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High Rise Building

Sky is the Limit The desire to rise higher and higher to set a record is a fashion for U.S, Europe and Middle East. Not to be left behind, too has joined in the trend. But we must keep our ears to the ground to insulate these highrise buildings from remblings below. Highrise buildings must meet earthquake requirement, says Maria Rasheeda, surveying Highrise buildings in India.

ising alone above the crowd has in the metropolitan cities. always held a special thrill. So With income growing and large Revery country and city intents on number of people moving to metropolitan asserting its presence on the globe by cities, the demand for housing is on the building skyline instantly recognizable upswing. Due to high construction cost around the world. But the case is different and non-availability of land at preferred with India. If on hand it designs locations, people opt for buildings or the high-rise building to reflect its identity apartments. These buildings offer many on the world map, on the other hand it advantages such as round-the-clock has also the responsibility to provide security, back-up power supply, accommodation to its growing population. maintenance car-parking facilities and All this has led to an alarming increase kid’s play areas. And above all these multi- in high-rise buildings in India especially storied buildings have their downside too. Constructing high could be due to two reasons, either for the ‘Tower Battling’ i.e the desire to rise high or for the ‘Need for Housing’ i.e to fulfill the demand of accommodation. In this article, some of the highrise buildings coming up in India with the involvement of the foreign companies in the form of contractors, consultants or architects in these projects has been discussed. , Gujarat Designed by ECADI Architects the master planners of many of Shanghai’s newest projects, Diamond Tower was designed as the centerpiece signature tower that will cap the new GIFT CBD Skyline. The tower is called ‘Diamong Tower’ to mark Gujarat state’s eminence as the diamond capital of the world. Diamond Tower is a proposed for Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in Gandhinagar. It is India’s first major supertall Central Business District project that is designed to be the focal point of both the world’s and India’s booming financial service.GIFT will have 312 tall buildings and the tallest being the Signature Diamond Tower.

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The tower will be constructed in The tower is designed to convey both phases. The phase 1 of the project, began the brightness and shape of the diamond. in March 2008 and to be completed by The various cuts and facets in the tower’s 2010, will consist of the 400m Diamond shape are designed to reflect and refract Tower and core CBD of GIFT, comprising the light on the tower similar to a cut a total of 25.8 million sq. ft. Already 15 diamond, helping to achieve its goal of million sq ft of the floor space of this first being one of the world’s brightest and phase has been secured by a host of most eye-catching towers when it catches national and international companies, with the light of the sun. MoU for the other 10 million in the works. The tower actually went through a Two more phases will then be rolled out major design change from its initial for an eventual 2017 completion date. proposal. After sifting through tens of Eighty Seven floors tower takes its proposals by ECADI, the private-public design cues from the cut facets of a development consortium finally chose the traditional Indian-cut diamond and is a tip new design of the diamond tower. The of the hat to the state’s diamond industry, new tower is of 400 meter height and which remains a huge economic stimulus gives an impression of a rock-solid jewel to the state. rising over a much more aggressive and massive skyline, rather than the delicate crystal shard complementing an equally visually delicate skyline of the older design plan. Waves Worli, Architect Sanjay Puri designed a beautiful residential skyscraper crowning one side of Mumbai’s Worli sea front. The building form is derived from the outline of the crests of the waves of the sea. Linear undulating balconies traverse the length of this residential apartment building offering unrestricted views of the sea to each of the apartments. Four blocks with apartments varying from 2000 sq.ft. to 6000 sq. ft are connected together rising from 40 storeys towards the land end up to 80 storeys towards the sea front. The fluid balcony decks that undulate along the length extend further out at upper levels to create sky gardens overlooking the sea. The tower is significant not only due to its size, but its location. It will be built in Worli, one of Mumbai’s most expensive neighborhoods, on a piece of land jutting out into the Indian Ocean that will soon be spanned with Mumbai’s massive Bandra-Worli Sealink project.

