Kiss the skies: future looks large, grand & green

New Architectural Styles May Help Silicon City Sport Brand New Look


Bangalore: Bangalore’s skyline and architecture are changing in ways that could make this city unrecognisable in a few years. Highrises, massive residential and mixeduse projects with extensive open green spaces and exotic landscaping, and newer architectural styles are combining to give this Silicon city a brand new look. The trend towards high-rises is striking, particularly in residential projects. The website of Emporis, a global provider of building-related data, lists 47 completed high-rises (12 floors or more) in Bangalore. A good number of these were completed in the past few years. As many as 18 more high-rises are stated to be under construction. And these are unlikely to include some of the projects more recently announced. Burjor Kothawalla, associate in the architecture firm Venkataramanan Associates, says as space gets more valuable and the availability of land drops, there is a tendency to go high-rise. “This is an interesting trend for Bangalore which traditionally contented itself with low-rise structures, much like the city of London,” he says. If the new comprehensive development plan for Bangalore raises floor space indices (FSI), as is expected, that would provide a further boost to highrises and encourage developers to challenge the 106-metre high Public Utility Building, the city’s tallest building even today. Large, grand and green: The highrise phenomenon is being accompanied by horizontal expansion. Newer projects are typically large-scale projects on a minimum of 10-15 acres, some going up to 100 acres and more. In line with customer expectations of large open and green spaces, most new projects try to keep built-up area to a minimum. Some 75-80 per cent of land area is often devoted to landscaping. “People today want lung spaces, open spaces, where grandparents, parents and children can move around,” says I. Zachariah of the architecture firm Zachariah Consultants. Even in landscaping, there is now growing levels of creativity. Puravankara’s Riviera tries to provide a resort-like feel with a stream running through and plenty of water bodies. Its Fountainsquare attempts to provide an European ambience through layered gardens, a grand central fountain, water cascades and cobble stone paths. Akme’s Ballet is attempting to recreate the grandeur of Renaissance architecture. “Customers want unique offerings,” says Girish Puravankara, director in Puravankara Projects. Arunjot Singh Bhalla, associate director in RSP Architects Planners & Enggs, says even in commercial projects people are conscious about integration of the landscape into the campuses. “People believe trees and greenery make a difference to their psyche, improve their efficiency. This is particularly evident among R&D companies, and now, the more conscientious BPO companies also want to provide such facilities,” he says. So if you are worried about Bangalore losing its Garden City status, the new developments should provide some comfort. Newer materials and styles: There’s also comfort for those tiring of the glass and aluminium cladding look in commercial buildings, a trend started by ITPL. Corporate clients and architects too are beginning to tire of this look and are moving towards other materials. “There has been an indiscriminate use of glaze and alucobond,” says Kothawalla. “Many of these materials have been developed in the US and Europe, where the primary consideration is to keep the heat within the building. In our geographical context, where the primary consideration is to keep the heat out of the building, these materials must be used judiciously.” Bhalla, who agrees with this, adds: “Clients now say they are sick of glass. In most of our projects, we’re shifting partially from glass to materials like sandstone, granite. We’re also trying to bring in elements of traditional Indian architecture like sandstone screens.”

ON THE ANVIL
Trend towards high-rises: Website of a global provider of building related data lists 47 completed high-rises (12 floors or more) in Bangalore.
Not just tall: New projects are typically large-scale projects on a minimum of 10-15 acres, some going up to 100 acres and more.
Creativity unbound: Resort-like feel with stream running through; European ambience through layered gardens,a grand central fountain,water cascades and cobble stone paths; grandeur of Renaissance architecture.
Sick of glass: Most of the projects shift partially from glass to materials like sandstone, granite with elements of traditional Indian architecture like sandstone


Visit Emporis for further details and listed here are some of the High rise buildings touching the sky in bangalore.

Completed:

High-rise Buildings (completed)
1. Subhas Chandra Bose Tower (106 m, 25 Floors)
2.South City Tower B5 [South City] (76 m,22 Floors)
3.South City Tower B1 [South City] (75 m,22 Floors)
4.South City Tower B4 [South City] (73 m,20 Floors)
5.South City Tower C3 [South City] (71 m,21 Floors)
6.Barton Centre (50 m 15 Floors)
7.Vidhana Soudha (46 m4
8.Visvesvaraya Tower (21 Floors)
9.Brigade Towers (17 Floors)
10.Raheja Towers (17 Floors)
11.HMG Ambassador (16 Floors)
12.Magnolia [Brigade Millennium] (15 Floors)
13.Cassia [Brigade Millennium] (15 Floors)
14. Mantri Elite Tower C [Mantri Elite] (15 Floors)
15.Mantri Elegance Tower .. [Mantri Elegance] (15 Floors)
16. Mantri Elite Tower A [Mantri Elite] (15 Floors)
17. Mantri Elegance Tower .. [Mantri Elegance] (15 Floors)
18. Mayfair Block [Brigade Millennium] (15 Floors)
19.Mantri Elite Tower B [Mantri Elite] (15 Floors)
20.Mantri Elite Tower D [Mantri Elite] (15 Floors)
21.Mantri Elegance Tower .. [Mantri Elegance] (15 Floors)
22.Mantri Elegance Tower .. [Mantri Elegance] (15 Floors)
23.Fairmont Towers (15 Floors)
24.Mittal Tower (15 Floors)
25.Du Parc Trinity (15 Floors)
26.Brigade Residency Bloc.. [Komarla Brigade Reside..] (14 Floors)
27.Brigade Residency Bloc.. [Komarla Brigade Reside..] (14 Floors)
28.Manipal Hospital (14 Floors)
29.Prestige Meridien II(14 Floors)
30.Platinum City Block D [Platinum City] (14 Floors)
31.Binny Crescent (14 Floors)
32.Discoverer [International Tech Park..] (14 Floors)
33.Prestige Meridien I (14 Floors)
34.Platinum City Block G [Platinum City] (14 Floors)
35.Vijaya Bank (14 Floors)
36.Platinum City Block C [Platinum City] (14 Floors)
37.RMZ The Millenia (13 Floors)
38.Purva Heights Tower A [Purva Heights] (13 Floors)
39.Shankarnarayana Towers (13 Floors)
40.Explorer [International Tech Park..] (13 Floors)
41.Vayudoot Chambers (13 Floors)
42.Innovator [International Tech Park..] (13 Floors)
43.Regency Heights (13 Floors)
44.Purva Heights Tower B .. [Purva Heights] (13 Floors)
45.Prestige Towers (12 Floors)
46.Embassy Heights (12 Floors)
47.Manipal Centre (12 Floors)
48. High Point IV

About Emporis:
Emporis leads the world today as the most comprehensive information provider with a focus on high-rise buildings (12 floors and more), with the ambition to cover the whole building market in the years to come.
Emporis is already one of the world's most respected, widely utilized sources for research, ratings, and analysis on information concerning buildings. The firm publishes research results and commentary that reach millions of website users around the globe.
The integrity and deep market expertise have earned Emporis the trust of market participants worldwide. Our ratings and analysis track hundreds of domestic and international real estate markets covering approximately 100,000 high-rise buildings, 30,500 companies, 8,000 cities in 206 countries and areas.

Some High Rise Buildings (Construction Ongoing/Started/Announced)
1. Akme Harmony
2. Purva Riveria
3. Prestige Shantiniketan
4. Akme Ballet
5. Brigade Metropolis
6. HM WorldCity