Let's Talk

ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Volume 1 – Summer 2014
Design as the new business horizontal
The inception of the GPL Design Studio

Volume 2 – Monsoon 2014*
The integration of subject matter expertise
Mapping scale, scope and the Studio’s intent for impact

Volume 3 – Summer 2015
Design as the dot connector
Our product proposition and design led development

Volume 4 – Summer 2016
Design thinking for business
The impact of design on portfolio profitability - The Trees, Godrej BKC

Volume 5 – Summer 2017
Growth and Innovation
The need for twin engines to power your corporation
*A warded a Gold statuette at the MarCom awards 2014,
one of only two winners from India
No part of the magazine can be reproduced
without due permission from the editor.
Mail your suggestions and feedback to:
Namrata Mehra, GPL Design Studio,
5th Floor, Godrej One, Pirojshanagar,
Vikhroli East, Mumbai 400079
[email protected]
To request previous issues email us at:
[email protected]

The

Anniversary Issue

2013 - 2018



The last five years

Five years ago, our Chief Design Officer set
out a premise. Design could become a key
differentiator in the real estate business. Our
stakeholders immediately bought in and we
committed to becoming a design led organization.
In order to achieve this, design could no longer
be a business vertical, it needed to become a
business horizontal. This was the conception of
the GPL Design Studio. A unique collective of
creative people – urban designers, architects,
interior designers, landscape architects, graphic
designers, broadcast designers, environmental
planners, engineers, artists and marketeers who
also wear business hats.

The Studio’s mandate today is design,
innovation, product development, brand building
and creation of customer experiences across
our portfolio. We work in collaboration with the
best creative minds globally and locally, ranging
from small to large creative practices. Our work
and methods are slowly being recognized as a
sustainable model by both - business and design
communities to effectively collaborate, innovate
and co-create win-win propositions together.

Namrata Mehra
Editor

2018 Growth &

#FutureOfDesign

2017

#Foresight2020

2016

#DesignForBusiness

2015 Focus on Product

#Co-creation #Co-ideation

2014

#HandsOnByDesign

2013 Design - A business horizontal

#DesignInIndia

GPL will be a
design-led company.

Pirojsha Godrej
Executive Chairman,
Godrej Properties

What is the
future of Design?

& Innovation
Design Thinking for Business

Subject Matter Expertise

about

1

Design -
the 'Fifth Estate'

40 28

The future How can
of the city design take us
from 10 to 20?

46

The evolving
campus

62 Editorial & Content
Anubhav Gupta, Namrata Mehra
Where will
our kids play? Art Direction
Namrata Mehra, Venkatesh Bilvam
70
Communication team
The simple Sujatha Moraes
pleasures Wrik Basu
of life
Photography
Putting the 100 Jeff Goldberg
Magda Bierat
pieces together Edmund Sumner
Manoj Jadhav
Fabien Charuau
Vikas Munipalle
Wrik Basu

Special features
Anne Stenros, CDO, Helsinki
Karla Bookman, The Swaddle
Sameer Kulavoor

Contributions
Godrej Archives
Sasaki Associates
SOM
Studio Lotus
Mindspace Architects
Site Concepts
LocoPopo - Lokesh Karekar
Artlab - Ashwin Karupaiah
Ankan Mandal
Ayashkanta Rout
C Satyanarayanan
Dwaipayan Aich
Esther Fernandes
Joydeep Mondal
Mayank Poddar
Neelam Sonawane
Prashant Nanawane
Priya Verma
Raghuvir Khare
Ruhie Pande
Shraddha Dasgupta
Sujatha Moraes
Vaibhav Jain
Yogesh Sapkal

Layouts
Whitespace35

Proofing
Meghna Mehta

Print supervision
Sujatha Moraes

Printed by
Commercial Art Engravers Pvt Ltd



Design - the 'Fifth Estate'

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 1

Qu'est-ce que le This may sound like a Game
cinquième-état? of Thrones or Dungeons and
Dragons question but it begs
What constitutes some (design) thinking (?)
the realm

and what/who
shapes it today?

