Tall Can Be Beautiful
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The Financial Express January 10, 2010 7 INDIA’S VERTICAL QUEST TALLCANBEBEAUTIFUL SCRAPINGTHE PreetiParashar 301m)—willbecompleted. FSI allowed is 1.50-2.75 in all metros and meansprojectswillbecheaperonaunit-to- ronment-friendly. ” KaizerRangwala mid-risebuildings.ThisisbecauseIndian TalltowersshouldbedesignedfortheIndi- SKY, FORWHAT? Of the newer constructions,the APIIC ground coverage is 30-40%. It is insuffi- unit basis and also more plentiful in prof- “There is a need for more service pro- cities have the lowest floor space index an context. They should take advantage of S THE WORLD’S Tower (Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infra- cient to build skyscrapers here.”He adds, itable areas,which is good news for viders of eco-friendly construction mate- Winston Churchill said, (FSI), in the world. Government regula- thelocalclimate—rainfall,light,ventilation, tallest building, the structure Corporation Tower) being built “The maximum height that can be built investors and the buyers.However, allow- rials toreducecosts,”saysPeriwal. “We make our buildings tions thatallowspecific number of build- solar orientation without sacrificing the KiranYadav theleadafterWorldWarI—again,aperiod 828-metreBurjKhalifa, at Hyderabadisexpectedtobea100-storey (basedonperacrescalculation)isapproxi- ing high-rises indiscriminately in certain However Sandhir thinks of high-rises and afterwards they make ing floors based on the land area, thus street-levelorientationof buildings;history; marked by economic growth and techno- alters the skyline of buildingwithaheightof 450metres.Lanco mately nine floors (about 30 m). To make a city areas is definitely asking for trouble, as financially viable, especially in cities us.” A tall building reach- determining heights,is called the floor local building materials and construction What’sthereinaname?Plenty,atleastfor logicaladvancements. Dubai, other nations Hills at Hyderabad, which is a 100-acre 800-metre-high tower in India, developers and will result in an infrastructure dead- wherethereisnoalternativetoverticalex- ing for the sky is the most potent and visi- space index. A larger FSI allows a taller and individual choices and sensibilities of Dubai.WhattheworldsofarknewasBurj “From the ‘50s to the ‘70s,skyscrapers look on to join the race townshipproject,islikelytohouseasigna- need a minimum of 150 acres (as per FSI lock and eventual fall in prices,” says pansion. He says,“From the environmen- ble symbol of success and technological building.The principle reason for con- thecities.Thecity’sskylineshouldbeviewed DubaisuddenlybecameBurjKhalifathis usually symbolised the health of a corpo- Aof tallest skyscrapers! ture tower with over 90 storeys.The Noida andgroundcoverageallowed),impossible Gagan Singh, CEO,project development tal perspective, too,these buildings could savoir faire.Tall buildings in urban set- trollingfloorspaceindexistolimitdensi- asitstopography.Shouldtallbuildingsstand week,christenedafterSheikhKhalifabin rate entity.So, youhave Sears towers,Sea- Countriesacrosstheglobehavebeenmod- Tower, conceptualisedbyarchitectHafeez inmetros.” services,JonesLangLaSalleMeghraj. be considered viable as densely populated ting can be efficient use of land if build tytowhattheinfrastructurecansupport. as monumental objects or form a deliberate ZayedAlNahyan,leaderof neighbouring gram Towers etc.In the ‘90s and beyond, ifyingtheirpoliciesfordevelopersanden- Contractor,can bring India on the world Another factor where India is lagging Goyal from Raheja Developers dis- spacesarelesscarbonintensiveandusual- properly—they pack more people on less However,“controlling FSI does not re- skyline composition? “While a single tall Abu Dhabi. The headlines that followed skyscrapers came to symbolise the eco- gineers to innovate and explore new map with a height of 710 metres,but the behind in constructing skyscrapers agrees,“In my opinion, tall buildings will ly better served by existing public trans- land and preserve open spaces and farms duce density,it just reduces floor con- buildinghashighimagevalueandiseasierto said the rest: ‘Dubai’s demise sees Abu nomichealthof acityandinparticularthe designs.Where does India stand in this project is on hold. Bengaluru Turf Tower seems to be lack of technical knowhow. not solve the space crunch in urban India. port and other infrastructure amenities.” thatsupplylocalfood.However,tallbuild- sumption by making it more expensive,” insert at various locations in the city,the in- Dhabi’s rise’, ‘Is the world’s tallest build- financialcapitalsof thecountry,”addsSK race? Do we have policies or guidelines (660 m) and the Maharishi Vedic Vishwa Samir Chopra, Director,RE/MAX India, Based on present FAR affordable housing But few developers caution that as sky- ings can also perpetuate social segrega- explains Alain Bertaud, a World Bank tensificationfromasingletallbuildingisrel- ing a monument or a tombstone for Das,SKDasarchitects,Gurgaon. that can make these skyscrapers a reality Prashasanbuilding(678m)proposednear elaborates,“In India, there is low aware- inmetrosisnotpossible.” scrapers consume more energy and con- tion and isolation, much like a vertical consultant. More people occupy smaller ativelylow, ”saysLoraNicolaou,Headof Res- Dubai?’ The $25-billion aid that Abu So,why has India, one of the leading inIndiainthenexttenyears?Theanswers Jabalpur are other contenders for the ness about the benefits of tall buildings. However Manish Periwal, CMD,Pio- tributealotinwarmingof surroundingsit gated community.Acommon damaging units,resulting in unhealthy overcrowd- earch,Urban Renaissance Institute.“Clus- DhabigaveDubailastyeartotideovereco- economies in the worldnot yettapped the arestilluncertain. tallestbuildingspacesinIndia. There are inherent fears that exist, again neer Urban Land and Infrastructure, be- leadstomoreclimatechanges. aspect of the tall building is how it meets ing.FSIslowsdowneconomicgrowthand ters of tall buildings achieve more intensifi- nomic recession was probably the gene- symbolic value,while China has? “Possi- Given India’s low floor space index Amajorityof realestatedevelopersand duetolackof knowledge. Also,thereisnot lieves that tall buildings help in proper The future of green skyscrapers seems thestreets—lankwallsandsecuritygates takes away the revenue source to pay for cation but may be appropriate only in few sis.Andachangeinthename,ofwhatthe bly because China’s political set-up,vi- (FSI) policy—government regulations market analysts feel that it’s imperative much availability of technical knowhow. allocation of resources and utilisation of bright in India and they hold great poten- destroy the street life.Streets are univer- infrastructure improvements and main- areas.”Eachcityneedsauniquetallbuilding world today knows as the tallest building sion for urbanisation and aggression that allow specific number of building for the FSI norms to be relaxed for India to The expertise required is still limited to a space.“Verticalityleadstocompactdevel- tial. Chopra says,“To match India’s in- sally the most public spaces in a city. tenance.Ill-conceivedFSIareamajorhin- strategy based on urban design, street level intheworld,hasmeantasymbolicshiftin present a stark contrast to the Indian sce- floors based on the land area, thus deter- grow the vertical way. It will facilitate ef- few companies and, therefore, costs more opment and better accessibility.It also creasing demand for housing for its “Streets matter more than buildings,” drancetotallbuildings.Indiancitieshave uses,infrastructureandlocalcontext. the balance of power in favour of Abu nario,” explains Karuna Gopal, Presi- mining heights.India doesn’t have many fective use of land. Many agree that in or- and is time consuming. We in India still brings down the costs of water and waste ever-risingpopulation,itcertainlysounds notesPaulGoldberger,architecturecritic over 50% of its population living in sub- Thepublicsectorshouldeliminateregula- Dhabi.Ashiftnotjustintermsof econom- dent, Foundation for Futuristic Cities. skyscrapers (defined as buildings of over der to compete globally, Indian FSI haven’t reached the level of development management. Distinguished technologi- like the most viable solution.” Singh from fortheNewYorker. standard or illegal housing. Indian cities tory barriers.Form-based codes (FBC) pro- icpower, butalsopolitical! “However,theveryfactthatAsiaaccounts 24minheight).Asof now, excepta300-me- standards should be increased from 1-3 to where construction takes place at a very cal expertise and more cooperation from JLLM feels,“Realistically, we are a long Justaswell-designedtallbuildingscan are projected to add several million peo- duce predictable built results and a superior It’s literally a race now. Even as Burj for almost 60% of the high-rises in the tre-highTVtoweratWorli,Mumbai,India at least 10-25. Sachin Sandhir,MD and fast pace and a piece of land can start gen- the government can help redefine urban wayofffromseeingsustainableskyscrap- bestandalonelandmarks,badlydesigned ple.Tallerbuildingsaregoingtobeneces- publicrealmbyusingphysicalformastheor- Khalifa opened, bids for its successor,the world, with more than half of them built cannot boast of many tall buildings. country head, Royal Institution of Char- erating revenue in a very short span of India,”hesays. ersasanormratherthanexceptionstothe tall buildings will not blend in easily and sary.Where and how we grow are ganising principle.FBCs are graphic-based 1.1-kmhighKingdomTowerinJeddah,al- recently indicate a link between