In its 17th edition – and with the past two years of a virtual affair – the CONSTRUCTION WORLD Architect & Builder Awards, popularly known as CWAB Awards, was back this year with its offline edition, hosted at Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai, on August 26. With the aim being to award and recognise architects and builders from across the country, winners were announced and rewarded in the categories of India’s Top Architects and Builders – National; Top Architect and Builder in the East, West, North and South; and Noteworthy Projects in the Residential, Commercial, Hospitality, Retail, Institutional, Interiors and International categories. While industry stalwarts hailed from across the country to accept their awards, the evening was graced by Chief Guest His Excellency Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Governor of Maharashtra, Special Guests from the Consulate of Canada, Indonesia and Qatar, event partners, an august audience, and the stars of the evening – the winners. And going by a theme each year, based on which projects are assessed and awarded, this year the theme for the CWAB Awards 2022 was S. W. O. T – Sustainability. Wellbeing. Onsite-Adaptability. Technology. Setting the perfect tone for the evening, in his welcome address, Pratap Padode, Founder, FIRST CONSTRUCTION COUNCIL & CONSTRUCTION WORLD, said, “On August 15, when we celebrated the 75th year of India’s Independence, I felt CONSTRUCTION WORLD, with its reach across 800 cities in India, was making a small contribution of having stayed for 25 years out of those 75 and seen the journey of the building and construction industry. Excellence is the parameter and benchmark for building real estate, infrastructure and smart cities – and now also building smart factories.” He added, “We have the capacity for execution. Once the intention aligns with it, then everything begins to happen. We are here this evening to celebrate those with intention who have made it.” Explaining the methodology of the awards in her address was Falguni Padode, Co-Founder and Group Managing Editor, ASAPP Info Global Group. “This process is long and painstaking and takes us six months to culminate in the ceremony today. We begin with inviting nominations from across all categories in the early part of the year. This year, we received 715 nominations across categories: National Architects and Builders, Regional Architects and Builders, and Noteworthy Projects from across the country. All the shortlisted nominees were vetted by a jury, and the winners are being presented to you today.” Further, Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari, in his chief guest address, designated the audience present in the hall as “masters of their field.” He said, “At the base of every trade, occupation and profession, is character. In trying to be better, we must improve on what good we can do, and thus, to build a nation, we need to build good character. While not all of us can be akin to the imminent personalities that are considered big names today, however, it is possible for us to strive to be better at being our best. It is my humble request to all of us to be aware of how we are impacting our nation and to take onus for a tap that is leaking to get fixed or to fix potholes that are left unattended to. If we do this, within the next decade, our nation will definitely be a nation of our dreams that we are proud of.” Thirty-seven companies – builders and architects – from all over India made it to the winning list of CWAB 2022 across categories. Among them, Niranjan Hiranandani, Founder and Managing Director, Hiranandani Group, who made it to the list of India’s Top Builders in the National Category, said, “It is a delight to always be here and to be chosen by the jury for the CWAB awards. Construction has been an important part of the India growth story. It contributes to GDP growth as well as brings along immense employment opportunities. We are doing a great job for the country.” Making it to the list of India’s Top Architects in the National category, among others, Sanjay Puri, Principal Architect, Sanjay Puri Architects, said, “Thank you CW for doing this every year in spite of the lockdown and the pandemic. It is amazing to be a part of this group and it is a big honour. I would like to say that it really is not about one principal partner but the whole team. The team works hard to be able to come to a level like this. Thank you very much.” (Winners list at the end of the release). The choice of right partners determines the success of any journey. And adding to the success of CWAB 2022 was the support that came from its many partners. With Marmo Solutions coming in as the Presenting Partner this year, the event was powered by Panasonic Life Solutions. KEI Industries was the Platinum Partner, LANXESS – the Sustainability Partner, Schindler – Smart Mobility Partner, Johnson Lifts & Escalators – the Gold Partner, RDC Concrete (India) – the Concrete Partner, and Tata Structura – the Associate Partner. On his partnership with CWAB 2022, Ashish Bhasin, Founder and Managing Director, Marmo Solutions, said, “This was our first year of partnering with CWAB and it has been a prolific experience. An evening that celebrates victory among the top notch and emerging architects and builders of the industry. Right from the exclusive networking opportunity in the VIP pre-event to being a part of presenting the awards gave us an opportunity to interact with and get close to understanding the industry’s requirements. Marmo Solutions believes in ensuring quality, which is what we experienced in this partnership as well.” On his part, Dinesh Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director, Panasonic Life Solutions, shared, “CWAB has over the years built a strong credibility of recognition for exemplary architecture and interior work and residential/commercial projects. Panasonic is committed to providing products and technology solutions for creating these modern infrastructure and spaces.” And Anil Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, KEI Industries, mentioned, “It has been a great industry opportunity for KEI Industries to be the part of CWAB 2022. We had insightful exchanges with the winners of the awards and other stakeholders present during the event. The interactions and response on KEI from everyone present at the event were excellent and we look forward to continue sharing our knowledge, products and services at such forums for fruitful business associations.” The grand evening came to its end, but it marked the beginning of new celebrations! This plus nominations for CWAB 2023 to open soon. To stay up-to-date and nominate your firm and projects in time, log on to cwabawards.com                    CONSTRUCTION WORLD Architect & Builder Awards Winners 2022 Region                Category Winner Top Architects – National (Alphabetically) Abha Narain Lambah Associates CP Kukreja Architects DSP Design Associates Edifice Consultants Morphogenesis PG Patki Architects Sanjay Puri Architects Creative Group Studio Lotus Studio Symbiosis Top Builders – National (Alphabetically) Brigade Group Godrej Properties Hiranandani Group K Raheja Corp Mahindra Lifespace Developers Prestige Estates Projects                                    Top Architect & Top Builder - Regional East Architect Sukanya & Associates Builder PS Group North Architect AEON Design and Development Builder Eldeco Group South Architect DesignHaaus Builder Navin Housing and Properties West Architect HM Architects Builder Rustomjee Group                                     Noteworthy Projects Commercial Studio Lotus for Max House, New Delhi Hospitality Salient for Taal Kutir Convention Centre, Newtown, Kolkata Institutional Urban Frame for Tenbroeck Academy, Bengaluru Miscellaneous ANA Design Studio for Plasser India, Karjan Residential - Buildings Confluence Consultancy Services for Cleo County, Noida Residential - Buildings Rustomjee Group for Rustomjee Elements, Mumbai                                    Noteworthy Projects - Interiors Interiors - Retail RSDA for Vurve Salon, Alwarpet, Chennai Interiors - Residential Drishti Architects and Interior Designers for Arihant Krupa, Pune Interiors - Institutional Perkins Eastman for Aastrika Midwifery Centre, Bengaluru Interiors - Hospitality Dwelldesign for Patios - progressive vegetarian kitchen, Bengaluru Interiors - Commercial Studio Lotus for Trilegal, Gurugram Interiors - Commercial Urbane The Design Workshop for Trend Micro, Mumbai                                      International International CP Kukreja Architects for India Pavilion - Dubai Expo 2020, Dubai, UAE