Page 12 - September 2015 Digital Construction Opportunities

COVER STORY Global offERInGS Ergo when Abhishek Lodha, Managing PaRIS Director, Lodha Group, is led to say, “Tall World’s TallesT Wood building buildings are the way to go,” he is only stating Just as the Eiffel tower shattered global concepts a century and a the obvious. half ago, this project when accomplished could push the envelope In the island city strapped for space – it has a for wood innovation with France at the forefront. A combination of population density of about 20,482 persons Michael Green Architecture (MGA) and DVVD has joined hands with per square-kilometre, a living space of 4.5 REI France developments to propose the idea of constructing the square metres per person, slums covering over 60 per cent of the world’s tallest wood building. The 35 storied tower called ‘Baobab’ total land surface– high rise construction seems to be the only which is a carbon-neutral proposal, developed as part of the city’s solution. innovative Réinventer Paris competition, intends to alleviate the Indeed vertical is the new horizon. city’s urban housing challenges and projects a heightened focus on Te idea of tall as being smart has also found resonance in the community. The building will reportedly contain a mix of market and decision of the American billionaire businessman Donald Trump social housing, a student hotel, urban agriculture, a bus station, e-car to set up a Trump Tower in Mumbai in collaboration with the hub, and other amenities, fostering the city’s vision for a connected, Lodha Group, India’s most active luxury real estate developers. vibrant metropolis and defining the next era of city architecture. Tese apartments will also include German Poggenpohl kitchens, fve-fxture master bathrooms, indoor Jacuzzis, built-in TVs, elite seven-level security, and high-end interior design. Te skyscraper which will tower 75 storeys above India’s commercial capital is not only expected to redefne the city’s skyline but add to the aspiration levels of India’s crème de la crème, which now seeks the proverbial house in the clouds . Says Sunil Mantri, Chairman & Managing Director, Mantri Realty, “We are already there as far as Mumbai is concerned but very soon the Indian skyline will start looking like New York, Hong Kong or Chicago. High rise developments are welcome but there must be a parallel efort to make regulations easy for such constructions. CHanGSHa Installation of ground infrastructure is also a key requirement for such buildings.” 57-sTorey prefabricaTed skyscraper Broad Sustainable Building (BSB), a Chinese firm has reportedly NEW URGENCY constructed their latest prefabricated skyscraper in the city of Suddenly the powers that have displayed an alacrity not shown Changsha J57, a 57-floor, 80,000-square-meter skyscraper has before which could further change the skyline of Urbs Prima been fully built with energy-efficient, factory-produced, Lego-like in Indis dramatically. In what is a very clear bid to expedite blocks. The company’s architect Xian Min Zhang has claimed that stalled development the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BSB is now building its prefabricated skyscrapers at a record three (BMC) has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Urban floors per day and keeps increasing both the construction speed Development prescribing simplifcation of procedures involved and the size of these buildings at an impressive rate, pointing in the construction of high-rise buildings. Te civic body hopes to out that the J57 represents a smaller prototype for a 220-story achieve ease of doing business by redefning the height minimums building, the J220 or Sky City which the company plans to build. of high-rises from 70 meters or around 23 stories to 120 meters The J57 building has 19 atriums of 10 meters’ height each, 800 or about 40 stories. apartments, and office space for 4,000 people. It is reported the Currently, any structure that exceeds 70 meters requires the use of modular construction technique reduced the use of concrete special approval of the high-rise committee (HRC) which is by 15,000 trucks, thus eliminating all dust normally released during responsible for confrming the structural stability of proposed conventional construction. The air inside the building is 99.9 percent towers. Te BMC’s move will now ensure buildings below 120 pure, thanks to the tight construction and built-in air conditioning meters don’t fall under the purview of the committee, thereby system. expediting the procedure to construct such buildings. What is also true that apart from opportunities to build tall the recent move has opened up a huge space for quality construction which borrows from best practices seen abroad. Te civic move came days afer the state authorities attempted to lif restrictions on the foor-space index (FSI) for construction in the city. Te proposals, if implemented, are seen as contributing to a vertical growth spurt for the city over the next few years. However there is also a section of planners and environmentalists, 12 construction opportunities|sEPTEMBER 2015