in the metropolitan cities.With income growing and large

number of people moving to metropolitancities, the demand for housing is on theupswing. Due to high construction costand non-availability of land at preferredlocations, people opt for buildings orapartments. These buildings offer manyadvantages such as round-the-clocksecurity, back-up power supply,maintenance car-parking facilities andkid’s play areas. And above all these multi-storied buildings have their downside too.

Constructing high could be due totwo reasons, either for the ‘Tower Battling’i.e the desire to rise high or for the ‘Needfor Housing’ i.e to fulfill the demand ofaccommodation. In this article, some ofthe highrise buildings coming up in Indiawith the involvement of the foreigncompanies in the form of contractors,consultants or architects in these projectshas been discussed.

Diamond Tower, GujaratDesigned by ECADI Architects the masterplanners of many of Shanghai’s newestprojects, Diamond Tower was designedas the centerpiece signature tower thatwill cap the new GIFT CBD Skyline. Thetower is called ‘Diamong Tower’ to markGujarat state’s eminence as the diamondcapital of the world.

Diamond Tower is a skyscraperproposed for Gujarat International FinanceTec-City (GIFT) in Gandhinagar. It isIndia’s first major supertall CentralBusiness District project that is designedto be the focal point of both the world’sand India’s booming financial service.GIFTwill have 312 tall buildings and the tallestbeing the Signature Diamond Tower.

Sky is the Limit

Rising alone above the crowd hasalways held a special thrill. Soevery country and city intents on

asserting its presence on the globe bybuilding skyline instantly recognizablearound the world. But the case is differentwith India. If on the one hand it designsthe high-rise building to reflect its identityon the world map, on the other hand ithas also the responsibility to provideaccommodation to its growing population.All this has led to an alarming increasein high-rise buildings in India especially

The desire to rise higher and higher to set a record is a fashion for U.S, Europeand Middle East. Not to be left behind, India too has joined in the trend. But wemust keep our ears to the ground to insulate these highrise buildings fromremblings below. Highrise buildings must meet earthquake requirement, says MariaRasheeda, surveying Highrise buildings in India.

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The tower will be constructed inphases. The phase 1 of the project, beganin March 2008 and to be completed by2010, will consist of the 400m DiamondTower and core CBD of GIFT, comprisinga total of 25.8 million sq. ft. Already 15million sq ft of the floor space of this firstphase has been secured by a host ofnational and international companies, withMoU for the other 10 million in the works.Two more phases will then be rolled outfor an eventual 2017 completion date.

Eighty Seven floors tower takes itsdesign cues from the cut facets of atraditional Indian-cut diamond and is a tipof the hat to the state’s diamond industry,which remains a huge economic stimulusto the state.

The tower is designed to convey boththe brightness and shape of the diamond.The various cuts and facets in the tower’sshape are designed to reflect and refractthe light on the tower similar to a cutdiamond, helping to achieve its goal ofbeing one of the world’s brightest andmost eye-catching towers when it catchesthe light of the sun.

The tower actually went through amajor design change from its initialproposal. After sifting through tens ofproposals by ECADI, the private-publicdevelopment consortium finally chose thenew design of the diamond tower. Thenew tower is of 400 meter height andgives an impression of a rock-solid jewelrising over a much more aggressive and

massive skyline, rather than thedelicate crystal shardcomplementing an equally visuallydelicate skyline of the older designplan.

Waves Worli, MumbaiArchitect Sanjay Puri designed abeautiful residential skyscrapercrowning one side of Mumbai’sWorli sea front. The building formis derived from the outline of thecrests of the waves of the sea.Linear undulating balconies traversethe length of this residentialapartment building offeringunrestricted views of the sea toeach of the apartments.

Four blocks with apartmentsvarying from 2000 sq.ft. to 6000 sq.ft are connected together rising from40 storeys towards the land endup to 80 storeys towards the seafront. The fluid balcony decks thatundulate along the length extendfurther out at upper levels to createsky gardens overlooking the sea.

The tower is significant not onlydue to its size, but its location. Itwill be built in Worli, one ofMumbai’s most expensiveneighborhoods, on a piece of landjutting out into the Indian Oceanthat will soon be spanned withMumbai’s massive Bandra-WorliSealink project.

on ancient Indian Vaastu Shastradesign.The size of the tower is significant,likely pushing it to supertall heights.

While on the other hand Elphinstonetower rises from a square podiumextending upwards to a flat roof which isdevoid of any height adding spires, peaksor aerials. The facades are glass andfeature cut outs and recessed balconiedgreen areas which contribute to the towersplatinum standard LEED rating. Each ofthe atria are connected to a central atriumlocated in the core of the tower, air fromthe exterior of the building flows down thecore and as it accelerates down the shafthits wind turbines which will create energyfor the building.

