Kolkata will soon have a floating skyclub hanging between two buildings at a height of 500 metres, a project which is being seen as a movement towards new age architectural aesthetics.
The Mobius principle will be applied to create the skyclub. A Mobius strip is like an infinite loop (imagine the figure eight like a spatial twist) with a "non-orientable" surface. This principle is used by architects to create "infinite space" as opposed to box like conventional structures. The skyclub's form will seem to be changing constantly, appearing sometimes solid, translucent or cloud-like from different angles. This 55,000 square feet floating club will have features like theatre, swimming pool, outdoor games such as badminton, tennis, basketball, etc., party halls, boardroom and many others.
Forum Projects, the real estate company building the skyclub for its maiden residential project Atmosphere, is calling it Deya.
"The luxury trend is at a nascent stage in India especially in Kolkata. The trend so far has been of villas and skyscrapers in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore," said Rahul Saraf, managing director, Forum Projects.
"We plan to have 1,200-1,500 square feet of terrace gardens. To ensure that the floating stretch remains intact, we will apply the cantilever mechanism. This means that the bridge will be built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. Atmosphere will be completed by 2014," added Saraf.
Such luxury projects generally cost between Rs 550 cr and Rs 800 cr. "The area of the flats in our project will be between 6,000-8,000 square feet and the cost will be in the range of Rs 9-15 cr," said Saraf.
Other real estate developers believe that this is a positive step towards creating a separate category for luxury living, as super luxury apartments have a niche following. "People demand a complete range these days including swimming pool and garden. Such projects will boost luxury living. As far as architectural design is concerned, no technical difficulties can be expected because this is the era of advanced technology, which will help them build a unique structure," said Vishwa Sengupta, an architect with Ashiana Housing Limited, Mumbai.
"It is important for players to innovate and create new designs to lure buyers. But in the real estate sector duplication is very common, which might hamper the efforts of different companies and distract buyers," said Sneha Khullar an architect with Archi, a real estate company in Delhi.
17 July in The Sunday Guardian.
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