C R Narayana Rao- Chennai`s Mr.Architect
by R.V.Rajan
It
seems when North Madras was reeling under a severe flood in the early 40s causing extensive damage to the
properties in the area, the compound wall of one site was standing firm. When
S.Ananatharamakrishnan the legendary founder of the Amalgamations group decided
to find out the name of the engineer who built it, he discovered CRN whom he
promptly appointed as the designer of his next factory. That was the beginning
of an engineer, establishing a firm of architecture and construction in 1945 ,
which was to build a big reputation in the years to come.
Today
`CRN` is a well known name in the world
of Architectural designs and Construction management. Headquartered in Chennai
this 72year old firm has been serving clients not only within the country but also
across the globe. The list of their clients include the `who`s who` of the
industry.
The
credit for laying the foundation for this
very successful venture must surely go to the visionary founder of the
company C.R.Narayana Rao. Born in a
middle class family in Coimbatore, CRN graduated from College of Engineering,
Guindy as a Civil Engineer in 1935. His
first job was with the PWD. Later he joined a British firm Jackson & Barker where he built his
reputation as an Engineer with keen
eyes for architectural detailing.
Starting
with just 20 employees, today the
company has a staff of over 400 qualified professionals from diverse
fields related to the construction
industry- architects, structural engineers, mechanical engineers etc. In addition to the Chennai office it has
branches in Bangalore & Hyderabad.
What
is the secret of the phenomenal success
of Narayana Rao, who was just an `Engineer`, the term by which he was popular in his company, who could
build a firm of such repute? It was his ` Social & People skills` say his
family members. In a field dominated by his peers in the industry who believed
in aggression in dealing with their work force and their working style, Narayan
Rao was well known for his self effacing humility. This did not stop this
`Engineer` from demanding the highest technical competence from his staff, never to suffer a poorly drafted drawings or
substandard execution of projects.
The
first three decades of the firm`s existence coincided with the
industrialization of India. With its expertise in industrial architecture the
company was associated with prestigious companies of the time like Dunlop,
Amalgamations Group, TI group, Ashok Leyland, Ennore Foundries and the Rane
Group. Specialising in Prefabricated roofs, the company considers the unique
roofing structure it designed for Ennore
Foundries as one of its pioneering efforts. In the early 70s the company added
the TVS group, Madras Fertilizers , MRF and a few educational institutions thus
expanding its design and project expertise.
It was around this time that the company
decided to extend to the Middle East.
CRN`s overseas branch, acquiring a new name ` C.R.Narayan Rao ( Consultants)
Private Limited `, to satisfy the local legal requirements, successfully
executed several commercial, industrial and housing projects in Dubai, Abu
Dhabi and Ras Al Khamiah. This first ever overseas operation by any Indian
Architecture firm was dismantled after
10 years to cope with exploding opportunities in India resulting in the company adding to its portfolio, prestigious corporate offices, Hospitals,
Shopping malls and educational institutions. Since the demise of Narayana Rao in 1982 the two
highly qualified sons of Narayana Rao-
Dr. C.N.Srinivasan ( a Phd in Engineering ) and C.N. Raghavendran not only ensured that the legacy of their
father was preserved but adapting to the changing needs of the time have taken
the company to greater heights.
They
started acquiring business from the Government, both local and Central. They
also made their presence felt in the Sports facilities sector having
designed six sports stadiums of international standards not only in India
but also abroad. The Cricket Stadium they built in Guyana, in West Indies is as much a testimony for their expertise in
the field as the Nehru Stadium in Chennai and the Foot Ball Stadium in Cochin.
The
nineties also witnessed the opening of the economy and explosion of information technology.CRN
was the firm privileged to build the
first `Tidel park` in the country in Chennai. Both Srinivasan and Ragavendran are champions of Green buildings resulting in
their building huge complexes for almost all leading IT companies like TCS,
Infosys, Wipro in many parts of the country-
all projects acquired by them against stiff competition from International Architectural
firms.
When
the prospect of the big automobile companies entering India became imminent the
Company made a blind pitch for the business from `Ford` in USA. Not only did they win the pitch, the
successful implementation of the Ford factory project in Chennai led to the
company being invited by other leading multinational automobile firms like
Hyunadi, BMW, Toyota, General Motors and Renault to build their factories.
Nineties
also saw the entry of the third generation of the family in the business. It looks like the six members
belonging to the third generation of the family are working in total harmony
under the benevolent leadership of the
Septuagenarian sons of the founder. I understand the fourth generation is
already knocking on the doors.
The Founder Mr.Narayana Rao was a highly
religious person. As a Madhwa Brahmin he
was actively involved with Madhwa Mutts
and had won recognition for the services he rendered to the Community. His sons, however, believed in concentrating on Industry
bodies like BSI, CII, Green Building Congress etc. The third generation is active in working with civic authorities
on issues of urban interest.
Among
the Awards that the company has won is the `Intelligent building of the year2005`
award given by `Intelligent Community Forum` - a U.S.based research organization for their project `Ebene Cyber
Tower` at Mauritius which was inaugurated by Dr.Manmohan Singh, the then Prime
Minister of the country. Nehru Stadium
which was the first column free stadium built in the city, got the prestigious Indian Institute of
Architects Award for `Excellence in design`
for Public building category for Raghavendran in 1995. The Cochin stadium got him recognized as the `Architect of the Year` on an all
India basis in 1996. Raghavendran was
also conferred the `Padma Shri` award by the President of India in January
,2011.
A
company with excellent credentials and a good succession plan like `CRN` is
sure to witness its Platinum and Centenary celebrations in the years to come!
An
edited version of this article appeared
in the May,2017 issue of Industrial Economist
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