Professionalism. Transparency. Integrity.
Sikka Associates Architects (SAA) is a leading architectural design consultancy firm in India. It is well-known for its innovative and bold approach to finding unique solutions for its valued Clients. The Enterprise World is proud to introduce it as the Best Architecture Design Firm in 2023. Sikka Associates Architects began its journey in 1981. Today, the firm comprises over 100 skilled and experienced planners, architects, designers, and engineers.
A Suite of Comprehensive Services
It delivers client-focused services at all times and strives to develop lasting relationships with each of its clients. From concept through completion, the organization offers multidisciplinary comprehensive services. Town planning, urban design, master planning, architecture, interior design, landscape, and engineering services are among the available services.
Over the past 42 years, the team has accumulated extensive knowledge and experience in a variety of industries, including aviation, business, retail, corporate, residential, hotel, healthcare, and education. With professionalism, transparency, and integrity, Sikka Associates Architects is constantly striving for the betterment of the whole, encompassing the length and breadth of a vast country like India—from Leh to Andaman, and Jodhpur to Shillong. Its influence has grown recently to include nearby nations including China, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Oman.
Working across these various and remote geographies has given the firm a unique understanding of the needs of the locals to create a solid system-driven approach and support building projects. Sikka Associates Architects routinely collaborates with top international design consulting firms on numerous major projects across the nation.
The firm is able to stay current with international architectural trends and design practices because of this cooperation. Additionally, it enhances Sikka Associates Architects ingenuity and experience, allowing it to broaden its perspective and improve the quality of its solutions.
Sikka Associates Architects actively promotes green technologies since it firmly integrates environmental awareness ideas into its design process. The work creates rooms that are as simple to enjoy and use as they are environmentally sustainable by combining simple accurate choices with responsive design.
The team is the most prized asset for the firm. It includes youthful, intelligent, and creative design geeks with a wealth of expertise. They have embraced a clearly defined set of core principles, including adhering to ethical and safety standards, which permeate the entire organization since they are wholly committed to the company’s mission.
The desire to develop cutting-edge, distinctive, and all-encompassing solutions for its clients fuels Sikka Associates Architect’s work. Its solutions make surroundings pleasurable and sustainable in addition to being functional and economical. The company works hard to get the most out of the available resources, and its efforts have repeatedly won awards. Sikka Associates Architects has been adjudged for the last Eight years running (2013 – 2022) as amongst the world’s top 100 firms in World Architecture Top 100 survey conducted by the reputed British Design magazine, Building Design.
Amongst its numerous, accolades over the years, the firm is also the recipient of the American Institute of Architecture Award, J.K. Architect of the Year Award (twice) and the Rajdhani Builders Awards, Accommodation Times Awards, Ministry of Finance Award for Rajaswa Bhawan, Airport Service Quality Award, Indian Building Congress Award, CIDC Vishwakarma Award & recently the Architect of the Year Award by ET Real Estate. The comprehensive nature of the firm’s portfolio reflects the wealth of experience and expertise developed over the years.
The Sikka Associates Architects Philosophy
“Our philosophy is to offer complete client-focused service at all stages of the project and to develop long-term business relationships with each of our clients.”
The roster of repeat customers for Sikka Associates Architects, which includes ET500 and Fortune 500 organizations, attests to the aforementioned. The company has consistently worked to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, openness, and integrity and has succeeded admirably.
Live by Design outlines its purpose. The environment influences the company as it strives to provide solutions that will build situations that are elevating and sustaining.
A Retrospective of Sikka Associates Architects Achievements
Sikka Associates Architects has come a long way in the last 42 years, establishing itself as a leader in the industry. From humble beginnings as a small start-up, the firm has grown to become a household name, known for its innovative products and exceptional customer service.
The company has a strong reputation in aviation works. The NSCBI terminal in Kolkata, which continues to be the nation’s largest air terminal in the government sector, is the project with the widest scope. The Sikka Associates Architects’s partnership with Aviation Works has been especially rewarding because of how many individuals it has impacted daily and how much architectural experience was created.
