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Published: March 17, 2019, 2:30 p.m.

On this episode, you will get to listen to the fascinating story of Naresh V Narasimhan, who is a the principal & CEO of Venkataramanan Associates . He shares his journey in Architecture from studying in Manipal in the 80s to joining his father in the VA group, his tryst with drafting and CAD, his views on smart cities, building information modelling and why giving back as an Architect is paramount in this day and age.

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A brief on Venkataramanan Associates:

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Venkataramanan Associates, founded in 1969, is one of the country\u2019s leading architecture and urban design firms, based in Bengaluru and Pune. Over the forty-nine years since its founding, the firm has built a vast knowledge base in architectural design.\xa0

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VA has grown from a small office that gained reputation early on for its work in real estate and scientific institutions, to a 180-person firm currently servicing reputed clients from several of India\u2019s largest corporates and Fortune 500 companies like GE, GM, Volkswagen, Bosch, Infosys, Wipro, Reliance, HPCL, Cummins and some of the biggest real estate conglomerates in the country like Prestige, Brigade, Puravankara etc.\xa0

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The firm now has a diverse portfolio spanning multiple sectors and geographies ranging from complex research and development facilities, manufacturing units and IT parks, to public institutions and real estate, creating some of the benchmarks for their typologies in India. The firm employs a highly eclectic work style of knowledge building in allied fields, a workforce with core strengths in varied sectors and extensive client research and fieldwork. Therein, its strengths lie in its ability to leverage the clients\u2019 position with design knowledge.\xa0

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VA understands the transformative nature of architecture and all its work is based on this understanding. The firm\u2019s award-winning projects have been widely published in India and are part of a rapidly growing portfolio of radical work.

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For more head to archgyan.com/12

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Episode Shownotes

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\xa0Naresh\u2019s introduction to Architecture

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\u201cWhen the singularity comes, it\u2019s all mathematics. All other forms of science converge to Maths. It\u2019s all Maths in the end."

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• Natural affinity towards Architecture
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\u201cArchitecture is an unusual combination of lots of things. You have to be a jack of all trades, and master of some."

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• Studying in Manipal & the extraordinary Library

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• Getting into Product Design & Delhi

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\u201cArchitects think their job is to build buildings. Your job is to make a better place for society. You never have one client in Architecture, you also have the society as a hidden client."

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• Joining his dad in 1985

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• Initial years in Venkatraman Associates

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\u201cArchitecture is not a hobby, it\u2019s not a profession, it\u2019s just a calling"

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• Scaling up with Autocad in the 80s!! \u201cI was probably the first guy in India to buy Autocad"

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• Release 10 of Autocad

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• The Embassy in Ali Askar Road

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\u201cThe software right now is ahead of the industry instead of the other way around"

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• How did VA group land the bigger projects?

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• Building the first software park in India - \u201cInfosys"

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• \u201cTo see the trend before it happens."

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• "Your brand is your building"

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• Clients have the same issue as Architects \u201cHow to find you?"

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• "There are not many good architects in India. And by good, I don\u2019t mean subjectively good. I mean objectively capable of building a good building"

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• \u201cPeople coming out of colleges now, they need almost a year of unlearning before they\u2019re any use to us"

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• Goals & Visions for the VA group

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• Sectors that VA group work on - Science & Technology, Real Estate, Industry, Hospitality, Pro-bono Urban Design Projects.\xa0

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• \u201cChurch street is the only street in Bangalore where you can walk from one end to the other with your head looking up"

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• "Every Architect should devote 5% of their revenue and try to do one project for the City every year."

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• \u201cThis city has given us everything. Don\u2019t you think we need to give back to the city"

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• Opinion on Smart Cities

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