Bangalore Paradox

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Architecture & Dveloppement - Bangalore, city of paradox. http://www.archidev.org/article.php3?id_article=1035

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INDIAENERGY EFFICIENCY AND HIGH ENVIRONMENTALQUALITY BUILDINGS IN INDIA.

Bangalore, city of paradox.Retro sp ec t i v e o n th e man y h e r i t ag e o f ain d ian mo d e rn c i t y.

par D o u c ha n P a l a c i o s le 16 April 2007

Indias Silicon Valley.

That is definitely the first thing you will hear about it.Bangalore, with a population of 6, 5 million inhabitants is thecapital of the state of Karnataka. It has been able to takeadvantage of opening of Indians economic frontiers during9Os and won the race leading to the global market as apioneer city in the aeronautic, biochemical, computing as wellas services industries: those famous call centres (1).Nowadays this city attracts more and more qualified youth,often willing to change to new professions in order to avail of the highest salaries in India as a result of investment frommultinational companies. Since last ten years Bangalore isfacing a socio-economical crisis: population explosion,increase in buying power and inflation. Highly proud of beingpart of the Indian influence on the world, Bangalore likes toshow off as a modern and westernized city simultaneouslyrespectful towards Indian traditional values. Let us consider the auto rickshaw as a constant element throughout thecountry. By comparison with rest of the country we can try tounderstand the lifestyle we are to point out: here in Bangalore,the rickshaw driver speaks fluent English, drives with anearphone linked to his mobile and smokes cigarette rather than bidie (2).

A Garrison town.

Under the British rule Bangalore became capital of the stateand many industries were established in the city. Since itscentral situation on the Deccan plateau makes it a strategicplace for southern Indias administration, Bangalore wasconverted into a garrison city with huge cantonmentsaccommodating soldiers and officers, exercise spaces andarms industry besides. All these new areas created around thewalled city deeply influenced orientations and imposedconstraints in the future development of the city. Today theselands, still belonging to army, are lying in the guise of forgotten fenced enclaves, across which only trees arepouring. So that one finds downtown the city, betweenbusiness district and commercial malls, a huge empty spacededicated to military parade (see map). They act asimpenetrable pockets surrounded by the road network whichdaily takes great efforts to avoid them and ensure continuity aturban scale. Nevertheless, these pockets constitute fantasticreal estate and landscape opportunities in Bangalore as theystill preserve densely wooded spaces, real lungs of the city.

Garden city.

Thus it is precisely the strong qualities of its landscape andclimate which have attracted the colonial administration aswell as the contemporary leading edge investors to Bangalore.Located at a height of 1000 meters, the Deccan plateau hasalways avoided the hot summer temperatures and constitutesa perfect site of settlement, in a luxuriant natural environment(3). From the beginning of the 18th century the British officershave been interested in one of the unique characteristics of the region: a network of thousand and one lakes,constellation of semi artificial water bodies communicatingwith each others through a drain and dam system. Thesereservoirs were used to harvest rainwater, irrigate cultivationand recharge underground water in self sufficient andsustainable management of natural resources. The rapid growof the city has brought about the disappearance of plenty of trees and half of the lakes in Bangalore, all within a span of ten years.

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city is now heading for? The excessive use of air conditioning,the destruction of natural resources, anarchic urbanization andextreme pollution turn the legendary pleasant weather of thecity towards a warmer climate. Public authorities seem to haveresigned from their tasks: irregular waste collection, water shortage, electricity cuts and transport infrastructures indeplorable state. All these lead inhabitants and businesses todevelop individual solutions to sustain to their own needs. Inthis situation how could one imagine a positive return of investments on the city and public services? Rampant racetoward modernity put Bangalore in an ambiguous andparadoxical situation: it seems to have mortgaged its multipleheritages for this dream of techno city, which it seems unableto realize. At present, Bangalore is definitely trapped into anin-between situation offering neither the vivacity of thetraditional city nor the efficiency of a modern one. Life goeson, of course and at all costs, but if Bangalore pretends to bethe spearhead of the Shining India one wonders how muchwill India have to pay to achieve its feat of strength at theglobal scale.

(1) Bangalore, Silicon Valley lindienne Michel Raffoul,Le Monde Diplomatique, janvier 1997

(2) The vehicle itself is less often decorated than it could besomewhere else, its decoration disappearing as respect for thewoman grows, it seems.

(3) "Deccan Traverses : The making of Bangalores terrain.Anuradha Mathur and Dilip Da Cunha, 2006, Rupa&Coeditions.

Illustration table: [1] Bangalore Call centre [2] BangaloreCantonments maps (1924). [3] Typical road along an armyland. [4] Bangalore, view from the Mysore Bank roof.foreground: Karnataka High Court park. [6] View of a drain inKoramangala area. [5] Map of lake and drain network beforehuman settlement. [7] Synthesis map on contemporarysituation. [8] Mysore Bank by Charles Corra : a buildingwhich makes sense in Bangalore. Timelessness expressionof its volumes, thin towers in ventilation-shaft-shaped: thoseconcrete pipes facing the horizon are more than gazing awayfor us, they breathe for us!

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Case Study III: TZED homes in Bangalore by BCIL(7 December 2007) A project developed by BCIL as a residentialproject consisting of environmentally sustainable and aesthetic homesfor 95 families. It is an integrated approach with several innovativesystems to minimize environmental impact. A benchmark in SBEdevelopment in India.

Lessons in Sustainable Hydrology from an Old IndianEmpire(21 November 2007) Interview with Mr.S.Mohan Rao of IntegratedDesign, Bangalore by Ms. Kimberly D. Mok of Auroville

Case Study II: The Torrent Research Centre in

Ahmedabad, by Abhikram.(5 November 2007) The Torrent Research Centre (Gujarat, India) byAbhikram is a complex of research laboratories located on theoutskirts of Ahmedabad using passive downdraft evaporative cooling.

Case Study: TCI headquarters by AB Lall architect.(23 July 2007) Description of the TCI headquarters in Gurgaon (India)by AB Lall architect. Analysis of energy efficient measures.

Project presentation(19 March 2007) Partnership between A&D and IND for thepromotion of sustainable built environement in India.

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