HIGH-RISES: MODERN MARVELS

From aesthetics to engineering to sustainability, these towering structures blend innovation with lifestyle choices. We delve into what makes them stand out.

- By Molly R

As high-rises evolve into vertical townships, developers are tasked with creating differentiated experiences without inflating construction costs.

Balancing architectural aesthetics, liveability, and functionality is a fine art. One of the major challenges lies in ensuring that cost-effective innovation, materials, and design must appeal visually but remain sustainable in the long term.

ON CHALLENGES

Vinayak Bhosale, COO, Rustomjee Group: High-rise gated communities present a unique selling proposition. The main challenge lies in the scale and complexity of execution. Typically, larger layouts are developed in phases which means that while a part of the community may be ready for possession, construction activity continues elsewhere on the same site. This requires meticulous planning to ensure resident convenience and safety during subsequent phases. Structurally, the primary challenge is the nature of the soil. High-rise buildings demand a robust foundation—ideally rock strata or hard soil. If the site doesn't naturally offer this, the foundation design becomes heavier and complex, escalating costs and time. Liveability is addressed right at the master planning stage. We ensure optimal building orientation, window placement, and floor layouts to promote cross-ventilation and natural light.

Rakesh Reddy, director, Aparna Constructions: We integrate superior lifestyle features, robust property management services, sustainable technology, and thoughtful design to create USP for residents. Regulatory bottlenecks around fire safety, parking norms, and environmental clearances can delay projects. Structurally, integrating MEP systems within tight cores is a complex operation. We tackle these challenges with unified coordination between design, engineering, and compliance teams towards the common goal of on-time delivery.