The company decided to strengthen its capabilities in additional related design disciplines after moving to a new location on Africa Avenue in 2010. In the years that followed, other sizable projects were started, including the Kolkata NSCBI Airport in 2013 and the Commonwealth Games Village in 2010.
The challenges and consequent sense of accomplishment in servicing its clients and consumers increased as the firm reached new heights and its breadth of projects developed.
“While many things changed over a period of four decades, the sense of gratification every time we did something bold and different for our clients remained just as enjoyable.”
Charting the Journey – Mr. S.R. Sikka – Founder & Principal
In 1981, as Indian architecture began to emerge from the shadows of colonial influences and develop new roots, the practice was founded. After a brief spell working for the government, architect S.R. Sikka’s strong instincts to actively contribute to this process created the way for him to open his own business, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Mr. Sikka belongs to a generation that believes in integrity and professionalism. His commitment to architecture and balanced approach has led this practice to now being one of the larger / leading ones in the country.
This multi-disciplinary practice has established a high standard for Indian architecture and has seen it all, from small scaled projects to giant urban design projects. The design processes pursued are an educational experience for the numerous young architects working here. Throughout its journey, Sikka Associates Architects has achieved many milestones and accomplishments, which have contributed to its success.
Raman Sikka
Associate Principal
“To dream and achieve what has not been done earlier.”
Being an entrepreneur is a challenging yet rewarding endeavor that requires a wide range of skills and responsibilities. The primary responsibility is to identify a need in the market and create a business that meets that need. A blatant example of this is Mr. Sikka. In the 1990s, when Indian architecture was becoming more accessible to other influences, he started his career. It was a trend that was motivated by the desire to live in a developed country.
“Our projects during the time were conceived as a balance between the place and the time, showing traditional architecture features fused with a contemporary overall form or detail.”
The growth in size and complexity of the projects is a significant trend that architects have observed in their creations over time. The scope of development expands along with the population and their needs.
For the last two decades, India is seeing far bigger developments planned and attempted than the scale that Indian consultants were used to. While this presents a great opportunity for Indian firms must first take on the responsibility of meeting the multidisciplinary requirements of these projects. The social, environmental, financial, and construction impacts of the large projects that are now being taken up require multidisciplinary specialists and teams to address them well. These are the new realities and opportunities for firms that want to grow into these projects.
Navigating the Roadblocks
While discussing the perspective on the current state of architects and the approach to handling it, Mr. Sikka says, “There are two aspects of the current situation, one is of course the disappointment because of the low and worsening level of remuneration. Another aspect, with which the profession should be happy, is the scale of the projects today. The projects today, are much larger, and so are the challenges and opportunities.”
It is past time for the profession to offer an alternative to the current QCBS technique. Another regrettable development is the flat fee for projects of all sizes and scopes. Governmental initiatives typically take ten years or longer to finish. The terms of the agreement include no mention of paying for changes, which do occur when projects are spaced out across years. The Government, which continues to be the biggest user of services, and the profession now need to work together to undo any damage, as the situation has reached a critical point.
Fuelling Progress
A firm’s growth is driven by a variety of success triggers, including a strong business strategy, a solid financial foundation, and a dedicated team. Additionally, market conditions, technological advancements, and shifts in consumer behavior can also play a significant role.
The Sikka Associates Architects is the same. The company has had the good fortune to be able to compete in two big design competitions since its incorporation: DPS Noida and the Headquarters for the Airports Authority of India. Success in both of these competitions not only helped the company get off the ground but also forged long-lasting ties with both organizations for many years to come.
Both these projects when completed in the late eighties saw the firm winning JK Awards for ‘Best School’ and ‘Best Office’ respectively in 1992 and 1993. While the relationship with DPS society led to a numerous school campuses across the country, the experience of service period in airport terminal design came in handy in winning some more airport design competitions ahead.
A Legacy of Success
“We cherish these strong and lasting associations with our clients with a huge sense of pride.”
