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— Srinidhi Anantharaman, Founder & CEO, Geodesic Techniques Pvt. Ltd

Geodesic Techniques Pvt. Ltd was found in Bengaluru in 1986 by visionary entrepreneur Srinidhi Anantharaman to offer innovative and technically superior solutions for steel intensive construction projects. Over the years, Geodesic has executed challenging design and construction projects in diverse sectors. An interview by Prashant C. Trikannad

What are the recent trends in steel structures in India?
Over the last two years there has been a rapid growth in the number of steel intensive projects in the country. The main driver for the growth is the need to deliver projects in very short time horizons. As an established player in the structural steel segment, we have benefited greatly from this shift.

With the push for privatisation of airports across India, many projects have used steel as a primary building material. This includes T3 in Delhi and T1C in Mumbai. While tall buildings dot the landscape for many urban centres globally, they are a newer entrant to the Indian skyline. These structures will drive a tremendous demand for quality fabrications with good design and build expertise.

What innovative solutions has Geodesic introduced in steel intensive construction projects?
The company has a 25-year history of delivering innovative structures to our clients. This includes signature structures for TCS in Chennai and Infosys in Mysore and Pune. Many of these rely on patented techniques for achieving large span, column free spaces and complex shapes. Geodesic relies heavily on its engineering and technology driven approach to create high quality structures.

As a pioneer with deep expertise in the design and build of steel intensive structures, we bring a unique and competitive advantage to our customers. We are also increasing our capabilities in design and structural engineering to levels of global excellence. This puts us on par with the best businesses in steelintensive construction worldwide. The market response to our effort has been encouraging, be it the Mumbai and Delhi airports terminals, MMRDA headquarters or the new futuristic TCS facility in Chennai.

Can you talk about your experience while erecting the country's largest steel roof structure at T3 of Delhi International Airport?
We are delighted to be associated with the state-of-the-art Terminal 3. Delivered in 12 months, the roof structure of Terminal 3 was a complex design and required a terrific amount of innovative engineering techniques.

Today, airports have become key public utilities in India and we are working on a number of projects in both metro and tier II cities. In order to meet the short timelines and design intent, these projects will be steel intensive and capable of handling a huge capacity of passenger traffic.

Geodesic has designed and executed a mix of roof and dome projects. How has this segment evolved in terms of aesthetics and energy efficiency?
Steel supported and steel clad roof are quickly becoming the choice for most structures. This wasn't necessarily the case several years ago. There are several reasons for this shift. First, the speed in construction is the key. Secondly, the weight of steel roof is lower than that of a concrete roof and reduces the weight and cost of the supporting structures. Lastly, the ability to create complex shapes and forms. Examples are the recently inaugurated T3 in Delhi and T1C in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

Domes have been an architectural feature for thousands of years. In the last few decades many structures in India have forsaken architectural features. Today, people are once again realising the aesthetic importance of a structure, both productivity and landscape.

As result of our ability to create complex shapes and forms, we have become a leader in building modern dome structures in the country.

Geodesic has executed design and construction projects for companies in the public and private domain. What is the ratio of these projects and which of these two sectors present a bigger opportunity for your company?
The ratio of projects in the public and private domain is around 65 per cent private. While many of these projects serve public interests, a majority of them operate more as public-private partnerships. As an example, we are constructing seven airport terminals. Most of them are actually private operators (GMR, GVK etc).

What is Geodesic's current order book? Which major projects is your company executing currently?
Geodesic recently completed the steel package for the Delhi T3 terminal. This included not only the 24-acre roof structure but also many other ancillary projects (e.g. the passenger pickup canopies). The company also played a major role in the recently inaugurated T1C terminal in Mumbai.

Current projects include airport terminal structures in Mumbai, Rajamundry, Indore, Kolkata and Raipur.

In the commercial segment, the company is building the new MMRDA headquarters at BKC, Mumbai; the Eicher headquarters in Noida; the CIDCO Exhibition Centre Signature Roof; and the Chepauk Stadium grandstand canopies in Chennai.

Geodesic is also constructing domes for Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation head office and Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

Lastly, the company is designing stations and depots for the new Mumbai Monorail project.

We expect to hit Rs 400 crore next year.

What are your company's initiatives in green building and energy efficiency?
Steel is a key building block in developing a green building. Because fabrication is predominantly done at a factory, away from a project site, the impact on the environment is substantially lower. In addition, when a building is brought down, 80 per cent of the structural steel can directly be used for a new structure. Finally, because the speed of construction is substantially faster than concrete, the indirect impact (transportation, pollution etc) are greatly reduced.

Our geodesic domes, in Bangalore and Mysore, were actually "green" before the term "Green"represented energy efficiency. We engineered them to provide a greater amount of natural cooling and reduced solar gain.

It's nearly 25 years since you founded Geodesic Techniques. Where do you see your company in the next one decade?
Our core competency is our ability to design and deliver complex/ engineered solutions. Whether this is for large span structures such as airport hangars or bridges or tall buildings, we will continue to innovate. While our investment in factory based fabrication methods will lead the way, it will be our capability to meet the needs of our customers—architects, developers, and operators of unique projects— that will keep us at the forefront of the industry.

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