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Wired for change: Developers go digital to cater to a tech-reliant generation
Silent discos, smart streetlights, keyless entry and robotic pool-cleaning systems are among the features being added to new projects.
When it comes to offering amenities as part of residential projects, swimming pools and lake-side views are no longer the benchmarks of luxury living. When a tenant hears the word ‘amenity’ today, they’re more likely to envision digital add-ons – free WiFi zones, keyless entry, e-gaming centers, electric vehicles and digital entertainment hubs.
“For the urban buyer, these are fast becoming must-haves,” says Santosh Kumar, vice-chairman at Anarock Property Consultants. “Today this is what consumers really want and are willing to pay a premium for.” And so technology is being widely harnessed to cater to changing demands.
“No one is skeptical about it any more. We know the potential of tech add-ons to change the business,” says Shailesh Puranik, managing director at Puranik Builders. “Pretty much everyone accepts that it is no longer a question of if but rather, what and when.”
In their upcoming township in Neral, Puranik Builders are offering amenities such as digital entertainment centres where residents can stream shows and watch films together, e-learning centers for webinars, skills development classes, a digital library, a silent disco and a digital gaming room with video games and virtual board games to choose from.
“Where earlier the idea of a recreational zone meant sprawling gardens and parks, today with unfettered internet access and the ubiquitous screen, the amenities have to live up to the needs of today’s youngsters,” Puranik says. Another trigger, he says, is that as townships began to be built on the outskirts of metropolitan regions, these facilities became a way to entice the urban buyer and ensure that they did not miss out on any of the key amenities available in the heart the city.
Tech support
The Embassy Group launched Alexa-enabled homes last year, Hiranandani developers have tied up with Amazon and Google for voice-controlled home automation systems for their upcoming project in Thane.
“Smalls tasks like maintaining your daily calendar and operating household appliances, paying utility bills or engaging with fellow residents at a simple voice command, is not futuristic anymore, it is the new world order in real-estate,” says Reeza Sebastian, president for residential business at Embassy Group. “So we are shifting our focus to create and design homes meant for today’s young, tech-dependent home-buyer. This particular user segment is also aspirational and these are elements they consider important to a certain quality of life.”
Physical assets will slowly be accompanied by digital assets across developments of the Lodha Group. At some of their properties, residents are given radio frequency identification tags for their vehicles so there is no manual intervention required for security checks. All new properties have charging points for electric vehicles, to draw in the environmentally conscious customer.
“It’s just one way to prepare for the times ahead,” says Prashant Bindal, chief sales officer at the Lodha Group. Some of the other features at their properties include smart street lights that switch on and off based on smart estimates of local sunrise and sunset times; robotic cleaning systems for pools; smart cards for residents that also act as proof of ID and allows for secure access to private areas such as visitors’ lounges and clubhouses.
“We also have a smart visitor management system that enables secure and quick access for visitors within the property,” Bindal says.
There are two risks to this kind of dependence on technology — one, tech is constantly becoming outdated, so updating can be a challenge; and two, the ever-present security and privacy issues. “Security and privacy issues are certainly something to be wary of,” says Kumar of Ananrock. “These can be a major concern particularly in automated homes and the linking of private data to shared public spaces.”