The French, during the
Middle Ages talk about a tripartite social order;
Oratores - those who pray, Bellatores – those
that fight and Laboratores – those who work.
The French Revolution or evolution of the
separation of powers during the revolution
reinterpreted this order as the three estates
of Clergy, Nobility and the Bourgeoisie
respectively. More recently, the three estates of
the realm have been translated in separation
of powers within the government as legislature,
administration and judiciary.

Oratores
Bellatores

Laboratores

the three estates
in the Middle Ages.

the three estates
redefined for Democracy.

2 GPL Design Studio

Additionally, a fourth estate the FOURTH estatE
usually referring to the referring to the independent
influencing forces outside press or media.
the established power
structure and sometimes evoking the
Middle Ages construct is referenced as
the independent press or media.

In today’s hyper dynamic world of
convergence, rapid obsolescence,
disruption and survival where big data
and artificial intelligence are inevitable
currencies of pervasive technology and
mass consumption of media, the realm
is being shaped in ways and forms that
cannot be explained by the four estates
alone. While ‘those that design’ were
always a silent estate shaping the realm,
their presence is being felt and heard
here and now, and more than ever. In
our new world, who is in charge? Is this
by design or by default, by profit for a
few or equitable to most, irresponsible
to the planet or sustained for survival?
Who else is responsible for shaping the
realm today? The clergy was ordained
by God, nobility by power, peasants
by majority, media by independence
and design by….default? Is this the
emergence of the 'fifth' estate during the
information revolution?

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 3

211%outperformance
Data suggests that companies, which
recognized this estate, outperformed
the S&P index consistently by over
211% in the last decade.+

The idea of Design Thinking first articulated
comprehensively, the power of shaping everything
beyond the confines of traditional design discourse
which was limited to specific disciplines and often
confused about how things looked like. Designers also
did not do themselves any favors in their preoccupation
with personal egos and signature styles rather than
truly focusing on connecting the dots and harnessing
their power to shape the realm. However, this is
changing now. Design Thinking is shaping Healthcare,
Banking, Human Resources, Retail, Hospitality,
Mobility, Technology, and the Government among other
sectors. In corporate boardrooms, design seems to
be solving problems for people, products, processes,
partnerships, profits and the planet. Data suggests that
companies, which recognized this estate, outperformed
the S&P index consistently by over 211% over the last
decade. From influencing life to shaping markets by
design and now taking on larger more complex socio
economic engines, cities like Helsinki and Los Angeles
recently appointed their first Chief Design Officers.

*While there have been some references to 'Social media' being a
potential contender for the Fifth Estate, the author posits all media
/ media companies / company and individual controlled social
networking to be an evolved manifestation of the fourth estate.

+ www.dmi.org/?page=2015DVIandOTW

4 GPL Design Studio

Unlike media, design is conceptores
perhaps a force to reckon
with both within, as well the FIFTH estatE
as outside traditionally referring to those that design.
defined power structures of society to shape
the realm. While design thinkers do not
(yet) have to take the likes of a Hippocratic
oath, it appears that the responsibility is not
short of any moral obligation, especially in
an era where any information/data can be
harvested to manipulate the other estates
and endanger the realm. This is a new
realm in the information age of disruption
and convergence where design should take
center stage to help shape it for progress
and survival. In such a realm when a priest,
nobleman, farmer and journalist walk into a
bar. 4 thuds later, the designer arrives. They
clearly did not see that coming!

The Middle Ages construct and its evolution
to the four estates may have been suitably
augmented to add to - those who pray,
those that fight, those that work, those that
influence, to now include Conceptores –
those that design.

Welcome to the
Fifth Estate.
Welcome to tomorrow.

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 5

5years Anubhav Gupta, our CDO was
We work in a Co-creation Co-ideation recognized as one of Asia's 40
format with our design partners; all under 40 leading designers -
intellectual property is co-credited. Perspective Global, 11th Edition
This platform has produced and delivered
several memorable projects.

