Tall Buildings-Inevitable in Urban Scenario

G H Basavaraj, Technology Consultant,

Demographic Projections Concerning India bring forth two important factors: First, India is all set to become the youngest country in the world by 2020, with youth population of about 46 crores. Second, 70% of total population will be in urban India by 2050. These factors suggest continuous and growing pressure on urban land mass & eventually result in designing effective tall buildings in urban habitat with absolute optimization. This combination of high rise buildings and increased urban population will have consequential impact on natural environment and Civil Engineers thus, as nation builders will have a greater role to play in safe guarding our present environment.

In view of this, engineers and architects have to be professionally, ethically committed not only to take part in nation building but also to play a role in evolving new technologies that shall help in saving natural resources, optimize energy consumption and minimize water wastage. Also think of reusing the construction and demolition waste that has now become one of the biggest concerns in the Indian Subcontinent.

At this point in time, let me draw your attention and bring the whole focus onto a new construction technology that transforms the entire architectural process into a structural engineering process by eliminating the beams altogether and providing an un-interrupted flat-ceiling structure. This would mean plethora of choices in respect of column spacing and placement, architectural freedom and tremendous enhancement in the performance characteristics of a structure integrally. The entire structure if imagined to be approached and designed with a dual core criteria, the inner core without beams when establishes effective connectivity mechanism with the outer core, behaves satisfactorily responding to all kinds of design loads including earth quake induced stresses.

This technology has been peer reviewed by the industry stalwarts and currently being implemented in quite a few buildings in some of the metros. Once accepted by the industry in its totality, this new technology will greatly reduce the impact of construction activity on environment. Reduction in construction materials including cement & steel, reduction in quantum of formwork system, reduction in sand, elimination of plastering, reduction in water for curing etc will be the byproducts we are looking for.

While evolving ourselves as developed nation, I urge young Engineers and architects to think out of the box, be creative, be innovative and be the agents of change in a transformed society.

G.H. Basavaraj

Technology Consultant

CHETANA Engineering Services Pvt.Ltd.

Consulting Structural Engineers