Nayan Raheja, on what it takes to build your own reputation, despite coming from an iconic builders’ family
Born as a son of real estate developer Navin Raheja is not what dares him to make them stand tall, it was what he dreamt of in class eight that helped Nayan Raheja convert his dreams into reality. He believes constructing a building is not merely about bricks and mortar, it is about building a dream house for its customers where they can relax and enjoy their stay.
Still, one wonders if it is easier for a developers’ son to get into construction and carry the family business forward. The answer comes on its own: “I gave wings to my dreams by graduating from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi. Also, being an alumnus of Delhi Public School, I learnt that a successful man isn't really successful if he is all height and no girth. And this is where I began my journey from.”
Raheja believes professionally-managed technology, driven with the right ideas, innovation and actions, bring in desired growth. Today, his company is one of the largest in the real estate industry with projects all over India. “When I joined my father’s business, Raheja Developers Limited, as an executive director, I knew our corporate philosophy and guiding principles are that blueprints of buildings should not be made in isolation but in harmony with the needs, dreams and aspirations of those who will inhabit them,” he says, adding how the company not only develops exquisite homes, office and commercial space for its customers, but also endeavours to gain their trust through quality, commitment and dedication.
But what difference has he brought to a company that was already well known? “Seeing my dedication, my father gave me a chance to be at the forefront to lead the company into the new era, contributing significantly to better systems, processes and better product delivery while keeping the needs of the modern consumer in mind,” he says. He also decided to choose a path he personally believed in — transparency of operations, where he wants to give every details to the customer through the company’s website www.raheja.com, be it government approvals, integration with Google Earth/ Maps for locations, as well as directions of all projects, which is uploaded on the website.
Monthly construction updates by YouTube video embedding or by using first-of-its-type live virtual tour of completed project/ sample flat is also available on the website. As he further explains, “I also decided to implement a system where all approvals are taken through it, which helps us monitor our company’s departmental activities.” So he sat with his IT team to design this system where the concerned people in the company can access and manage important activities such “searching”, “reporting”, “mail‐merging” and “communicating” with employees within the organisation.
Under his leadership, the company has seen tremendous changes in a short span of two years. As they say, with a new mind come new ideas, thoughts, challenges, and ways and means to excel. Due to the change of business strategy from mid-level housing to luxury housing, the brand positioning has changed. With active participation in product strategy, design input, execution management, the company’s brand enjoys the highest level of reputation in the market.
Raheja has also been instrumental in convincing the world’s largest construction companies such as Arabtec and ECC, to come to India under a joint venture and as a part of his company’s backward integration. He also didn’t hesitate in appointing Thornton Tomasetti USA, the structural engineers of Kingdom Tower, the world’s tallest building under construction; the Petronas Towers, Malaysia; and Taipei 101, Taiwan.
A multi-talented person, Rajeha wears many hats with ease. He is also a musician, conservationist, poet, director, singer, an avid photographer and the list goes on. Given these, the company recently decided to venture in showbiz. Raheja is also one of the directors in Raheja Productions, a production house making documentaries and films in the field of wildlife and environment. The production house is making a Bollywood film based on the issues of India’s youth. He is personally a keen wildlife photographer and has been contributing significantly to the cause of tiger conservation, with his photos and articles being published across leading journals of India. He keeps travelling extensively to wildlife parks across the world and writes on the current conditions of wildlife and forest management.
As a keen musician with a degree from Delhi school of Music in classical guitar, Raheja has also received Hindustani classical vocal training and has performed at concerts at colleges and fests and at prestigious public platforms such as Siri Fort Auditorium, Delhi.
In the end, however, his biggest passion is his profession, he says. “I have actively been designing most of the buildings developed by Raheja Developers and take pride in having been awarded the Best Architect in India at the Real Estate Lifestyle Award for 2011,” he says. A keen follower of technology, sustainability, and future of construction mechanisms in architecture, Raheja is also a member of the Indian Institute of Architects and the Assocham Youth Leaders community.
And what about his dream project, Talking Homes? “You can talk to the walls of your house,” he says. Building the world’s first artificial homes, where home automation is being integrated with voice recognition system to create a home with a soul, this ambitious project is Raheja Ayana residences. There is also Raheja Revanta, which is poised to break the records in luxury and stand out to be one of the tallest residential towers in North India with 56 floors.
Raheja also feels backward integration and technology transfer from strategic international partners has helped the company to direct control over the engineering, construction intricacies and skilled labour control, which will spell the future of Indian construction. This has also helped the group pioneer some incredible innovations such as slip-form construction, pre-fabricated construction and so on, which has increased product quality and decreased the construction time. “Today, we have already achieved a five-day-per-floor cycle for a 25,000 sq ft floor plate each, which is perhaps the fastest construction on Indian soil,” he says.