The Imagine Studio was one of
6 shortlisted projects globally
and the only project from Asia
in the ‘Metal in Architecture’
category at the WAN awards

Awarded the Blue Elephant at Received an Honorable mention
the Kyoorius design awards for the Imagine Studio at the
for the Imagine Studio in the 'Fast company Innovation by
‘Design for Space’ category Design awards' in the ‘Spaces,
and for ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ Places and Cities’ category
in the Installations category
GPL Design Studio
6

GPL Design Studio recognized as India's Best
inhouse Studio, 2017 at the Pool Show 2017

The Trees master plan - Honor Award by the Boston 7
Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA) 2014 | Godrej
One - Best Commercial Building of the year, NDTV
Property Awards 2016 | Award of Merit (meritorious
contribution to lighting design), The International
Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), 2017
| Imagine Studio - Special Mention in the ‘Architecture
+ Metal’ category Architizer A+ Awards, March 2017
| Global shortlist (one of 25, the only project in from
India to be shortlisted globally) Lamp Lighting Awards,
March 2017 | Global shortlist - Adaptive reuse (one of
6, only project from Asia) The WAN Awards, December
2016 | Godrej Platinum, Alipore - Asia Pacific Property
Award in the Best Luxury Residential Category & Best
Landscape | Gold Prize Yuan Ye Award International
competition 2017

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue

Design
Delivered

8 GPL Design Studio

5
Godrej BKC is our most recently
delivered commercial building.
Designed by Skidmore Owings and
Merrill (SOM), the asset houses 1.2
Mn square feet of grade A office
space and a restaurant arcade
anchored by public art.

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 9

With sales of 435,000 square feet office
space to Abbott, Godrej BKC recorded
India's single largest commercial real
estate transaction in recent times

10 GPL Design Studio

The building has a well engineered
facade which is delivered to
precise detail through a rigorous
design led engineering process.
The lines of the white aluminium
fenestration modulates for solar
sun-shading, daylighting and
views. These clean lines are
carried through to the granite clad
columns that define the restaurant
arcade anchored by Subodh
Gupta’s evocative public art.

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 11

12 GPL Design Studio

Construction drawings
by discipline*

Architectural 450
Structural 175
Electrical 425
Facade 246
Fire fighting 100
Interior design 300
Landscape
Liaison 60
HVAC 37
Parking 200
Plumbing 69
Vertical transportation 150
26

2238

Drawings

*This does not include successful
stages of drawings for the feasibility,
concept design, schematic design,
design development stages
including the design engineering for
coordination of services.
As reference, a single family home
would need 85 drawings to build.

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 13

14 GPL Design Studio

1670 Cr
Godrej One, our first delivered Class
A, Platinum rated commercial asset in
Vikhroli, set the benchmark for lease
rentals and capital values for The Trees
development

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 15

16 GPL Design Studio

1300 CR

The Godrej Fund Management (GFM) managed GBTC-I (Godrej
Build to Core - I) will take a 50% stake in Godrej Two, which will
offer approximately 1.2 million square feet of Grade-A, Platinum

Rated commercial space which will be constructed in three
years. The equity deal value is US$ 200 million
or approximately 1300 CR.

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 17

260weeks
The Studio has incubated
and integrated several design
disciplines that have in turn
made the product and customer
experience much more robust.

design disciplines
integrated as
subject matter expertise

Environmental planning, masterplanning,
landscape architecture, sustainability,
interior design, branding, graphic design,
product visualization, broadcast design,
horticulture, wayfinding signage.