Comparing to the 60-storeyElphinstone Mills Tower right next besideJupiter tower, this 75-storey tower will likelybe significantly taller, owing to itsunconventional design and tall ’stalk’-likecentral core. If the rendering is anything togo by, this tower will likely be at least 300meters tall.

The Imperial, MumbaiDesigned by Mumbai based architectHafeez Contractor the Imperial is a pair ofresidential towers under construction inMumbai that are set to jointly be one ofthe tallest skyscrapers in India uponcompletion. This building(s) is about 240meters high

The towers each of 63 storeys arebuilt on earlier slum land where thecurrent re-development model of buildersproviding free land and rehabilitation toslum dwellers in exchange for rights forproperty development, was first put intopractice on a big scale. This modelbecame the standard for slumredevelopment across the city, and acrossIndia as a whole.

The towers are ultra-high endresidential towers that sold out even beforethe first brick was laid. The Imperial offerssea-views by virtue of its height, and aresort-like gardens and fountains on topof the parking-structure podium, withhanging gardens that mask the structureitself.

The facade is swathed in aluminiumcomposite panels with green and blueglazing. The building tapers as it movesup owing to the terraces at the higher

Jupiter & ElphinstoneMills Tower, MumbaiChicago-based Adrian Smith + GordonGill Architects has released the renderingfor both Jupiter & Elphinstone towers forthe redevelopment of Jupiter Mill.Developer IndiaBull is the owner of boththe towers.

According to the architects, “JupiterMills is a 75-story luxury residential towerin the heart of downtown Mumbai. Tomaximize views, the tower includes 50stories of residential condominiums fromfloors 25-75. The building was designedto a LEED Platinum standard.”

This tower will come literally rightbeside Indiabulls’s Elphinstone Mills (Thetower is one of the first projects to getunderway in a series of redevelopmentsof former textile mill lands in SouthMumbai).

While still in the final stages ofdesign, the Jupiter Mills Tower is thelatest project reflecting the new trend inMumbai for organic-looking towers, based

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levels. A conical triangular canopy coveringthe roof is crowned with a 50-m highspire. It is expected to be finished by2009.

Dynamix-Balwas Tower(DB Tower), MumbaiOne of India and the World’s greenesttowers has changed in name and design!Rotating-Blocky India tower is officiallyredesigned and rebadged as DB Tower,the flagship project of DB Realty.

The finalized design will be huge —at 75 stories of residential and untoldmore in lobbies, sky lobbies and utilityfloors, and boasting a height and crownthat will push this supertall to over 400meters! Like its India Tower precursor, itwill be of mixed (residential + hotel) use.Construction will soon commence withan aim for completion by 2011. Indeed

the DB Tower, like the erstwhile Indiatower, is still going to be LEED Platinumcertified, and is designed by the samearchitects, Fox and Fowle (FXFOWLE) andbeing developed by Neelkamal Realtors,a subsidiary of the low-profile DynamixBalwa Group.

Located on Maharshi Karve Road, the75-storey building, will cost Rs1,100-crore,and will be managed by Park Hyatt. Witha built-up space of 9 lakh sq ft, the tower,coming up on the plot where Ruby Garageonce stood, will offer a panoramic view ofthe Arabian Sea. DB Tower’s beautiful

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design and amazing location will make itone of Mumbai’s and mordern India’smost visible landmarks.

Shreepati Heights —Tardeo, MumbaiSlated to be one of the prestigiousprojects in pipeline, Shreepati Heightswill offer a Ground + 76 storeys Towerwith total built-up area of about 5,00,000sq.ft and 300 Sq. ft Car park. Commencedin December 2007, the completion date

of the skyscraper is expected to beDecember 2012.

The tower was designed by architectReza Kabul, who had also previouslydesigned Shreepati Arcade, for ShreepatiGroup, which, for a brief time, wasMumbai’s tallest building.

Shreepati heights seems to take itscue from traditional architecture, with theshape evoking the shikhara of Nagaratemple style, even to the point of havingan amalaka crowning the building. Thetower seems to have a remarkably smallfootprint for a building of this height, asMumbai’s other major skyscrapers requirea larger plot and more green area inorder to get the floor space approval. Thiscould be an indication of increased FSIallowances in the area.

Kochi Tower, KeralaOn the same line of designing high,Mumbai based Zoom Developers hasplanned to build a 100-storey officecomplex in Kochi, Kerala. At Rs 1 croreper acre, the 40-acre tract has beenpurchased by the Zoom Developers fromthe Kerala Industrial Infrastructuredevelopment (Kinfra) to build aninternational trade and convention centreat Kochi.

The 100-storey building developed asa part of the project will be around 1,640ft (500 metres) in height. As per themandate from the state government ofKerala the project should have conventionhalls and exhibition halls on an area of2.5 lakh sq ft.

