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 econom- Shreepati Arcade,constructed in 2002 is teredSurveyorsIndia,feelsthatFSIiscon- time.And our planning is not so synchro- “Hyderabad swelled from 174 sq km to rule in India. Cost will continue to dictate harm the image of the city.Atotal lack of importantconsiderations. codes that allow the public to visualise in ad- ready lined up.And, the former ‘world’s ic prosperity,policy environment as well another tall building in the city with 45 sideredtobeanimportantdeterminantin nisedwithlong-termgoals.” 625sqkm,puttingalotof pressureonitsin- most construction in this country and the public design review and decent develop- Planning starts at the regional level vance the form and location of the streets, tallest’,Taipei101,isgearinguptobecome asthecultureof aplace.Europeisaclassic floorsandaheightof 153metres.Soontwo development. “In India the FSI is excep- Sunil Jindal, CEO,SVP Builders India, frastructure. The hi-tech city has fibre op- fact remains that such buildings are ex- ment codes put the citizensat greater risk withawellthoughtoutresponsebasedon buildings,and open spaces leading to a high- the‘world’stallestgreen’in2010. exampleparticularlyinthecontextof cul- residential towers in Mumbai—Imperial tionallylow, evenwhencomparedtoAsian agrees.“Developers restrain from enter- tic lines but no sewer lines! Huge tremelycostlytodevelop.” of gettingarchitecturalkitsch.Tallbuild- transportationnetwork,geographiclimi- ercomfortlevelwithtallerbuildings. “Skyscrapers definitely symbolise ture,”sheaddsinthesamebreath. Towers (149 m) and India Tower (a hotel, cities such as Singapore, Bangkok, ingthetallbuildingsegmentduetolackof investments are needed to provide roads, The government is moving in the right ings that fail to incorporate energy-effi- tation, environmental sensitivity,con- Tall buildings should be self-sustaining progressof economyandof technology. The economy definitely plays a signifi- Malaysia,etc,whereitisbenchmarkedbe- technologyandthepricefactor.Whereav- drainage,water pipelines,sewerage sys- direction. Delhi’s proposed Master Plan cient solutions for lighting, ventilation text and infrastructure—all of these andnotdependontaxpayerfundstoprovide They are icons by which cities are cantroleif takenintoviewthefactthatre- tween 5 and 50. In order for the Indian real erage construction cost of a conventional tem, mass transport etc.Sensible tall 2021 envisages planned development on andcoolingalsodamagetheenvironment. factors help determine howthis newden- affordable housing, infrastructure im- recognised—Petronas for Kuala cessionhasseenitsshareof cancelledand estate market to compete on a global plat- building comes to around Rs 1,500-2,000 buildings to some extent may ease this 27,000hectares.Ithasalsoapprovedof pri- sity gets spread out throughout the re- provements,network of mobility options, Lumpur,the Empire State Building for cannedprojects.Interestingly, ScottJohn- Hesitant to go taller Burj Khalifa form,an upward revision needs to be con- persqft,atallbuildingwillcostaroundRs pain,” says Karuna Gopal, President, vate participation in mega construction gion. At multi-modal transit hubs the FSI public amenities and maintenance.The NewYork…,”saysSudhirSJambhekar, son in his book Tall Building: Imagining Dubai, UAE sidered.However,increasingtheFSRputs 4,000-5,000persqftormore.” FoundationforFuturisticCities. projects and hi-rise building activity.The Indian cities are amongst the most popu- can be as high as 15-20, while in other sen- public sector has to determine needs for SeniorPartner,FXFOWLE,anarchitec- the Skyscraper,brings out that signature 2010 additional load on existing infrastruc- Tallbuildingsarealsoseenasasolution A few like Rohit Raj Modi, spokesper- higher FAR permitted by the Plan will al- lated cities in the world and this density sitiveareastheincreasemaybeamodest1 each area and set up a developer impact fee ture firm with offices in New York, tallbuildingsbuiltsince2000arenolonger ture,“hesays. to the space problem that urban India is son, RajNagarextensiondevelopers’asso- lowmosthousestogouptofourfloors.The has largely been accommodated in low to to2.5FSI.TheFSIshouldbearange,notan systemtofundonsiteimprovements.TaxIn- WashingtonDCandDubai. found in the US or Europe,but in former 828 m. 162 floors. The mega Recently, in a national conference or- facing. Since there is a near saturation of ciation, feel