Orientbell Tiles in association with TV9 Bharatvarsh, India’s No. 2 Hindi News Channel, presents to you the second episode of their one of a kind show Building A New India. Through this show the aim is to bring together prominent builders, policy makers and thought leaders to discuss the issues faced by the real estate sector in India.
The panellists in this episode were Mr. Deepak Kapoor, Director Gulshan Group, Ms. Meetu Mathur, Director GPM Architects & Planners, & Mr. Rajiv Nehru, RICS and they discussed the challenges faced by builders in order to offer buyers “Affordability With Quality”.
Despite taking a few financial hits due to Covid, the real estate sector is back on track and slowly gaining traction. According to a prediction, the sector which was worth Rs. 12,000 crore in 2019 will be worth almost $8 trillion. Currently due to the drop in interest rates, buying of homes has increased, but low interest rates are not here to stay and with the rising raw material prices is it possible that in the near future homes will get dearer?
Commenting on this Mr. Deepak Kapoor, Director Gulshan Group said, “When we say quality, it is not only in terms of building structures or using quality materials. But it is the way you use those building materials and items to produce a quality end product. But beside this there is another factor called quality of life at Gulshan. So the kind of lifestyle that we provide in our structures, we refer to it as ‘we build houses and they are converted into homes by the cosy families.’ So that paradigm shift involves a lot of planning, a lot of introspection, and a lot of traction with the end consumer.”
“Quality is not limited to using expensive raw materials. Quality can also mean using cheaper materials but the right way, using the correct processes and affixing them beautifully,” mentioned Mr. Kapoor.
Talking about how quality is in the workmanship, Mr. Kapoor gave an example of army barracks and how the army does not use expensive pavers, but simple bricks. But these bricks are laid perfectly in line and are simply covered using limestone producing a quality product.
Ms. Meetu Mathur, Director GPM Architects & Planners, agreed with Mr. Kapoor that more than using expensive raw materials, it is all about the application. She mentioned, “I will give you a small example, we design our affordable housing projects according to a tile size so that there is minimal wastage. It is a very small intervention, but it goes a long way in defining that our costs don’t increase, wastage is minimized and at the same time affordability and quality is balanced.”
The pandemic forced builders, architects, and designers to innovate.
Commenting on the impact of the pandemic, Ms. Mathur said, “In 2020 when the pandemic hit a lot of people left the cities and migrated towards their hometowns. Due to this, real estate, especially the affordable housing sector, had seen a severe setback because these buyers were not interested in this segment. At that time there was a wave of thought as to how to attract buyers back and provide them with facilities that will attract them to stay in the city while working well. It was important to figure out that even in a 60 square metre house how we would provide them with a study corner, and even the facility to work from home. There were even thoughts on how we are integrating co-working facility in a housing area. We are designing community facilities in such a way that small groups of people can gather safely. We are also learning and evolving. The market is teaching us and clients are teaching us how to think on our feet and introduce new ideas.”
Buyers And Their Three Tests Of Quality
Mr. Rajiv Nehru, RICS, shared an interesting insight on how buyers determine the quality of the home they are buying, “The customer performs three tests in the flat. One is the coin test, which is also important for tile manufacturers. They use the coin like a striker, and if it gets stuck it means the quality is bad. If the coin goes from one end to the other it means that the level is proper. The second test is the knock test where they knock on walls and doors. If they don’t make a sound the quality is fine. Third is the drop test where is a customer drops something and the tile doesn’t break then that quality is okay.”
“This is the perspective that a buyer can see, what he can’t see is the rods, rcc, and concreting. Our responsibility is towards both, what the customer can see and what the customer cannot see,” he added.
The most affordable way for builders to work is to get the quality right in the very first try. Every patchwork, every repair thereafter will not only increase cost, but will also reduce the quality of the end product being offered to the buyer.
You can now view the entire episode on Affordability With Quality here.
With Building A New India Orientbell Tiles aims to bring thought leaders & policy makers in the real estate sector to re-imagine the realty sector.
