ACREX Hall of Fame celebrates excellence in the Indian building industry. For those in the building industry all over India, it is a coveted recognition. The third edition of Hall of Fame – powered by Danfoss – was showcased at Taj by Vivanta on the evening of February 23. Quite appropriately, the event began with safety instructions by the hotel team. A short film introducing the Hall of Fame (HoF) concept was screened. Vishal Kapur, in his introductory remarks, mentioned that HoF was introduced during the residential term of K. Ramachandran, supported by Pankaj Dharkar, Ashish Rakheja and others. Every building nominated for HoF is a gem, and it is becoming increasingly diffi cult to select the winner. D. Nirmal Ram gave a brief overview of the HVAC&R industry in India. A message from Kim Fausing, Global CEO of Danfoss, was played out. Ravichandran Purushothaman, President – Danfoss India and the host of the evening, thanked ISHRAE leadership for their continued support to HoF. He termed it a mission to transform India. “The greatest threat to our planet”, he quoted Robert Swan, “is the belief that someone else will save it.” The Jury for HoF was headed by Dr. Ajay Mathur (DG – TERI) and comprised Dr. Prem C. Jain (Chairman, IGBC), Padmashree C. N. Raghavendra (Architect) and V. Suresh (former CMD, HUDCO).

They were helped by a Technical Committee of ISHRAE headed by Sushil Choudhury and comprising Nitin Deodhar, Abid Husain, Dr. R. Saravanan, R. S. Kulkarni, Shankar Deshpande, N. S. Chandrasekhar and Dr. Jyotirmay Mathur. Dr. Ajay Mathur, in his address, asserted that HoF has opened a new chapter of smarter and efficient buildings. He listed the challenges before the Jury, including data-based recognition and the complexity brought in by large buildings exceeding 8,000 sq. m. He stressed that each of the 6 buildings evaluated by the Jury was a benchmark. Sushil Choudhury explained the methodology followed by the Technical Committee, which involved rigorous data collection for all the 47 nominated buildings on 40 parameters, and thanked the Committee members for performing this onerous task with dedication.
Short films were screened on the six shortlisted buildings:
• Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Pune
• GAIL Jubilee Tower, Noida
• Infosys SDB 11, Pune
• DLF Mall of India, Noida
• Reliance Corporate IT Park Building 22, Navi Mumbai
• TSI Waverock, Hyderabad
The audience waited with bated breath for the name of the third Inductee to the Hall of Fame to be revealed, and a loud burst of applause greeted the announcement that Reliance Corporate IT Park Building 22 has earned the honour for 2018. While those associated with the building were felicitated, an award was given to DSG Consultants – the building consultant to Reliance Industries.

Thus, Reliance Corporate IT Park Building 22 joins two iconic buildings – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Terminal 2, Mumbai (2016) and Infosys EC53 Building, Bangalore (2017) – in the coveted ACREX Hall of Fame. All the other 5 shortlisted buildings were also felicitated for achieving exceptionally high standards. A coffee table book featuring the six buildings was released on the occasion. A concept paper on IEQ in Nearly Zero Energy Schools, prepared jointly by ISHRAE and REHVA, was unveiled. Dr. Ajay Mathur was conferred an Honorary Membership of ISHRAE, by Vishal Kapur and N. Sivasankaran. Rinac India, the Refrigeration and Cold Chain Partner, was felicitated for its innovative product display – the ChillKart Ecovan. ISHRAE President-Elect C. Subramaniam proposed the vote of thanks.