce drawings faster and faster, allowing the principal Architects to spend less and less time on getting the basics correct and spending more time on air-brushing presentations.

Projectwell is India’s premier Development Management Consultancy Firm. Spokesperson Sunit Vankudre says “Till 10 years back one could see Architectural Firms being largely led by the owner or the partners at the top. Historically this is how Architects, Doctors and Lawyers have practiced. Today, there is no ownership. Practices have become factories; resulting in loss of quality.”

It is also noteworthy that due to lack of enforcement of regulations, often unqualified personnel end up working on drawings and other services, leading to a serious concern on the safety aspects of India’s modern buildings.

There are some companies like boutique Architectural Design Firm iDream, who have managed to remain focused on services. Company spokesperson Anirban Banerjee said “From the beginning we made a conscious decision not to run after everything that moves. We have focused on keeping a limited number of clients happy and securing repeat projects from them. We survive on repeat projects. As we deal with lesser number of clients, we are able to add value and bring in aspects like sustainability into our designs.”

So it is a raging debate today who you want to call the best Architect in Mumbai or the best Architect in Bangalore. Does the award goes to the one with the best balance sheet or to the one with the best designs?

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