Collaborate to Consolidate – Manoj Kumar talks about Strategies for Architects

Collaborate to Consolidate - Manoj Kumar talks about Strategies for Architects 1
Design Team Planning for a New Project

When BuildingDesign compiled a list of the 100 largest architectural firms in the world, only 3 firms from India made the cut – Hafeez Contractor, CP Kukreja and Morphogenesis – accounting for less than 500 Indian architects. The remaining 100,000+ architects in the country work in smaller offices, with 90% of them having fewer than 10 employees.

Architectural practices work with many trades and professionals, with the finest people possessing exquisite skills. Architects possess an abundance of talent, creativity, resourcefulness and enterprise. Still, there is only so much a single architect or a small practice can do. There comes a time – when, with a stable output of consistent work – there is a desire to grow. At that moment, however, the practice is constrained, boxed in, held up tightly in wraps by human capabilities and bandwidth.

There are clients who are providing you ample opportunities to show your design and execution prowess, the projects are being completed on time and being appreciated by peers and the media, and the masons, carpenters and vendors are happy to work alongside – so what is the problem?

The problem is of growth – expanding the scale of what you are doing and taking up projects of increasing design complexity and budgets.

As a solo architect, you will miss out on being considered for projects which require a diverse skill set. Larger projects require multi- disciplinary teams, which a boutique practice finds difficult to gather together. Even if you are a specialist – for example, in landscape – you will need people from urban design, conservation, urban & regional planning, housing, project management, structural engineering, building services, interiors, environmental planning, transportation planning, computing, economics, sociology and the likes for handling projects above a certain scope.

Assembling a collaborative set of architects is a dynamic, long drawn process. The value systems must align and there should a basic level of commonality to hold the team together.

Creating a network of likeminded professionals, with who you can relate to at a personal and professional level, is important. Relationships and understanding take time to cement. With each project, you will ease your working styles together. So, start collaborating on smaller projects today.

The benefits of collaboration are for all the constituents. The rewards are split amongst all. Everyone comes out a winner, richer with enhanced exposure and a share of the larger project pie. The key benefits are:

  1. This collection of talent, as a consortium, stands a chance to be considered for the major projects initiated by the government or by funding agencies. Examples are projects arising out of the Smart Cities Mission or for creating master plans for corporates for integrated work and living townships.
  2. For the private sector clients, it will be a like a single window approach for their complex projects. There will be one entity, which will meet all the design and construction needs of the client. All the work will be shared amongst the participating consortium.
  3. You will be far more productive, do better work, and be updated on how your peers are working. You will make your practice sustainable and ready for the innovative disruptions in the years ahead.


So, architects – collaborate. That is the way to grow, evolve and create satisfying work.


Manoj Kumar - ArchTalkManoj Kumar has worked on over $5 BN worth projects, having been on investment review panels for community, industrial, office, commercial, leisure, airport, rail, road, healthcare infrastructure along with ecommerce & marketplace initiatives at Bharat Forge, TATA Steel, GE Capital and Apex Group (UK)

Share your comments

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent

The 100, Calicut, by Nestcraft Architecture

In this rural escape, The 100, Calicut, by Nestccraft Architecture, ensures a firm marriage between functionality and aesthetics and the planning suggests four bedrooms with attached toilets in a plinth area of 21OO square feet. The home and wabi-sabi landscape within this boundary facilitate meaningful life to 1OO souls.

Read More »
Pune

Pune – An Ever-Evolving Jewel

The essay traces the transformation of Pune from a quaint town to the vibrant city it is today. Mostly it is about the city’s aspects, which make it different and unique. The narrative reminisces about the city’s cultural richness and festive glory. It also points out a bit about the challenges posed by urbanization. But despite everything, Pune successfully retains its cultural essence, making it a city that preserves its glorious heritage while transforming.
This essay by Arpita Khamitkar is amongst the shortlisted essays.

Read More »

Reflection of Urban Inclusivity And Reality

The essay reflects on the author’s childhood memories centred around the Kohinoor Textile Mill. The mill, part of Mumbai’s Girangaon, played a significant role in the city’s industrial growth until the early 1980s. The essay fondly recalls the mill’s impact on the community, its cultural richness, and personal experiences. The author expresses concern about the loss of community identity and the impact of privatization, highlighting the need for sustainable urban development that preserves the city’s history. This essay by Pornima Buddhivant is amongst the shortlisted essays.

Read More »
The case of Phalke Smarak - Nashik

The case of Phalke Smarak

The essay titled, ‘The case of Phalke Smarak : Nashik’s untapped potential with existing urban public space’ – discusses how a promising urban scale public space project for Nashik city in the late 90s has slowly turned desolate, despite all the possibilities and potential the architectural design, site and overall context offers. It further tries to highlight the gap between the public and failed public spaces based on this case, and points towards public engagement for successful urban design, renewal and development. This essay by Asmita Raghuvanshy is amongst the shortlisted essays.

Read More »
The Good, the Bad and the Aesthetic - Bhopal

The Good, the Bad and the Aesthetic

This essay delves into how municipal corporations envision creating Western cities (instead of responding to the Indian context) and end up creating cities that only appear to work, instead of actually being more socially inclusive, dynamic and publicly active. The Smart Cities Mission then caters only to the rich and this becomes evident in not just the visuals they use, but also the manner in which they describe their vision of a World Class Infrastructure. This essay by Avani Mittal is amongst the shortlisted essays.

Read More »

WE ARE HIRING /

ArchitectureLive! is hiring for various roles, starting from senior editors, content writers, research associates, graphic designer and more..

 

PARTICIPATE /