skyscrapers are not symbolic buildingscanbetaller—goingupto14to16 absolutenumber.ToaccessthehigherFSI crement Financing (TIF) can fund off-site Icons they definitely are. “Though developing countries.It’snowthe oil-rich structure has a flor area of ganised by the Confederation of Real Es- the land available within the city bound- of a nation’s economic development. “If floors if builders and developers are able range, developers must mitigate the im- improvements.In TIF,the developer up- Burj Khalifa is now considered a symbol countries in the Middle East and Russia 334,000 m2, 900 apartments, Tall buildings 144 hotel rooms and 57 tate Developers’ Associations of India, aries for any use,be it residential or com- there exist good infrastructure facilities to amalgamate an area of at least 4,000 sq pactsandprovideneededamenities. fronts the cost of infrastructure and gets re- of financial meltdown, it will remain ex- taking the lead. “In case of US, the reces- elevators delegates requestedthegovernmenttoin- mercial,thesolutionwouldbetoconducta such as sanitation, water,roads,connec- m. This is if they take care of three thi- 200m or taller completed in 2009 funded from the increment in taxes tremely unique real estate.It embodies sion is a factor yes, but there are more: se- creasetheFSIacrossthecountry. land audit and construct viable tall struc- tivity,etc,thatitself speaksvolumesabout ngs—set up an effluent treatment plant so Factors to consider generated from new development. Mainte- the development of Dubai into a global curity concerns post-9/11, and the Reiterating the point, Manoj Goyal, VP, tures,which will generate greater avail- the economic development of a country,” astonotchokeuptheseweragesystem,put 24% Ananalysisof thecharacterof thecity,in nance can be funded by the creation of pub- city.The building is the biggest market- availability of land vis-a-vis the popula- Raheja Developers,says, “Stringent ability of space per square feet of ground he says.Seconding his view, Chopra from up solar panels to generate some power North terms of physical attributes,together lic-privatepartnerships. ingcampaignthecitycouldhavecomeup tion, whichis hardlyover 330 million peo- norms to get height clearance act as a ma- area used. Building tall is not an option RE/MAX adds,“What we need today is in- andbuildundergroundparking. with the existing conditions or its poten- Tall buildings consume a third more ma- with,” says Jan Klerks,Research & Com- ple,”explainsJambhekar. America jor impediment in the way of building tall anymore, it is almost inevitable. “Basical- tegrateddevelopment.Thisispossibleon- Effortsarebeingmadetogrow vertical- tial for change, will determine areas in terial and energy and require more service munications Manager, Council on Tall He is,however, sure that the future of 9 structures.Almostallmetrotowns(where ly,high-rise buildings provide developers ly through adequate planning. This will lybutIndiastillhasalongwaytogo. 58% which intensification would be most ap- area and offer less usable floor space than a Buildings and Urban Habitat, Chicago. tall buildings in India is inevitable and skyscrapers can be built) are in areas con- withameansof savingonlandcosts.They help plan an area, which will be self-suffi- propriate.Tall buildings are appropriate lowormid-risebuilding.“There’snoneedto Certainly a campaign that ensures long- has a word of caution: “The NY Subway 18% Asia Taipai 101 trolledbytheAirportAuthority.Presently, open up wider arenas to operate on. This cient, energy efficient and therefore envi- WithinputsfromKiranYadav in urban areas where land is limited and build tall just for the sake of it,” says Lora term returns,considering that Taipei will never give you a hint of the urban Middle 22 Taipai, Taiwan East the area is served by public transit. Tall Nicolaou. Tall needs to be a planned strate- 101 received 1.2 million visitors to its ob- density it supports.The same holds 2004 7 buildings typicallybecome exclusive pri- gy that delivers more efficiency in land use servationdeckin2009. good for Hong Kong. To reach the down- 508 m. 101 floors. It aims to vatespacesfortherich.Publicaccessand and innovative contextual design. Tall The quest, feels Jambhekar,can be town from the airport takes no more become the world’s tallest green well-designed public open spaces at the buildings need to enhance the neighbour- tracedbackto“man’spassiontodefygrav- than 25 