The architectural and interior designing landscape is an open canvas for the artistically visionary architect and the profoundly imaginative designer to transform the space, transcend the time and inspire the spirits resonating with the divine fountain of eternal energy. This is where Shayona Consultant, the creative genius of Ar Prashant Parmar, the Founder, and the Principal Architect, is crafting the magnificent panoramas of spiritual experiences.

Shayona Consultant has executed over 1100 projects with national and international experience of over 22 years. Ar Prashant established it in 2000. Today, Shayona Consultant is one of the most established architectural and interior practices in Gujarat catering to the global clientele.

Shayona Consultant’s key focus is designing built environments that enhance and makeover people’s lives providing designs with the lasting trend and present design approach which fit client’s budget, delivering it in the known period of time with better management skills.

Prashant shares, “For over 21 years we have delivered innovative design solutions for a wide range of developments through our multidisciplinary expertise in the field of Architecture and Interiors. Although our major practice involves architecture and interior for residential and commercial complexes, we actively participate in helping to create cultural campuses and spiritual experiences for BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, a respected worldwide NGO.”

The firm trusts in transparent dealing with pre-planning execution and detailed workmanship. The firm handles the projects well with both extreme budgetary clients. Working rigorously over years Shayona Consultant completes more than 40 projects a year.

Shayona Consultant working on a number of projects simultaneously has a dedicated team of over 800 people. Prashant reveals the secret behind this tremendous success, “Our key feature is…delivering the end result exactly as proposed in initial stages.”

Prashant excelled in learning from an early age and after completing his schooling, he got into the study of architecture with a pursuit of extreme interest and passion. Despite getting admission to CEPT (Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology) – one of the top colleges in India, he prioritized staying and studying in APC (Akshar Purushottam Chhatralaya), Vidyanagar – a hostel run by BAPS, for shaping his life in the aspects of IQ, EQ, PQ, and SQ. Thus, he entered the APIED School of Architecture in 1996.

Describing the first project of his career, Prashant says, “I had academic knowledge at that time, while my contractors had experience. I decided that even though I am a degree holder architect, I should learn something new from the experience of all my contractors who are non-degree holders. And my approach to learning has been very useful to me going forward.”

He got PR of Canada in 2005, but in his hometown, where he built his career and where he was working in various fields of architecture, he gave priority to the country in the midst of such a tempting situation and accepted to work in India.

His candid discussion with Insights Success for its edition of ‘India’s Most Reliable Architectural Firms in 2022,’ is given ahead.

Please brief our audience about your firm, its USPs, and how you are currently positioned as one of the best Architectural Designing Solution Providers.

Founded in 2000, the firm Shayona Consultant today is one of the most reliable architectural and design firms in India.

Starting as a small enterprise in India, it has proliferated so vastly in two decades that it has established remarkable design imprints in different countries across the globe. In these 22 years, we have executed more than 1200+ architecture and interior design projects nationally and internationally. The firm completes more than 60 projects a year with a team of experienced architects and interior designers with 800 skilled workers on site under my guidance.

Our design portfolio includes architectural and interior design projects in fields like Residential, Commercial, Hospitals, Industrial Complexes, and Educational and Corporates as well as prodigious cultural campuses like temples ranging from five acres to 25 acres master plan for BAPS Swaminarayan Sect, a world renown NGO.

Currently, we are involved in designing over 70 projects across India as well as projects in Sydney, South Africa, the USA, UK, Tanzania, Thailand, Zambia, Boston, and Canada.

Looking towards the firm’s vast spectrum of the project scale from 5000 sq. ft to 3.5 lack sq. ft. construction across the globe, it is featured in the list of ‘25 Best Architecture Firms In India’ by one of the world-renowned architecture magazines, Architizer.

USPs of the Firm:

We believe that it’s not necessary to spend lavishly to get good results, it’s instead necessary to spend insightfully to get outstanding results.

In discussing the hike in the land prices and people demanding all the luxuries in the small size plots, I think, large plots are not essential for lavish homes, but thoughtful space planning can break the limitations of small plots making them breathable, inviting adequate natural light and ventilation. Having said that, the key feature of the firm is to deliver the end result exactly as proposed in the initial stage of planning.

Tell us more about your firm’s offerings and what aspects make it stand out in the cutthroat competition.

Our team, proficiently mastered in Architecture and Interior Designing provides services like Structural Design, 3D, and Landscape designs.

In the vast archipelago of architect designers and innovators, the utmost difficulty for the architect is to bestow the unchanged end result of the project as it was designed. However at Shayona Consultant, with the unified efforts of several agencies and the designers, this unbeatable challenge is overcome and has successfully landed the final outcome as aforementioned.

Being an experienced leader, share your opinion on how the adoption of modern technologies like AI and ML is impacting the Architectural Designing Solution space and how is your firm adapting to the change?

After the advancement in computing systems and artificial intelligence since the 1990s, this smart tech has impacted and revolutionized countless industries out of which Architecture too is a part of them.

AI and ML have both pluses and minuses but my opinion leans towards the positives of AI. AI has the potential to make architecture easier, more efficient and way more secure.

To err is human. But this error can be avoided by the use of AI and different software available. Considering the aspect of client satisfaction, showcasing the walkthroughs of the model to the client has been incorporated into our system.

In addition to that, keeping the budget in mind various automation options for the project are presented to the client for better decision making which can ease their life.

Considering the current pandemic, what initial challenges did you face and how did you drive your firm to sustain operations while ensuring the safety of your employees at the same time?

At Shayona Consultant, it is our practice to transform challenges into opportunities. Few important restrictions were levied for the safety during pandemic like not meeting the company employees and on-site workers, not visiting the site, etc.

This was a challenge for the firm to design and execute projects in a given time frame. However, these challenges were transformed to be opportunities by developing a new in-house system for obtaining effective and productive work and that too without manipulating the govt. guidelines.

We were unable to visit the sites at remote places as well as abroad due to banned flights. But to keep the project ongoing and coordinating effectively, we started taking updates for the sites on mails and what’s app groups through images from the contractors.

Along with that, we started solving their queries about what’s the app itself. This saved a huge amount of our time and was able to monitor the projects with a reduced no of site visits compared to the pre-pandemic era. As a result, we can mention that pandemics increased our capability of handling multiple projects at a single time and even completing them in a given time frame. Currently, we are managing 70 projects at a time with the smart working system developed during the pandemic.

What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the Architectural Designing Solution space?

A message for the entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the Architectural Designing Solution space:

“For Architects, learning is an endless process, which continues till the last breath. So, an architect should be practical, creative, and delivering functional designs throughout his career.

Every day, there will be new challenges in the field and new products in the market. So, one should be aware of all of them. One needs to sharpen his edges, get aware of the latest technologies, and make new experiments in his practice to give something better to society.

In other words, it is a way of your brain cutting through the clutter and noise of everyday life to make sense of what is important to you and what is not!”

How do you envision scaling your firm’s operations and offerings in 2022 and beyond?

Due to our firm’s style and system of working, with the help of our team of architects and interior designers as well as 800 skilled workers, currently, we are able to monitor and manage more than 60 projects of varied categories at a time. Not only that but this management system is capable enough to handle far more no of projects than we handle at present.

Regardless of the size of the project, small or huge, for us, it has its own importance and uniqueness. So, our effort always remains the same for each and every project scaling from 5000 sq. ft. to 3.5 lakh sq. ft.

Our keen focus for any project in future would be that it symbolizes our USPs, Aspects, Expertise and Experience. Moreover, we always warm-heartedly welcome creative minds who can contribute their creativity in each and every stage of the project.