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Jupiter & Elphinstone on ancient Indian Vaastu Shastra design.The size of the tower is significant, Mills Tower, Mumbai likely pushing it to supertall heights. Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon While on the other hand Elphinstone Gill Architects has released the rendering tower rises from a square podium for both Jupiter & Elphinstone towers for extending upwards to a flat roof which is the redevelopment of Jupiter Mill. devoid of any height adding spires, peaks Developer IndiaBull is the owner of both or aerials. The facades are glass and the towers. feature cut outs and recessed balconied According to the architects, “Jupiter green areas which contribute to the towers Mills is a 75-story luxury residential tower platinum standard LEED rating. Each of in the heart of downtown Mumbai. To the atria are connected to a central atrium maximize views, the tower includes 50 located in the core of the tower, air from stories of residential condominiums from the exterior of the building flows down the floors 25-75. The building was designed core and as it accelerates down the shaft to a LEED Platinum standard.” hits wind turbines which will create energy This tower will come literally right for the building. beside Indiabulls’s Elphinstone Mills (The Comparing to the 60- tower is one of the first projects to get Elphinstone Mills Tower right next beside underway in a series of redevelopments Jupiter tower, this 75-storey tower will likely of former textile mill lands in South be significantly taller, owing to its Mumbai). unconventional design and tall ’stalk’-like While still in the final stages of central core. If the rendering is anything to design, the Jupiter Mills Tower is the go by, this tower will likely be at least 300 latest project reflecting the new trend in meters tall. Mumbai for organic-looking towers, based The Imperial, Mumbai Designed by Mumbai based architect the Imperial is a pair of residential towers under construction in Mumbai that are set to jointly be one of the tallest in India upon completion. This building(s) is about 240 meters high The towers each of 63 storeys are built on earlier slum land where the current re-development model of builders providing free land and rehabilitation to slum dwellers in exchange for rights for property development, was first put into practice on a big scale. This model became the standard for slum redevelopment across the city, and across India as a whole. The towers are ultra-high end residential towers that sold out even before the first brick was laid. The Imperial offers sea-views by virtue of its height, and a resort-like gardens and fountains on top of the parking-structure podium, with hanging gardens that mask the structure itself. The facade is swathed in aluminium composite panels with green and blue glazing. The building tapers as it moves up owing to the terraces at the higher 190 NBM&CW JUNE 2009

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the DB Tower, like the erstwhile , is still going to be LEED Platinum certified, and is designed by the same architects, Fox and Fowle (FXFOWLE) and being developed by Neelkamal Realtors, a subsidiary of the low-profile Dynamix Balwa Group. Located on Maharshi Karve Road, the 75-storey building, will cost Rs1,100-crore, and will be managed by Park Hyatt. With a built-up space of 9 lakh sq ft, the tower, coming up on the plot where Ruby Garage once stood, will offer a panoramic view of the Arabian Sea. DB Tower’s beautiful

levels. A conical triangular canopy covering the roof is crowned with a 50-m high spire. It is expected to be finished by 2009. Dynamix-Balwas Tower (DB Tower), Mumbai One of India and the World’s greenest towers has changed in name and design! Rotating-Blocky India tower is officially redesigned and rebadged as DB Tower, the flagship project of DB Realty. The finalized design will be huge — at 75 stories of residential and untold more in lobbies, sky lobbies and utility floors, and boasting a height and crown that will push this supertall to over 400 meters! Like its India Tower precursor, it will be of mixed (residential + hotel) use. Construction will soon commence with an aim for completion by 2011. Indeed 192 NBM&CW JUNE 2009

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design and amazing location will make it of is expected to be one of Mumbai’s and mordern India’s December 2012. most visible landmarks. The tower was designed by architect Reza Kabul, who had also previously Shreepati Heights — designed , for Shreepati , Mumbai Group, which, for a brief time, was Mumbai’s tallest building. Slated to be one of the prestigious Shreepati heights seems to take its projects in pipeline, Shreepati Heights cue from traditional architecture, with the will offer a Ground + 76 storeys Tower shape evoking the shikhara of Nagara with total built-up area of about 5,00,000 temple style, even to the point of having sq.ft and 300 Sq. ft Car park. Commenced an amalaka crowning the building. The in December 2007, the completion date tower seems to have a remarkably small footprint for a building of this height, as Mumbai’s other major skyscrapers require a larger plot and more green area in order to get the floor space approval. This could be an indication of increased FSI allowances in the area. Kochi Tower, Kerala On the same line of designing high, Mumbai based Zoom Developers has planned to build a 100-storey office complex in Kochi, Kerala. At Rs 1 crore per acre, the 40-acre tract has been purchased by the Zoom Developers from the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure development (Kinfra) to build an international trade and convention centre at Kochi. The 100-storey building developed as a part of the project will be around 1,640 ft (500 metres) in height. As per the mandate from the state government of Kerala the project should have convention halls and exhibition halls on an area of 2.5 lakh sq ft. The mandatory requirements need to be completed by the end of this year. “The work is on full swing and we are confident of meeting the mandatory requirements by December 2008,” says Rumneek Bawa, managing director Zoom Infraestates. The total cost outlay of the project would be Rs 1,000 crore, which the company plans to fund through a mix of internal accruals and bank loans. Zoom Developers has also roped in the Singapore-based CPG consultants for the architectural design of the project. The project will also include a five-star hotel comprising 31 floors and a total of 400 rooms. The unique 100-storey tower apart from offices would also have a shopping

