architectureupdate august 2009 39 - apurva...
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Architectureupdate August 2009
The Bangalore International Airport
The BangaloreBounty
Pic
s: A
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purv
a B
ose
Dut
ta
Lens’ Eye
India's Silicon Valley, the Garden
City, the city of paradox or a melt-
ing pot of new ideas - that's essen-
tially everything Bangalore rechris-
tened Bengaluru - is all about. In
tandem to the bombardment of
industrialisation and commercial
growth, high-rises, massive resi-
dential and mixed-use projects
are seeing the light of the day here.
The boom in the new concepts
finds place due to the plethora of
materials available, consummate
force and the willingness of Ban-
galoreans to plunge into experi-
mentation with different architects.
After indiscriminate use of glass
and alucobond, newer materials
like sandstone and granite are
finding favour. With demand for
green buildings going up, Banga-
lore has emerged as a city that
thinks and hence encourages sus-
tainable architecture.
TThhee BBeennggaalluurruu IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaall
AAiirrppoorrtt
The entire country is talking about
the year-old riveting international
airport that India's Silicon Valley has
finally got after a wait of 15 years.
Located at Devanahalli on an area
of 4,000 acres, this airport has
been administered by the Banga-
lore International Airport Ltd (BIAL).
Designed by Kaufmann and Van
der Meer Planer AG of Switzer-
land this is the first airport in India
to operate under a truly open-
access model. The future expan-
sion will include extending the
apron from the current 42 aircraft
parking stands to 68. Additional-
ly, the current terminal building
will be expanded to accommo-
date the increase in passenger
traffic. The construction of the
second terminal and runway - a
mirror image of the airport infra-
structure that one sees today will
follow eventually.
A 321-room five star hotel
designed by architects RSP India
and owned and operated jointly by
Oberoi Hotels and Larsen &
Toubro under the Trident Hilton
brand, is tentatively scheduled for
an opening by end-2010 opposite
the main terminal building.
Ar Apurva
Bose Dutta
writes on how
a bountiful of
real estate
projects in
Bangalore are
fast nearing
completion in
spite of the
slowdown
Architectureupdate August 2009 39
40
Architectureupdate August 2009
The Freedom Park project is being designed by Mathew & Ghosh
Lens’ Eye
RReessiiddeennttiiaall pprroojjeeccttss
With an unrestrained number of apartments
coming up in this cosmopolitan corral, Banga-
lore is absorbing the highest residential space in
the country after Mumbai. North Bangalore is
seeing a number of villa developments between
Rs 1.2 - 2.5 crore. In South Bangalore, DLF is
proposing an 85-acre residential project with
3,000 apartments, 1,200 row houses and
around 300 independent houses.
The Master Plan 2015 shows a more balanced
growth in terms of residential developments,
which presently are quite skewed and concen-
trated towards the southern and northern part of
city. Mumbai-based developer Tata Housing
Development Co Ltd has announced the devel-
opment of a 105 m residential building, Aquila
Heights, which will be the tallest residential build-
ing in Bangalore once built. Designed by Singa-
pore-based architects Ong and Ong Ltd, this
project will be completed by 2010.
BMRDA (Bangalore Metropolitan Region Devel-
opment Authority) is coming up with five inte-
grated townships around Bangalore. Develop-
ers like the Prestige Group, Metrocorp Develop-
ers, LG Developers, Alpine Housing, Indus
Homes , Skyline Construction, Daya MK Devel-
oper, and Mantri Realty Ltd are among those
pitching in their projects.
The development of these residential properties
shows a great deal of planning and high quality
architecture, refined urbanism, good infrastruc-
ture and latest technologies. The new concept
of living in the Garden City is that of customised
villas with beautiful gardens spruced up with
amenities like clubhouse, swimming pool, and
supermarket.
Some high-end projects aimed at NRIs in Ban-
galore include Puravankara Fountain Square,
Prestige Ozone, and Orchid Green. The Confi-
dent Group has launched some projects - Con-
fident Orion, Confident Rigel and Confident
Octans. Concorde currently has Rs 750 crore
worth of projects in Bangalore due for comple-
tion some of them being Midway City, Manhat-
tans and Sylvan View.