The mandatory requirements need tobe completed by the end of this year. “Thework is on full swing and we are confidentof meeting the mandatory requirementsby December 2008,” says Rumneek Bawa,managing director Zoom Infraestates. Thetotal cost outlay of the project would beRs 1,000 crore, which the company plansto fund through a mix of internal accrualsand bank loans.

Zoom Developers has also roped inthe Singapore-based CPG consultants forthe architectural design of the project. Theproject will also include a five-star hotelcomprising 31 floors and a total of 400rooms. The unique 100-storey tower apartfrom offices would also have a shopping

mall spread over six floors. The otherstructures in the convention centre wouldinclude a trade centre, serviceapartments, restaurants, a post office, anda multilevel car parking.

The project will be completed in threephases. The first phase would involve thebuilding of convention and exhibition halls,which will be completed by the end of thisyear. The second phase would involve theconstruction of a five-star hotel andshopping mall, while the third wouldinvolve completion of the office tower.Poised to be one of the tallest towers inSouth Asia, the international trade andexhibition centre whose constructionbegan in early 2009, is expected to becomplete in 3 years.

Kolkata's TowerKolkata will get its tallest building at 250metres when a commercial propertycomes up on Chowringhee, next to TataCentre. The tower, to rise to a heightequivalent to 83 storeys, will be the city’sfirst run in the construction Olympics thatis dominated by Burj Dubai at 636m.

“We will actually construct 54 floors,but at 250m, it will easily be the tallestcommercial structure in the country, itsheight corresponding to an 83-storeytower,” says A.N. Shroff, the leader of theconsortium Diamond Group that isdeveloping the building.

To come up on the vacant land thatwas once the proposed site for a GrandHyatt, the 54-storey structure will towerover the Chowringhee skyline, housing 10levels of car parking at the base and ahelipad on top.

“The Chowringhee building will havemany firsts, like a 4.2m floor-to-ceiling

The capital city of India is alsonot away from the highrisetrend. A prestigiouscondominium-The Magnolias,part of many dlf properties, isunder construction in the hottestreal estate market Gurgaon,close to Delhi.

All the five blocks in thedevelopment will have 19towers which will form a high-end residential complexoverlooking the new GolfCourse and consists ofapartments, penthouses andduplex spread over 15 area ofland. This landmark propertyconsists of G+19 with total 300members of apartments. Thedevelopment is supposed to becompleted by the end of 2009.

Magnolias Tower,Gurgaon

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height, a grand entrance lobby 42ft high,a sky garden on the 29th level, restaurantson the 50th and 51st floors and threelevels of viewing galleries above that,”says Vinoo Chadha, principal architect forthe project.

A city-based Design Cell hasdesigned the tower, which tapers off atthe top, and will have a programmedillumination system to project variedfaçade views at different times during thenight, showing just a brilliant blue streakalong the spine at 2am. “All necessarystructural precautions are being taken,including the seismic load factor,” saidChaddha.

Structural expert Joseph P. Colacofrom Ottawa is doing the structural designalong with local structural engineerSanjeev Parekh. Construction, outsourcedfrom a Singapore firm, is expected totake 24 to 30 months from the date ofsanction.

With the land cost at Rs 432 crore,construction is estimated to cross Rs200 crore. “We want this building to bethe calling card of contemporary Calcutta,and will bring in services to match thegrandeur of the structure, like the rooftophelipad,” said Shroff. The tower will yield35-36 floors of office space, with a foodcourt and convention centre spanningthree levels.

Bangalore TowerLooking over the country’s tallest building,the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike(BBMP) is also planning to construct whatit claims to be the world’s tallest tower.The proposed 560-metre tower will beconstructed on the premises of FreedomPark.

Freedom Park is being developed onthe land where the old central prisonstood. The tower will house a microwavedisc platform, an air-conditionedrestaurant, a wedding hall and anobservatory.

The government expressed concernthat such a tower would attract tourists.And road connectivity, parking space andelectrification would be difficult to provideat that site. Prof Vishwanath suggestedthat the tower be built at Freedom Park.

BBMP sources said that globalconstruction majors like DAE WOO,Gammon India, NBCC India and Larsen &Toubro have already evinced interest intaking up the project on build, own, operateand transfer (BOOT) basis.

The tower will be a concrete shaft tillan altitude of 460 metres and the next100 m will be a steel mast. At 550m itwould house a four storey sky pods.

The floor diameter at 350m altitudewill be 30 metres. At this level a microwavedisc platform with a range (cell radius) of100km will be installed. A revolvingrestaurant at 360m altitude will seat 150guests.

At 355m altitude an observation gallerywith a radius of 30 metres will be built. Itwill have a capacity to hold 250 people. Awedding hall is proposed at 360m.Between 390 metres and 410 metres thetransmission equipment of police, postand overseas communication departmentwill be housed. Finally, at 460 metres, TVand FM radio transmitters will be installed.