Times Property FELICITATION EVENING Held on Nov 14, 2009

Great show

All the possible expertise and products in the building trade found a place at the Economic Times
ACETECH exhibition

MENKA SHIVDASANI /DEEPIKA MITAL

If you wanted to see the world's biggest bathtub and spa in action -complete with an attached
office! - the best chance to do so was at the Acetech Exhibition at Goregaon Exhibition Centre, held
between November 5 and 8, 2009.

This was just one of the highlights of the exhibition, which had 18 segments and all the possible
technology and products a construction industry professional could use. The landmark event also
encompassed a panel discussion at the exhibition venue and a Felicitation Evening at the Grand
Hyatt to honour India's leading architects and developers.

The event spread out over 500,000 sq.ft was the largest exhibition in the country ever held on
building materials, architecture, construction, design and engineering. From sanitation to lighting,
paint to air—conditioning, safety and security, roofs and plumbing there was all this and much
more.

The ritual lighting of the lamp took place in the presence of eminent developers and architects ~
Pravin Doshi of Acme Group, Mayur Shah of Marathon Group, Boman Irani of Rustomjee and
Dharmesh Jain of Nirmal Lifestyle. Also present on the occasion were some of India's
best-known architects including Hafeez Contractor and Prem Nath. The panel discussion
moderated by Mr Mahesh Mudda focused on innovations in sustainable and green technologies

Mr Pravin Doshi felt that technology transfer has happened in every aspect of construction,
especially as customers demand what they can see on television and while travelling. As costs of
such technologies come down, usage will increase. Boman Irani of Rustomjee said his group
followed the Japanese concept of making what works better, cheaper and faster... Mayur Shah felt
that the essence of being green was being self—sufficient where water and energy are concerned.

Dharmesh Jain of Nirmal Lifestyle took the discussion further pointing out that while we were no
longer lagging behind the west in terms of technology, we needed to plan for mass housing at
cheap rates. "The government needs to relook at the master plan and extra FSI for
bringing in fresh supply” ‘he said.

Architect Hafeez Contractor pointed out that we should not blindly follow the western model,
Abhin Alimchandani, director (architecture ),STUP Consultants, added, "lt is time that we looked at
green and sustainability in a holistic manner... Open space should not be the residue after bridges,
flyovers and buildings are done!" Architect Premnath agreed saying."The spirit and practice of
architecture and building should be green by default - it was all a matter of commonsense rather
than mere certification by some body. The hype surrounding green architecture has overtaken
common sense, and with the type of products available today, it would not be difficult to make a
green building - regardless of a certificate!"
Others who participated in the discussion included Jayant Tipnls and Shashi Prabhu.
Later the same evening, the Felicitation Evening at Grand Hyatt added a special sparkle to
ACETECH. With D B Realty as lead ' sponsor and Anchor Electricals and Aran Kitchen World as
associate supporter this was a tribute to all architects and developers.

"The successful constructor / builder is one who must possess the vision of the architect, the
knowledge of a master, the insight of a sage and astute presence of mind of a lawyer...,"said the
hosts. Perizaad Kolah Marshall of Great Indian Laughter Challenge fame, and Alaric
Ferns, vice-president, Radio and TV Professionals Association.

The evening began with a memorable laser show on global warming ("Please take a moment to
locate the planet's emergency exits; as you can see, there aren't any", the narrator said, reminding
us of our responsibility towards an increasingly endangered earth). Stand—up comedian Vikram
Sathe gave the evening a special edge, with his hilarious takes on everyone, from cricketers to
politicians and even builders Dancers Sandeep Soparkar and Jesseand a Russian troupe
added grace and elegance to the event.

More than 25 leading lights of the real estate and design industries were felicitated. The
developers who received accolades included Niranjan Hiranandani, MD, Hiranandani Group of
Companies; Nabil Patel, Vinod Goenka and Shahid Balwa, managing directors of D B Realty; Mr
Mofatraj Munot and Parag Munot, who head the Kalpataru Group; Mr Neel Raheja of K Raheja
Corp and Mr Abhishek Lodha,director Lodha Group.

Architects who were felicitated included Mr Hafeez Contractor, Mr Chandrashekhar Kanetkar

Bobby Mukherji. Zubln Zainuddin and Frupa Zubin,and Ravi Sarangan and Sanjay Srinivasan, to
name a fow. –

After the spectacular success of the Mumbai show which concluded on November 8,ET Acetech
moves to Bangalore (November 27-28-29 ) and culminates in New Delhi (December 11-12-
13,2009). lf you missed the Mumbai show might be worth your while taking a short trip to check
out what‘s on offer.

SUJOY GHOSH DIRECTOR, TIMES GROUP, ARCHITECT BOBBY MUKHERJI AND D B REALTY S ASIF
BALWA AND NABIL PATEL AT THE FELICITATION EVENING