Eleganz Interiors
In this insightful conversation, Sammeer Pakvasa, Managing Director and CEO of Eleganz Interiors Limited, offers a ground level perspective on what it truly takes to deliver large scale interior projects in India's evolving commercial landscape. With over three decades of organisational legacy and 30 million square feet of executed interiors, Eleganz has built its reputation not just on design excellence but on disciplined execution and operational clarity. Sammeer highlights the critical gap between how offices are imagined on paper and how they materialise on site, emphasising that while design assumes precision, execution must navigate uncertainty every day. He explains that most project challenges arise not from flawed concepts but from coordination gaps between trades, services, procurement, and sequencing. According to him, successful delivery depends less on aesthetic ambition and more on constructability, interface management, and systems that anticipate risk before it escalates.
Addressing the realities of dense urban environments like Mumbai, he discusses how workplaces must now function as human centric ecosystems that reduce fatigue, improve focus, and support long working hours. Eleganz's integrated Design and Build and General Contracting model ensures that efficiency does not come at the cost of comfort or experience, particularly as cities grow vertically and footprints shrink.
1. Eleganz has executed over 30 million sq. ft. of interiors. What are the biggest differences between how offices are imagined on paper and how they actually come together on site?
On paper, offices are imagined as controlled, fully resolved environments. Drawings assume perfect dimensions, clean alignments, ideal adjacencies, and a linear flow of work. Everything appears precise and predictable. On site, however, reality introduces variables that drawings cannot fully anticipate existing building conditions, structural deviations, legacy services, access constraints, and the constant need to coordinate multiple trades working in parallel.
The biggest difference is that design assumes certainty, while execution deals with uncertainty every single day. A drawing may look complete, but construction is a dynamic process where conditions evolve continuously. A good interior is therefore not just about how it looks, but how constructible it is. That understanding comes only from site experience knowing what can be built efficiently, safely, and repeatedly under real constraints, not just what looks compelling in a presentation or render.
2. In large interior projects, where do things most often go wrong during execution, even when the design looks perfect?
Most issues arise at interfaces where one scope ends and another begins. Designs may be technically sound, but if sequencing, access, tolerances, or handovers between trades are not thought through in detail, execution begins to suffer. These interface gaps are where delays, rework, and disputes typically originate.
Another frequent challenge is the coordination between services and finishes. A space may be aesthetically perfect on paper, but if MEP services are not fully frozen, coordinated, and constructible early enough, it leads to clashes on site. Execution fails not because the design is poor, but because design and build are not always aligned closely enough. When those two worlds don't speak the same language, even good designs struggle to translate into smooth delivery.
3. Material delays and last-minute changes are common in construction. From Eleganz's experience, how do these issues impact timelines and overall project outcomes?
Material delays and late-stage changes directly affect project momentum. Interior projects operate on tight, interdependent sequences, and one delayed material can stall several downstream activities. What starts as a small delay often escalates into a broader scheduling challenge.
At scale, the impact goes beyond time. Productivity drops, labour deployment becomes inefficient, and quality comes under pressure as teams attempt to recover lost time. This is why procurement planning, early identification of long-lead items, and proactive vendor engagement are critical. The earlier risks are identified and addressed, the easier they are to absorb without compromising timelines, cost control, or execution quality.
4. Many people don't realise the role of procurement, vendor coordination, and back-office planning in interiors. How important are these invisible systems in delivering large-scale projects on time?
They are absolutely central to delivery. What people see on site represents only about 30-40 percent of the actual effort involved. The remaining work happens behind the scenes tendering, scope clarity, cost control, procurement scheduling, vendor negotiations, approvals, logistics planning, and cash-flow management.
In large projects, execution quality is directly linked to system quality. Strong back-office processes create predictability, accountability, and speed. They allow site teams to focus on building rather than firefighting. Without these systems, even the most capable site teams are forced into reactive decision-making, which inevitably affects outcomes.
5. For Mumbai professionals juggling long commutes and demanding workdays, how can better office interiors make daily work life less tiring and more sustainable?
Well-designed offices play a significant role in reducing both cognitive and physical fatigue. Elements such as natural daylight, controlled acoustics, ergonomic workstations, intuitive circulation, and access to both collaborative and quiet zones directly influence how people feel and perform through the day.
In a city like Mumbai, where long commutes are a reality, the workplace should support focus, comfort, and recovery not add another layer of stress. Offices are no longer just places to work; they are environments that must actively support well-being and sustained productivity. Good interiors quietly enable this, often without employees consciously realising why their workday feels more manageable.
6. As Mumbai continues to grow vertically with tighter office spaces, how is Eleganz adapting its approach to create workplaces that feel efficient without feeling cramped?
Our focus is on smarter space utilisation rather than simply increasing density. This includes flexible layouts, multi-functional areas, modular planning, and integrated services that reduce visual and physical clutter. Every element must earn its place.
Vertical growth demands a higher level of precision. When footprints are tighter, circulation must be intuitive, services must be compact, and detailing must be disciplined. Our objective is to ensure that spaces feel efficient and purposeful while still remaining open, breathable, and comfortable. Efficiency should never come at the cost of user experience.
7. Are there any new sectors or markets that Eleganz is targeting next? How does Eleganz plan to deepen its presence internationally?
We continue to evolve alongside our clients' needs. Beyond traditional corporate offices, we see growing opportunities in mixed-use developments, experience-led workplaces, and integrated commercial environments where multiple functions coexist within a single ecosystem.
Internationally, our focus is on strengthening our Design & Build and General Contracting capabilities in line with global delivery models. Having already established an international footprint, the next phase is about deepening presence in select geographies where clients value accountability, integrated delivery, and execution certainty. For us, growth is not about rapid expansion it is about extending credibility in markets that demand consistency and precision
