Aesthetics And Utility Equally Important: Niranjan Hiranandani

India is a developing country and we have the potential to become a global leader. With the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growing and prosperity increasing, our focus is on rapid infrastructure development. After the fulfilling the basic psychological and safety needs comes the design, said Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-founder and Managing Director, Hiranandani Group, and National Vice-Chairman, NAREDCO. If Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is applied to design, functionality or utility would trump aesthetics.

“Once you complete the basic necessities of life, then design becomes important. Good design is a combination of utility and aesthetics. By using ‘design thinking’, one can make things for dual usage. For example, in our projects, we make the bedroom such that if somebody wants to use it as their office, they can by simply rolling up the bed. Aesthetics is equally important. Take for example, the Apple phone - hundred thousand pieces were designed differently, research was conducted and finally one was chosen. This was a combination of aesthetics and functionality. Design is going to be a much more important part of the future,” said Dr Hiranandani.

Post-pandemic design needs for the real-estate industry

Post-pandemic the requirements of people have completely changed. For instance, now people want more space in their homes, but this has to be aesthetically appealing as well. They want their space to be comfortable and appealing. In India, we are moving towards standardisation. Once an aesthetically pleasing space is designed, it becomes a standard for design, and people have started welcoming such standardisation in design. However, design is an ever evolving process, designs get outdated if not improved and this needs to be kept in mind.

On design for employee well-being

Emphasising the need for ergonomic design, he said, “Design is important for residential complexes, but it is equally important for offices and commercial spaces.” Good design can help a company retain their employees, as it enhances well-being and given how the pandemic has made well-being central to our lives, it is an essential aspect to focus on.

On designing better quality of life for city dwellers and the citizens of India

We need our leadership to focus on essential aspects of infrastructure building to achieve this. And, it has to be a top to bottom approach. Back in the day, we didn’t have the money to put behind this, but now that is not the case. And, I must say progress is taking place but there is still lots to do. We need to have more people thinking about such aspects.