minutes.And, to reach Taj Ma- building in 2010 Sears Tower street level and public infrastructure im- hoodbyfocusingonenhancedpublicrealm, ity”. The tall shikhars in old Hindu tem- hal Hotel from Mumbai airport, de- Chicago, US SOURCE: Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Petronas Towers provementswillallowtalltowerstomake be sustainable and provide for abroad seg- ples were an attempt to reach out to the pending on the traffic,needs at least 1974 Kuala Lumpur, a positive contribution to city life.Tall mentof thepopulation. skiesandtoGod.IntheUS,itwastheinven- two-three hours.So, an infrastructure Two Shanghai World Malaysia buildingsshouldalsoprovidehousingfor tion of elevators that ushered in the con- supportingthetallbuildingsmustbein 442 m. 108 floors. International Finance Center 1998 adiverseincomerange. ThewriterisPrincipal,RangwalaAssociates ceptof tallbuildings,withChicagotaking placetoo.” Now called the Willis Trump Finance Centre CITIC Plaza Shanghai, tower, it is the tallest International 452 m. The Hong Kong Guangzhou, China building in the US Hotel & Tower Jin Mao Building towers have 2003 China 2007 Chicago, US Shanghai, China 32,000 windows. 1996 Shun Hing Square 2009 1999 Tallest residential towers Completed : 1998 Emirates Tower Two, Dubai (UAE) Number of 492 m. 101 Both towers are 412 m. 88 floors. Shenzhen, China 900 390 m. 80 floors. Material: Composite Height (mt) : 309, Floors : 56 floors. The 88 storeys high One of the few 1996 buildings 200m 423 m. 98 floors. 421 m Also known as Q1, Gold Coast (AUS) Completed : 2000 aperture at the buildings in the The 9/11 attacks 88 floors. Also No. 233 Tianhe 384 m. 69 floors. Height (mt) : 323 Floors : 78 Willis Tower, Chicago (US) Material: Concrete peak resembles world with or taller scaled back its known as the North Road Also known Di Completed : 2005 Height (mt) : 442, Floors : 108 796 a Chinese moon double-decker 800 plans to be the ‘Golden Wang Commercial Material: concrete Completed : 1974 The Address Downtown Burj Dubai, gate elevators tallest building in Prosperity Centre Material: Steel Dubai (UAE) the world Building’ Eureka Tower, Melbourne (AUS) Height (mt) : 306, Floors : 63 Completed : Height (mt) : 297, Floors : 91 Two International Finance Centre, 2008 700 Completed : 2006 Hong Kong (CHN) Material: Concrete Material: Concrete Height (mt) : 412, Floors : 88 643 Completed : 2003 Future tallest buildings Emirates Crown, Dubai (UAE) Material: Composite 600 Nakheel Tower Dubai (UAE) Height (mt) : 296, Floors : 63 Height: 1000 (mt) Completed : 2008 CITIC Plaza, Guangzhou (CHN) Floors: 200 Floors Material: Concrete Height (mt) : 390, Floors : 80 Material: concrete-steel Completed : 1996 500 Millennium Tower, Dubai (UAE) Material: Concrete Burj Dubai Dubai (UAE) Height (mt) : 285, Floors : 59 Height: 800 Completed : 2006 Floors: 162 Material: Concrete Tallest all-hotel towers 400 Material: Steel-concrete The Cullinan I, Hong Kong (CHN) Rose Rotana Tower, Dubai (UAE) Pingan International Finance Height (mt) : 270, Floors : 68 Height (mt) : 333, Floors : 72 Center Tower 1 Shenzhen (CHN) Completed : 2008 Completed : 2007 300 Height: 646 267 Material: Concrete Material: Composite Floors: 115 Shimao International Plaza, Shanghai Tallest all-office towers (CHN) Shanghai Tower Shanghai (CHN) 200 Height (mt) : 333, Floors : 60 Height: 632 Floors: 128 144 Taipei 10, Taipei (TAIWAN) Completed : 2006 composite Height (mt) : 508, Floors : 101 Material: Concrete Completed : 2004 100 Chicago Spire Chicago (US) 70 Material: Composite Burj al Arab Hotel, Dubai (UAE) Height (mt) : 321, Floors : 60 Height: 610 27 Floors: 150 15 Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur (MAL) Completed : 1999 2 6 11 11 composite Height (mt) : 452, Floors : 88 Material: Composite 0 1920 ’30 ’40 ’50 ’60 ’70 ’80 ’90 2000 ’10 ’12

Defying gravity

● There were no buildings from Europe, Oberoi Africa, Australasia, Central and South Woods America among the tallest 50 Ashok RNA Tower 1,2 Shreepati Planet Tabrez completed in 2009. Towers I Godrej Mirage &3 Arcade Tower ● 4 supertall buildings (300 m+) were Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai Built 2008 2007 2007 2000 2008 completed during 2009, the same as in 53 floors 51 floors 41 floors 40 floors 45 floors 45 floors 2008. 16 supertall are expected in 2010.

SOURCE: CTBUH, GRAPHICS: MANOJ BHRAMAR, SADHNA SAXENA VERTICALFOCUS WHAT STOPS INDIA FROM TESTING HIGHER GROUNDS LIMI? TS