74 Landscape 125+
design plans
Architectural
18 design plans

GPL Design Studio

120 Models

58

Green certifications

7

Masterplans

420 Renders 54 22

Films AVs

18

Illustrations

20608 27

Trees planted Customer experiences

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 19

ANUBHAV GUPTA

Chief Design Officer

PRAKASH ABHISHEK AMBADAS JITESH DONGNA
DHUMHAL SAWANT GHATOL Mumbai

SIDDHI NIKITA BANI SHILPA ODITI MANALI
THAKUR CHANDNA KAUR SHINDE PATIL GOKHALE

SUPRATIK DUTTA
Pune

PRASHANTH ASHISH AASHAY DEEPTI ASHWINI Design
NANAWANE CHAVAN BAGWE TEKMAL WAGLE for

ANAHITA ANANDAM Business
Bangalore
We set up the GPL
PRIYADARSHINI CHRIZ RAMASAMY ASHISH Design Studio, an
MAITY THOMAS KALYANA GUPTA
anomaly within
the traditional real
estate development

company.

SUMIT GOEL LIPIKA JAIN
NCR NCR

SAURABH
CHHABRA

VAIBHAV BANIA
Ahmedabad

PRANOTI BHURE
NAGPUR

MANPREET
MATHARU

SARBANI BASU
Kolkata

DIPANKAR
MAZUMDAR
20 GPL Design Studio

NAMRATA MEHRA

Studio Director

VAIBHAV JAIN
Design differentiated projects

THIS CONTACT
COULD [email protected]
BE YOU with your updated portfolio.

CHAITANYA
HIRLEKAR

The NEELAM SONAWANE
Studio Design differentiated projects
can be
described as TAPAN NISHA
an open source VAIDYA BADRI
framework that applies
the principles of design SHRADDHA DASGUPTA ANKAN YOGESH
thinking and powers the Landscape MANDAL SAPKAL
organization to – ‘make ESTHER
good business sense, by Sustainability FERNANDES
design.’ Our work focuses
on more than design C SATYANARAYANAN SUPARNA
focusing on qualifying Product – Interior design, wayfinding & signage SETHI
the qualitative design (its Customer Experience
benefits and evaluation) Marketing office, sample apartments NITYA
into a quantifiable & allied landscape CHANDRASHEKHAR
framework for effective
decision-making STUDIO THIS CONTACT
based on business LAUNCH TEAM COULD [email protected]
priorities. BE YOU with your updated portfolio.
JOYDEEP MONDAL
DWAIPAYAN AICH Renders and AV
Master-planning
Model studio

SUJATHA MORAES
Visual communication

PRIYA VERMA
Studio Administration

WRIK BASU
Broadcast Design

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 21

22 GPL Design Studio

Scaling Innovation
for growth

The Studio is premised on delivering high
quality design through a collaborative format
leveraging shared central specialists working
hand in hand with empowered design leads.

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 23

What are Delivery.
the three
tenets the
CDO of Godrej
Properties
looks for in
prospective

Demployees?
CCommittment.
24 GPL Design Studio

D The future is bright and
designers can truly
power the lights.

We're looking for polymaths and
talented designers who would be able
to dynamically connect dots across
variables and constants in an ever-
changing user equation to create win-
win propositions for all.

I strongly believe that it is the fraternity
of design itself that is between where we
are today and our future tomorrow. The
onus is on us to grab this opportunity
and design a bright future both for India
and the world stage at large. I remain
very optimistic about this and I look
forward to working with the rich diversity
of creative talent interested in our
mission.

Ownership.

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 25

On the GPL Design Studio
occasion
of our fifth
anniversary,
our motto.

26

We don't come to work at the
GPL Design Studio. We come
to play. Playing is about being
switched on, giving a shit,
believing in the impossible,
being infected by shared
purpose, bound by legendary
stories, strengthened by failures
and celebrated by successes.
In our playground, we have
player profiles for designers,
design thinkers, subject matter
experts, engineers, strategists,
marketers and storytellers. We
value diversity, integrity and
ownership. We like to break
barriers and jump traditional
boundaries where breaking
is not possible. Our design
partnerships are also based
on the same values and our
invitation is open to anyone who
fits the bill to come talk to us,
explore synergies and play in
our exciting playground, which
is becoming larger everyday.

