Urbanization 2.0: Building into the skies

When the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party came into power last year, the issue of urbanization in India was back on the socio-political radar. After all, creation of smart cities was one of Modi government’s key pre-poll promises. Well-developed and secure urban spaces will not only attract foreign investments but also give citizens access to quality healthcare, good governance and robust public transport systems. It is for this reason that Modi’s ‘100 Smart Cities’ idea resonated with the masses. However, one of the biggest challenges that India’s urban development faces is availability of real estate. Lack of space has led to cheek-by-jowl constructions dominating India’s urban landscape.

No space to breathe

A United Nations report called ‘World Urbanization Prospects’ says that in the coming years, India, China and Nigeria will witness maximum urban growth and that by 2050, India is projected to add 404 million urban dwellers. This means more and more people will need homes to stay and offices to work.  Where will these homes and offices be? Where is the space to make newer towers? The answer lies in going the Burj Khalifa way. To counter the growing space crunch in cities, we need to expand vertically.  We need to create safe, secure and sustainable high-rises.  Besides altering the city’s architectural landscape and skyline, skyscrapers make economic use of space and minimize urban sprawl.  However, building these super-tall structures is easier said than done. From construction and maintenance to energy consumption, there are a number of challenges when it comes to tall towers.

Beware of ‘tall’ promises

In order to make real estate affordable and address the problem of congestion in cities, Floor Space Index (FSI), also called Floor Area Ratio (FAR), is being increased in many cities – a case in point being Mumbai. FSI refers to the ratio between the total built-up area and available plot area. The government determines the FSI for a particular locality.

Early this year, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s commissioner Sitaram Kunte had hinted at increasing the FSI limit for the city. If this happens, Mumbai will see a change in its FSI after nearly 25 years. The BMC has proposed to increase the FSI between 2 and 8 as against an ealier cap of 1.33. This will let builders bring down old structures and construct taller towers. Besides, it will also be a major step in realizing the Modi’s ‘Housing for All’ programme that aims at building 20 million homes across India by 2022.

While more FSI will mean more skyscrapers, not everyone is optimistic about this prospective move. Urban planners and housing experts are of the opinion that this move will only put further strain on Mumbai’s already crumbling infrastructure. If cities are to reap the benefits of more FSI, they must put an integrated urban infrastructure plan in place. Ample attention should also be paid to the neighbourhood plan of any new construction. This includes approach road, parking space, recreational area and the likes. The neighbourhood layout should be in consonance with the structure being constructed. Only then will vertical growth be accompanied by holistic development of cities.

The World One tower by real estate developer Lodha is a great example of vertical expansion. This extremely tall residential skyscraper is currently under construction in Mumbai’s Lower Parel area. All set to be ready by 2016, this will be the world’s tallest residential tower at 423 metres.

Sky is the limit

Construction of skyscrapers cannot happen in isolation. It needs to be in harmony with a city and its resources. While designing super tall towers, ample attention must be paid to water and waste management, energy usage and other related infrastructure.  Architects and urban planners must take care to ensure that such structures do not put a strain on urban resources. In fact, they should be sustainable structures that use energy efficiently. There should be emphasis on renewable energy, environment-friendly design and intelligent use of technology.

Tall towers are often termed as energy guzzlers, specially the ones that house offices. Lighting and HVAC usually consume tremendous amounts of electricity. An effective way of incurring less power bills is to judiciously use natural light, have sufficient ventilation and tap renewable energy effectively.

Escalators and elevators are the main forms of transportation within any building. As cities get taller and taller, these two assume a lot of importance, especially elevators. As buildings grow skyward, there is a growing demand for high-speed elevators. However, while choosing lifts, speed should not be the only criterion. It must be tested for energy efficiency as well. This is crucial because during peak hours, the energy consumed by elevators and escalators can be as high as 50 per cent of the energy used in buildings.  That’s why choosing an energy-efficient elevator can significantly bring down the costs of operating a building.

The last word

As more and more smart cities get created, the number of skyscrapers is only going to go up. While these towers will no doubt solve space-related problems, they will also necessitate deployment of intelligent technology systems -- technology that uses energy economically and is able to provide sustainable solutions.

Urban planners should ensure that vertical expansion does not happen in an unchecked manner. All stakeholders must be taken into confidence before creating any tall tower. As mentioned earlier, such towers cannot exist in isolation. Their day-to-day operations will directly impact the city they are located in. As a result, while designing any skyscraper, there should be a complete blueprint of how it will interact with the rest of the urban infrastructure. Only then can we have smart and sustainable skyscrapers and cities.