The Prestige Group is coming up with Prestige
Shantiniketan by the end of 2009. Designed by
RSP and considered as India's biggest town-
ship ever it covers an area of 105 acres. It will
feature residential complexes, commercial
areas which would include a five-screen mul-
41
Architectureupdate August 2009
Lens’ Eyetiplex, a convention centre, Radisson Hotel
and World Trade Centre.
Total Environment has recently completed a
project - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head -
located off the Sarjapur Road. Windmills of Your
Mind is presently under construction which will
offer the best of amenities in customised villas
and apartments. The Magic Faraway Tree at
Kanakapura Road will be completed in 2011.
Vancouver-based Royal Indian Raj International
Corporation (RIRIC) is investing $2.9 billion in a
single real estate project named Royal Garden
City in Bangalore over a period of 10 years. The
project will include a Jack Nicklaus Signature
18-hole championship golf course, tennis
courts, five-star hotel, supermarket, winery, pub
and microbrewery, among other luxuries. It is
touted to be Asia's largest new city development
till date.
Serviced apartments are also emerging as
cost-effective alternatives. According to real
estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield,
Bangalore currently has approximately 15 pro-
fessionally managed serviced apartments
including Homestead, Chalet, Sterling Suits,
and Halcyon, which are spread over high inter-
est residential areas.
Godrej Woodsman Estate on Bellary Road has
been planned on 15 acres of verdant space. A
project by Godrej Properties, this has a total of
seven towers with a total of 874 units. A central
podium will house facilities such as swimming
pools, club house, amphitheatre, gardens,
relaxation and exercise plazas. Designed by
Thomas Associates, the buildings will have
architectural features like terrace gardens,
trellis, arches etc. and will get completed by
October 2009.
Bangalore 47, a residential tower on the Resi-
dency Road is envisaged to be the tallest resi-
dential building in India outside of Mumbai, with
a height of 165 m and built-up area of around
2,87,000 sq ft. To be completed in 2011, the
apartment will start from the 17th floor leaving
the lower floors for parking, health club, fine din-
ing restaurant and a 20 ft high sports floor.
The first of the mixed-use developments to be
set up in the country, Brigade Gateway, Yesh-
wantpur, by Venkataramanan Associates is
scheduled for completion by end-2009. Incor-
porating residential, office, retail and leisure
spaces as well as hospital, hotel, school, club
house and probably the largest parking space in
the country with over 5,000 car parks, the office
block will be a 30 feet tower called the North Star.
An integrated township called Cg Garden Villas
over 300 acres being developed by the city-
based real estate consultancy firm Propmart in
association with Citi Green Farms will come up
over the next two years at Chikkaballapura, 55
km from Bangalore. A total number of 3,000
independent villas will be built in the project. Citi
Green Farms is also developing an 18-hole golf
course in Chikkaballapura. Billed as among the
best in Asia, it is being designed by US architect
Ronald Fream.
TTrraannssppoorrtt ddeevveellooppmmeennttss
Pre-empting the growth of the knowledge capi-
The Shantiniketan project
The Forum Value Mall
The ITC office
42
Architectureupdate August 2009
A glimpse of the work spaces at ITC
Lens’ Eye
tal by 2015, a comprehensive traffic and trans-
portation plan has been chalked out by the gov-
ernment. The plan includes projects to be
implemented in three phases - the first phase by
2012, phase-II by 2018 and phase-III by 2025.
The plan comprises construction of bus termi-
nals, inter-city bus terminals, pedestrian paths,
dedicated freight corridors, freight complexes,
multi-storied parking lots, improvement of city
roads, introduction of low floor modern buses,
development of an integrated transport system
linking bus services with metro, monorail and
Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) and introduc-
tion of high speed rail link to the suburbs. The
four sites around the city - NGEF, near Electron-
ic City, Peenya and Bytarayanapura - have been
identified for setting up intercity bus terminals.
MMeettrroo
The Bengaluru Metro - Namma Metro is the
proposed MRTS for this fastest growing city of
Asia. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd
(BMRCL) responsible for it visualises it as a 33
km elevated and underground rail network with
32 stations for Phase-I of the project. Phase-1
commenced in 2007 and is scheduled to be
completed by 2011. Phase-2 is being planned.