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 27

There is a strong connect between design 10
and business strategy. By design, instead
of by default, implies clarity on Why, What,
for Whom and How. With the company
set on achieving an ambitious Return on
Capital Employed (ROCE) and the idea
that design could contribute significantly,
the Studio undertook a comprehensive
systems and design thinking approach to
this business problem.

How can
design take
us from
10 to 20?

28 GPL Design Studio

20

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 29

#10toPlenty

Adopting a comprehensive approach towards creating
both shareholder and customer value, this approach sets
about the three pronged strategies of using design to set
up the base framework of high standards, building on
that, creating consistent standardization and delivering
superlative value through design differentiated projects.

Consistent
Standardization

Standardized construction
details for consistent and
cost efficient delivery

High
Standards

Robust product quality
standards to deliver on
customer promise

30 GPL Design Studio

The Trees, Godrej Properties’ flagship
mixed-use project. A distinct business
case for unique design led differentiation

Unique 31
Differentiation

Design led innovation to deliver business
returns and give back to the brand

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue

High Standards
& Consistent
Standardization

We are fundamentally trying to
change the way we provide value
to our customers by design. This
includes how we envision and
design projects, assess business
trade-offs using both quantitative
and qualitative metrics, construct
our projects, take them to market
and deliver our products with
great customer promise of brighter
living and the highest standards of
environmental sustainability. We
found it extremely useful to tabulate
all project information as a series of
project libraries allowing for business
to both understand and make project
level trade-offs from ready reckoner
references across our portfolio.

32 GPL Design Studio

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 33

Setting up the
Differentiation pipeline

De

Godrej Golf Links, NCR

34 GPL Design Studio

eal G
Deal H

The need to plan design
differentiated projects

Based on evidence from already executed design differentiated projects,
we found that they offered multiple advantages. They were well-
planned, well-executed, quickly and profitably sold, held their value,
helped build brand equity, raised premiums for the neighbourhood,
made for better customer NPS scores, fostered sustainable
communities and build the team’s pride. Doing more of these over
our portfolio ensured higher returns from less number of projects as
compared to a scale-only cost led approach with thinner profits thereby
increasing overheads. We built a business case to help change GPL’s
strategy. In business development speak, we call this Deal G. To take
our aspirations further in going from 10 to Plenty, our teams are now
working on Deal H where we are focusing on minimizing risk and
maximizing returns for the company’s PAT.

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 35

Differentiated GPL Design Studio
by design -
Lakefront
development

Often times, a unique location and a
stringent set of constraints come together
to create a singular design challenge. In
this case, our latest project involved a land
parcel on a lakefront with challenging soil
strata, an internal mandate to do right by
sustainable measures for an eco-sensitive
zone and a challenging business plan. The
solution created was truly differentiated
by design with panorama apartments
opening up towards spectacular lake views
set amidst a recreational public realm
embracing the lake.

36

Kaikondrahalli Lake

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 37

38 GPL Design Studio

The landscape response embodies a layered
narrative; an activated heart anchored by the
swimming pool and a grand atrium, the amenity
panorama and the nature wetland trails punctuated

by a series of land sculpted green berms.

Let's Talk - Anniversary issue 39

The future
of the city:
Towards the
human journey

- Anne Stenros, Chief Design Officer, Helsinki
writing for the GPL Design Studio.

In his brilliant book “Building and Dwelling
– Ethics for the City” (2018), Richard
Sennett argues that the subtle balance
and division between people’s life and
the built environment, in French 'the liquid
cité and the solid ville', is the grounding
epitome of the meaning of collective place-
consciousness: the physical place and
the mentality of behaviours and beliefs.
As Sennett writes, “All city-makers have
a particular experience of this tension just
because of the brute fact that buildings
are weighty things; if not eternal, buildings
are going to be in place a long time.”
According to Sennett, we have lost the
ethical compass of an urban experience by
the overdominance of the built environment.
To make cities more dynamic and livable
in the future, we will need people-oriented
urbanism, shared sensemaking and
strategic storytelling.

40 GPL Design Studio