This November, the mammoth Phoenix Market City, Mumbai's newest high-end shopping destination, opened its doors in Kurla, discovers Shriyal Sethumadhavan.The brief was succinct: to create a 'destination landmark' with the entire city as catchment. And today, standing proud with the city's biggest hypermarket spread across 78,000 sq ft, Phoenix Market City in Kurla has lived up to its brief, becoming a complete destination that meets the needs of a rapidly evolving city.Plan AWe wanted a commercial building that would encompass office space, hotel and a massive amount of retail, says Shreesh Misra, Centre Director, Phoenix Market City, Kurla. Work on the project began on 3 October, 2006; Benoy Architect was the principal architect involved. As the brief called for a project that would change the look and feel of the entire city, it needed to be architecturally top class with immense open space and greenery that is sorely lacking in much of Mumbai.In real estate, the first challenge comes at the very beginning of the project, when land has to be acquired. We brainstormed to decide on what exactly we wanted to create and concluded that it would be a hotel, office space and retail here, adds Misra. We did extensive research on the kind of returns we would get and the kind of product we would create. With the idea of not just creating a building but a top-class project, detailed inputs were sourced from the architectural team and internal stakeholders. Then, the final blueprint was frozen and work commenced on site.The prime challenge For this project, the company had procured a large land mass of 25 acre, a contoured ground on the low lying areas of Kurla and bracketed within the aviation zone. Hence, some drains had to be diverted to some other zones without disturbing the ecosystem; doing that was a major challenge. For a solution to the low-lying area, we contacted the administration  to help us with water clogging, Misra reveals. Also, being in the aviation zone, there was a need to abide by certain laws; for instance, there are height restrictions in airport areas. Hence, for the Phoenix Market City, these aspects had to be taken  into consideration.In terms of clearances, the project has been built on smooth roads. As an organisation, we are very savvy about the law of the land and, culturally, we agreed to go by the law. Fortunately, everything was communicated to us at the onset; we worked around the construction and architectural aspects and created this building asset.Perfect settingIn a nutshell, the Market City is a family entertainment centre with landscaping, 28 escalators and 22 elevators. The floors have been designed with various types of granite, Botticino marble and vitrified tiles. The facades have been created with semi-unitised glazing, aluminium composite panel (ACP), stone cladding and texture paint; special sheets have been used in the atrium. There is parking space for about 2,400-2,500 cars; the basement adds to this space to serve the retail and commercial sections.Putting together a project of this size and opulence with the array of top brands on display, Phoenix Market City has set a unique benchmark, a cut above other existing malls. We have open spaces clubb­ed with concierge services, says Misra. We will introduce state-of-the-art services adopted for the first time in the retail stage.Living green Bearing in mind the need to be socially responsible and adopt green initiatives, Phoenix Market City is designed to offer open space. Supporting nature is an exclusive pedestrian plaza with elaborate landscape plantation and water bodies, panoramic plantation at the boulevard, 15-20 ft tall palms in the atriums and lobbies, and a dedicated drip and sprinkler type of irrigation system for the plantation areas. Landscape architects for the project are Vikas and Nilima Bhosekar. Further we have an in-house waste management system, sewage treatment plant and rainwater harvesting system in place, adds Misra. The facade and the ceiling have been designed for natural light. And to conserve energy, solar-powered panels have been installed for lighting the boulevard in the evenings.  Safe and secure In today's world, security is of utmost concern. The need for security is even more acute in a retail space with an influx of over 1 lakh people, especially over the weekends. To ensure a safe and secure environment in the mall as well as its premises, Phoenix Market City employs the services of Hunter, Mumbai's leading security agency for malls. CCTVs have been fitted in the internal and external areas; these are operated 24/7 by two supervisors and three subordinates.Furthermore, fire alarm systems are linked to every outlet and the nearest fire station; a state-of-the-art sprinkler and hydrant system and all kinds of extinguishers and fire blankets have been placed in this set-up. For backup, an in-house team has been trained for emergency response (ERT) as well as first aid. There are walkie-talkie and communication systems between all communications heads and security. Moreover, special attention has been given to the formulation of evacuation procedures with assembly points all around the complex and huge plans displayed at various points.Planned in phasesWith an estimated budget of Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 crore for the entire project, the construction of Phoenix Market City has been divided into three phases. Phase-I - the retail and commercial space - was completed this year while the second and third phases are likely to be completed in another two years. These two phases will primarily cater to commercial space, with some part going to retail. We are looking at 2 million sq ft of retail space and an additional 2 million sq ft of commercial space, says Misra. As envisaged, Phoenix Market City will have four floors of retail. In the initial stage, it will house not less than 350 stores; in future it will incorporate 120 to 140 more stores.Fact sheet:Retail development area: 2.1 million plus sq ft Mixed-use development: Over 4 million sq ft Commercial office space: 1.5 million sq ft  Retail gross leasable area:  About 1.4 million sq ft Retail Atriums: 6Hypermarket: 78,000 sq ft Screen multiplex: 8 Inline stores: 300 plus Project detailsCompletion: 2011 (Phase-I)Offbeat developer: Phoenix Mills Group. Tel: 022-3001 6600. E-mail: info@marketcity.in Website: www.thephoenixmills.comConcept design architect: Benoy Architect. Tel: 022-3001 6600. Fax: 022-3001 6601. E-mail: mumbai@benoy.com Website: www.benoy.comProject architect: PG Patki Architects. Tel: 022-6140 8888. E-mail:mail@pgpatkiarchitects.com Website: www.pgpatkiarchitects.comStructural consultant: JW Consultants ((Formerly YS Sane Associates). Tel: 020-6644 9100. E-mail: info@jwconsultants.in Website: www.jwconsultants.inServices consultant: Sanelac Consultant Pvt Ltd. Tel: 011-2638 5310. E-mail: sanelac@airtelmail.in Website: www.sanelac.comLandscape consultants: Vikas & Nilima Bhosekar. Tel: 020-2545 0700. Website: www.vikasbhosekar.comWould you like to share details of any project with us? Write in at feedback@ASAPPmedia.com