Tenders have also been floated for the construc-
tion of four elevated Metro stations at Swami
Vivekananda Road, Ulsoor, CMH Road and
Baiyappanahalli.
TThhee EExxpprreesssswwaayy ttoo EElleeccttrroonniicc CCiittyy
To facilitate quick travel time, the city is soon
going to have its own elevated express toll way
for IT professionals. Connecting Bangalore to
the Electronic City, the expressway is sup-
posed to come up on the Bangalore-Hosur
section of NH-7. This 9-km stretch is a Public-
Private-Partnership between the National
Highways Authority of India and builders
Soma-Nagarjuna-Maytas.
TTrruummppeett IInntteerrcchhaannggee PPrroojjeecctt
The project for construction of the Trumpet Inter-
change on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT)
basis had been conceived to facilitate access to
BIAL. Awarded to Larsen & Toubro (Engineering
and Contracts Division) for completion, the
Phase-1 was completed before the new airport
opening date since this was the only defined
approach to the airport. The design and consul-
tancy for the project has been provided by Span
Consultants, Bangalore. The length of Trumpet
Interchange is 10.42 km having three rail over
bridges (ROB) and flyover. Reinforced Earth (RE)
43
Architectureupdate August 2009
Lens’ Eyetechnology with GI strips was adopted along the
entire length of the ramps.
Plans are afoot to construct an elevated
expressway linking south and north Bangalore
and another elevated road to link east Banga-
lore with the north-south elevated corridor. The
two elevated corridors will meet at Vellara Junc-
tion. The government has approved undertak-
ing of six laning of NH-4 between Pune and Ban-
galore comprising 5,700 km of Golden Quadri-
lateral and 800 km of other sections having traf-
fic more than 25,000 PCU by December 2012.
The Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridor is
being developed as an Industrial Corridor of
Excellence on the lines of the Delhi-Mumbai
industrial corridor.
CCoorrppoorraattee ccoonnssttrruuccttiioonn
Being an IT and biotech hub, the city is witness-
ing a gamut of construction related to these seg-
ments. It will soon house Helix, a 106-acre
biotechnology park, meant for biotech compa-
nies, research entities, start-ups with an incuba-
tion centre and common facility, besides the
Institute of Bioinformatics & Applied Biotechnol-
ogy, and the Centre for Human Genomics with
their hostels.
The second campus for Infosys is coming up in
300 acres at Sarjapur. The Karnataka Govern-
ment has also recently proposed a 100-storied
trade centre on the lines of New York's erst-
while WTC, which will turn out to be India's
tallest tower. The tower will offer office space,
observation decks, restaurants, clubs, public
parks, jogging tracks, multi-level shopping and
parking areas.
IITTCC IInnffootteecchh PPaarrkk
Bangalore-based architect Krishnarao Jaisim
(Jaisim Fountainhead) has made strikingly
minimal use of glass and steel in the campus
for ITC Infotech, which is supporting a continu-
ous flow of construction. These buildings have
unusual new touches; walls made of hollow
terracotta blocks, flat stone tables and
acoustic-friendly ceilings that are fashioned out
of earthen pots. The giant century-old chimney,
ancient trees and even an old fire station have
been left standing.
BBiiddaaddii KKnnoowwlleeddggee CCiittyy
A 9,000-acre knowledge city between Banga-
lore and Mysore at Bidadi is being executed by
DLF Limitless Company Pvt Ltd. This will be con-
nected to BIAL by an eight-lane highway. The
self-sustaining township designed by Calthorpe
Associates, California, will be developed on the
ideology of walk-to-work. Apart from high qual-
ity office and residential developments, the
township would also comprise high quality
entertainment options including shopping
malls, multiplexes, hotels and serviced apart-
ments.
VVrriinnddaavvaann TTeecchh VViillllaaggee
The first IT-specific Special Economic Zone
(SEZ) in Karnataka, located on the Outer Ring
Road is under development. Comprising nine
million sq ft of development spread over 105
acres of land, phase-1 of the project is com-
pletely operational, whereas phase-2 is under
development. Being a mixed-use development
it entails IT-specific commercial office space,
hotels, serviced apartments, residential and
retail facilities.
