Luxury Property Industry Leaders - In Conversation with Andrei Dolnikov (BINYAN)

Priya Rawal, Founder and CEO of The Luxury Property Forum sits down with Industry Leader:

Andrei Dolnikov, Founder and CEO of BINYAN

Hi Andrei it is such a pleasure to sit down with you today. We are so pleased to have you within The Luxury Property Forum. Could you tell us a little more about BINYAN?

My company is BINYAN - a world-class digital content company committed to delivering integrated creative (CGI, Animation, Digital Experience, Interactive) services for real estate developments with exceptional creativity.

We have 110 staff and offices in Australia, UK, US and Dubai. Over the past 15 years we have worked on over 3000 projects globally - including some of the most iconic luxury developments in the world. These include - 35 Hudson Yards (NYC), Chelsea Barracks (London), Ava Palm Jumiera (Dubai), The Henderson (Hong Kong), Park Nova (Singapore), One Circular Quay (Sydney) and Stanly Ranch (San Francisco).

And what inspired you to start the company?

My passion is design and creating meaningful experiences for people - after I studied Interior Architecture I fell in love with Architectural Visualisation & being able to create narratives about our future, much before the actual building exists in reality.

World class residences celebrating British heritage and craftsmanship through Belgravia inspired designs for Chelsea Barracks, Binyan’s collaboration with Elicyon

Fantastic! And in your view what sets BINYAN apart as an industry leader from others?

Our key focus and point of difference is the Integration of the various creative visual services we are able to offer.

We always start with an overarching content strategy that maps the touchpoints that our clients’ clients will have along their buying journey. This strategy informs the content that needs to be created in order to make that journey informative, inspiring - and to make sure it creates a genuine sense of belonging for the buyer.

The journey can include conceptual imagery to catch the attention of the potential buyer, a IRL digital experience at the sales gallery, social media content, a dynamic, brand lead film and animation and photo-realistic CGIs to help explain the products. And all of this may sit within an easy to use sales and leasing application for the agent to be able to craft a unique version of the journey for each potential buyer.

This level of integration of a broad range of services is unique in our industry and is only possible because of our deep global and multidisciplinary experience and skill set.

Thank you so much for that insight Andrei. And for you, what is a typical day in your working life?

Thats an interesting question. Right now, in addition to running BINYAN I am the 2022 President of the American Society of Architectural Illustrators - and am very busy with organising the 37th Annual ASAI Conference - Cause & Effect - in London. So this takes up most of my evenings and mornings. Fun but very intense as well.

In normal times my day looks as follows:

Wake up and go to synagogue for morning prayers, jog, breakfast and get kids ready for school (I have 4) - drive kids to school. The morning calls with our team in New York. Meetings with BINYAN leaders and clients throughout the day. Squash or playing the saxophone about 530pm; dinner with the family, put kids to sleep. Maybe a walk with my wife and then a bit of UK work and meetings after everyone is asleep.

Weekends I read, unplug and relax.

Advocates of ingenuity, this collaboration with IF/Studio for Post House, allowed BINYAN to think outside the box through the use of surrealism

And it is so important that you get some time to relax especially in a busy working day! Andrei, tell us about the greatest challenges that you have experienced at BINYAN so far?

I think being in the real estate industry the cyclical nature of the business is always a challenge. We have done our best to overcome this by taking a global approach to our work and develop a client network that literally reaches any locale where a world class project may be in the making. From Australia, to Costa Rica, Vancouver, Montenegro and Azerbaijan.

Another challenge is keeping a fun & creative company culture - we have always focused on this and have focused on having a high degree of values alignment in our team - as well as research and innovation to keep our creatives fresh and motivated.

Finally, making sure your product does not become a commodity is always pivotal in content production. So diversifying from only doing CGIs to add Animation., Digital Experience, Strategy and Interactive branches to our company has been key to maintaining a leadership position in our industry.

Bosa Properties’ Fifteen Fifteen in Vancouver, BC by Binyan Studios

And who inspires you?

My colleagues definitely inspire me - seeing people grow, mature and achieve their potential is incredibly inspiring.

Spiritually speaking, the Lubavitcher Rebbe is an un-ending inspiration in teaching and living a life that fuses spiritual meaning and achieving real change in the world.

I love music so Jazz Musicians like John Coltrane, Classical composers like Stravinksy - they create groundbreaking art - that is so pure and almost beyond description.

Inspiration in so many places - that’s amazing. And Andrei what advice do you have for those looking to become an industry leader in luxury property?

Focus on quality - in luxury it's all about uniqueness and a sense of connecting with the product.

So whatever you make or whatever service you provide, focus on making it the best in the world - and make sure it makes the end user feel special.

Andrei, in an ideal world, what does the future hold for you and BINYAN?

With technology creating incredible new creative opportunities, I am more excited then ever about the future of our industry and companies like BINYAN.

I think the future is about deeper collaboration with other vision makers in the global luxury real estate industry. To integrate and elevate the service we can offer.

The reason for example I am curating the Cause & Effect Event in London is to bring together the global village of protagonists - from visualisers, to brand and place agencies, to digital experience designers, film makers, marketers and technologists - the collaboration and mutual understanding that I know will come out of this event is where I see the future for myself and BINYAN.

And finally, what does “luxury” mean to you?

A sense of belonging, the feeling of engaging with a product that makes you feel like you are at home in your greatest aspiration.

Image by Binyan Studios for Antoine Predock's Bahías Peninsula Papagayo

get in touch

https://www.binyanstudios.com

LONDON

9 Dallington St

London, UK EC1V 0LN

+44 20 3239 6222
hello@binyanstudios.co.uk

MELBOURNE

Suite 8-9, Level 2
249 Chapel St
Prahran VIC 3181
+61 03 8508 7100
hello@binyanstudios.com.au