During the mid-eighties, Sikka Associates Architects came in contact with (Late) Padma Bhushan Bala Saheb Vikhe Patil, mostly engaged in the education business at Ahmednagar and Loni in Maharashtra. For the next 35 years, the relationship grew, and together they created several campuses and turned these towns into national educational destinations.
Numerous schools, engineering colleges, ITIs, polytechnics, and medical colleges with sizable hospitals were among these institutions. The relationship was sustained by the client’s requests for simplicity and boldness as well as the architect’s work.
Similar to this, Sikka Associates Architects connected with Unitech Ltd in the late 1980s, which had also just started out in the real estate industry. Up to the sector downturn, the connection flourished strongly, resulting in numerous successfully completed projects around the nation. Numerous ground- breaking projects, such as Gurgaon Resorts and Kolkata Infospace, were completed for Unitech Ltd.
Setting it Apart
Like Indian cuisine, Indian architecture is infused with powerful flavors from its history and culture. As the years go by, overall form and function are beginning to take control, with traditional architecture only being mirrored in the finer details on the exterior or inside. The requirement to remain contextual is growing as the globalization process does as well.
In order to serve their well-traveled customers, Sikka Associates Architects clients, particularly in real estate projects, are more focused on a contemporary and global view. In order to create a building rooted to its area and people, projects today must discover solutions that are as audacious and innovative as the finest worldwide while also being as relevant and regional as feasible.
Mr. Sikka says, “Amongst my personal favorite works by our office are the Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan and Kolkata Airport. Both of these achieved a unique experience in combining Architecture, Structural Design, Landscape Design and Interiors, to bring together a seamless and memorable boldness to the users.” Mr. Sikka strongly believes in Winston Churchill’s dictum: “We shape our buildings and thereafter they shape us”.
The institutional works have recently absorbed this characteristic, and as a result, they have become recognizable on campuses throughout the firm’s numerous works. The company hopes that the ingenuity it develops for its student spaces will stick with them as they navigate various schools.
Staying ahead of the Game
The design and construction sector is developing rapidly and prospering. Maintaining awareness of all technologies, trends, and related advances both inside and beyond the nation is one of the challenges that come with this.
Mr. Sikka says, “We have frequent product display workshops, and field trips to construction and product manufacturing sites to sensitize architects to these. We have also been participating in International Design competitions–which we feel keep our work & teams in line with the latest global trends. The younger interns and architects we find are quite aware and capable with better skills than our generation was at their age.”
New Additions, New Possibilities
Design is increasingly driven by knowledge and performance parameters more than ever. The process of design today defines a large part of the likely solution. The architectural focus still remains on dreaming and creating locations for a new generation, even if we continue to develop our projects using expertise and input on knowledge and performance.
The position of the architect is altered among a team of professionals since many people must collaborate on megaprojects. While architects will have to pick up new skills and balance more facets of work with a larger team, they will also need to guide them toward rapid and efficient solutions. This is particularly difficult because, despite the fact that the businesses’ responsibilities have expanded to include multiple disciplines, their consulting fee has decreased.
The only way ahead appears to be the use of technology that increase efficiency, the gradual development of skills across a variety of consulting positions, and maintaining the position of team leader. However, there are new project typologies that architectural firms should take into account; these may call for upskilling of their employees.
Recently, the firm has worked on a number of intriguing projects, such as museums, renowned landmarks, street landscaping, and cutting-edge mixed-use developments. These projects are demanding, require a lot of learning, and when Sikka Associates Architects commissions them, it feels incredibly satisfied.
In addition to architecture, Sikka Associates Architects is very passionate about master-planning projects. The company has recently taken on a number of projects where the project is able to serve a sizable portion of the city and touch the lives of a huge population every day. These projects include a variety of works, including multimodal redevelopments, healthcare cities, and airport master plans.
Sikka Associates Architects has made significant strides in its industry, thanks to its innovative products, dedicated employees, and commitment to customer satisfaction. With a strong focus on growth and expansion, the company is well-positioned for continued success in the future.