HHoossppiittaalliittyy aanndd rreeccrreeaattiioonnaall ddeevveellooppmmeennttss
Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces recently launched
its new premium city hotel Vivanta by Taj. Locat-
ed at the entry point of the International Tech
Park, its unique façade shows a variation in
colour, texture and tone with time.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.
has announced its decision to develop Aloft
hotels across India. Out of the brand's first
two hotels, one is coming up at Bangalore,
Whitefield. Scheduled to open in 2010 with
facilities designed in conjunction with world-
renowned David Rockwell and the Rockwell
Group, Aloft Bangalore will include 170
rooms, a large restaurant and more than
8,500 sq ft meeting space.
The Westin Bangalore Manyata Tech Park Hotel
scheduled to open in 2012 will have 264 over-
sized guest rooms or 36 beautiful suites. Shera-
ton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway will be
opening in 2010. The Bangalore Marriott Golf
The Brigade Gateway
44
Architectureupdate August 2009
Lens’ EyeResort & Convention Centre at Nandi Hills will be
opened in 2012 as part of a 300-acre mixed-
use project. Approximately 225 single family
homes, a first class 18-hole golf course are
some of the tentative amenities.
Malls have found a firm foothold in Bangalore.
Prestige in partnership with Vijay Mallya has
opened India's first luxury retail shopping mall,
UB City: the Collection. In a design of Venetian
ambience covering 1,30,000 sq ft the mall is
waiting for an official launch though the soft
launch took place in May 2008. Designed by
Bental Associates, it will also house the Prestige
Oakwood Premier Residences, service apart-
ments and office spaces.
The recently-opened Forum Value Mall houses
the best known factory outlets under one roof.
Designed by Venkataramanan Associates the
mall conveys a futuristic look aided by wide
open interiors, spacious footprint for each brand
with a high visibility store-front.
Bangalore's biggest mall, the Sobha Global
Mall is going to be opened in 2009. Built on an
area of 16 acres by architects Menon+ Jeffery
of Cape Town, it will encapsulate a 13-screen
multiplex, 300-room hotel tower and parking
for 3,400 cars.
Nitesh Estates is coming up with a mall on an
area of 5.3 acres in Indira Nagar. Designed by
Seattle-based Callison, this will open in 2011.
The other upcoming malls include Signature
Mall (old Madras road), Innovation Mall
(Banerghatta road), Arch Mall (Yelahanka), Kir-
loskar Mall (Bellary Road) and Sigma Grand Mall
(Outer Ring Road).
The much publicised Innovative Film City by the
Innovative Group is ready with its attractions. It is
envisaged to have a 21-screen multiplex, villas,
and exclusive helipad.
Freedom Park, an urban park restored from the
abandoned Old Central Jail, was inaugurated in
March. Designed by Mathew & Ghosh, the park
is an ode to freedom fighters. The second phase
is scheduled to be completed in a year's time.
Another creation of the same architects, the
Max Mueller Bhavan was inaugurated in March
2009. Encapsulating impressions of German
efficiencies in an Indian context for an Institute of
Cultural Exchange, the Goethe Institue, the
building comes forth as a building talking of sim-
plicity and spaces.
Bangalore is being perceived as a promoter
of green buildings. Many big estate develop-
ers are concentrating on the green aspect.
After rainwater harvesting and plantation of
trees being made compulsory, theme parks
displaying different models of rainwater
harvesting were inaugurated in November
2008 at Jayanagar, Cubbon Park and
Lalbagh. Apart from this, the lakes around
the city have been taken up for development
in a phased manner.
Biodiversity Conservation India Limited, an alter-
nate technology enterprise, has launched BCIL
Collective, which is a green project programme
on a residential complex. The complex which
will be completed in the last quarter of 2009 has
been designed to save 35,000 litres of water per
home per year by focussing on rainwater har-
vesting and recycling within residential complex.
With these constructions and developments
fast nearing completion, Bangalore is all set to
emerge as the new capital of development for
India. A symbol of contemporary architecture
and gateway to a bright future, it is indeed India’s
Silicon Valley.
(Bangalore-based Dutta is an architect pursuing
architectural journalism. She can be contacted
at apurvabose@yahoo.com)
The Raindrops residential structure
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