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The project will be completed in three phases. The first phase would involve the building of convention and exhibition halls, which will be completed by the end of this year. The second phase would involve the construction of a five-star hotel and shopping mall, while the third would involve completion of the office tower. Poised to be one of the tallest towers in South Asia, the international trade and exhibition centre whose construction began in early 2009, is expected to be complete in 3 years. Kolkata's Tower Kolkata will get its tallest building at 250 metres when a commercial property comes up on Chowringhee, next to Tata Centre. The tower, to rise to a height equivalent to 83 storeys, will be the city’s first run in the construction Olympics that is dominated by Burj Dubai at 636m. “We will actually construct 54 floors, but at 250m, it will easily be the tallest commercial structure in the country, its mall spread over six floors. The other height corresponding to an 83-storey structures in the convention centre would tower,” says A.N. Shroff, the leader of the include a trade centre, service consortium Diamond Group that is apartments, restaurants, a post office, and developing the building. a multilevel car parking. To come up on the vacant land that was once the proposed site for a Grand Magnolias Tower, Hyatt, the 54-storey structure will tower over the Chowringhee skyline, housing 10 Gurgaon levels of car parking at the base and a helipad on top. The capital city of India is also “The Chowringhee building will have not away from the highrise many firsts, like a 4.2m floor-to-ceiling trend. A prestigious condominium-The Magnolias, part of many dlf properties, is under construction in the hottest real estate market Gurgaon, close to Delhi. All the five blocks in the development will have 19 towers which will form a high- end residential complex overlooking the new Golf Course and consists of apartments, penthouses and duplex spread over 15 area of land. This landmark property consists of G+19 with total 300 members of apartments. The development is supposed to be completed by the end of 2009.

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height, a grand entrance lobby 42ft high, a sky garden on the 29th level, restaurants on the 50th and 51st floors and three levels of viewing galleries above that,” says Vinoo Chadha, principal architect for the project. A city-based Design Cell has designed the tower, which tapers off at the top, and will have a programmed illumination system to project varied façade views at different times during the night, showing just a brilliant blue streak along the spine at 2am. “All necessary structural precautions are being taken, including the seismic load factor,” said Chaddha. Structural expert Joseph P. Colaco from Ottawa is doing the structural design along with local structural engineer Sanjeev Parekh. Construction, outsourced from a Singapore firm, is expected to take 24 to 30 months from the date of sanction. With the land cost at Rs 432 crore, construction is estimated to cross Rs 200 crore. “We want this building to be the calling card of contemporary Calcutta, and will bring in services to match the grandeur of the structure, like the rooftop helipad,” said Shroff. The tower will yield 35-36 floors of office space, with a food BBMP sources said that global court and convention centre spanning construction majors like DAE WOO, three levels. Gammon India, NBCC India and Larsen & Toubro have already evinced interest in Bangalore Tower taking up the project on build, own, operate Looking over the country’s tallest building, and transfer (BOOT) basis. the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike The tower will be a concrete shaft till (BBMP) is also planning to construct what an altitude of 460 metres and the next it claims to be the world’s tallest tower. 100 m will be a steel mast. At 550m it The proposed 560-metre tower will be would house a four storey sky pods. constructed on the premises of Freedom The floor diameter at 350m altitude Park. will be 30 metres. At this level a microwave Freedom Park is being developed on disc platform with a range (cell radius) of the land where the old central prison 100km will be installed. A revolving stood. The tower will house a microwave restaurant at 360m altitude will seat 150 disc platform, an air-conditioned guests. restaurant, a wedding hall and an At 355m altitude an observation gallery observatory. with a radius of 30 metres will be built. It The government expressed concern will have a capacity to hold 250 people. A that such a tower would attract tourists. wedding hall is proposed at 360m. And road connectivity, parking space and Between 390 metres and 410 metres the electrification would be difficult to provide transmission equipment of police, post at that site. Prof Vishwanath suggested and overseas communication department that the tower be built at Freedom Park. will be housed. Finally, at 460 metres, TV and FM radio transmitters will be installed.

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