World Class

The addition of the World Trade Centre has further upped the glamour quotient of Brigade Gateway, a lifestyle enclave in the heart of Bengaluru.It's a name we're all familiar with. The World Trade Centre (WTC) is an international brand synonymous with locally-focused economic strength in world commerce, cutting-edge technology, international business and trade. And, the WTC at Brigade Gateway in Bengaluru is no exception.Brigade Gateway, spread across 40 acre in the city from Rajajinagar to Malleswaram, is a lifestyle enclave that houses every amenity imaginable, from luxury residences and a mall to a five-star hotel, hospital and even a school. Add the WTC to the package and you have a prized destination, 'the' place to live.Signature styleWork on the building was completed in October 2008, with the interiors completed by December 2010. The World Trade Centres' Association awarded the 1 million sq ft office tower at Brigade Gateway the status of a WTC building in August 2010. With a total built-up area of 1.1 million sq ft, the attached parking building covers 0.8 million sq ft.The WTC was designed by the official architect of Brigade Gateway and internationally renowned firm HOK, USA. The brief was for the structure to be iconic and stand tall, and with a vibrant aesthetic become the focal point of the Brigade Gateway Campus – the result is spot on!Profile pictureThe building has a curved profile on the North and South sides with pointed edges in the East and West to accentuate the height of the building, which has two basements and a ground and 30 upper floors. The ground floor has a triple height lobby in the front, and the floor-to-floor height for typical floors is 4.2 m. A unique element of the design is that the central core housing all the services enables a large, column-free floor plate.Apart from this, the multilevel car parking building has two basements and a ground and six upper floors to accommodate 2,000 cars and 3,000 two-wheelers. Also, a utility building of 0.1 million sq ft houses services like DG sets, transformers, chillers and cooling towers.For high fliersA highlight of WTC Bangalore is the circular helipad on the top. Made of RCC, with a 20 m diameter final approach and takeoff area and 3.5 m wide safety area, the helipad has automatic foam extinguishers, a rainwater pipe with oil separators before connecting to the rainwater line, an air traffic control room, radio sets, a wind sock and a safety mesh. It has been designed for operation of a six/seven-seater, twin-engine helicopter with an overall length of 13.04 m and maximum all-up weight of 3,200 kg. Other twin-engine helicopters in performance class 1 can also use the helipad.Apart from this, the west portion of WTC's fourth floor is connected with the East side of the Sheraton Bangalore Hotel via a 45 m sky bridge, connecting the office with the restaurant through access control and door frame metal detectors. The 4 m wide and 3 m high bridge is made of steel and has a single support at the centre. Glass clads the sides of the deck floor finished with granite, and the roof is a sandwich panel with PUF insulation. Ventilation has been provided with sufficient rainwater down-takes.Material magicItalian marble and polished silver pearl granite clad the flooring of the lobby, while the 10 m columns have been clad in stainless steel at 3 m from the floor; the remaining 7 m has been clad with special acoustic material. The ceiling is finished with LEED-certified wood, while the building façade is a fully unitised system of structural glazing with high-performance, low-e glass.Safe and secureSecurity control measures at WTC include door frame and handheld metal detectors; baggage scanners; cameras at entry, main and lift lobbies and inside lifts; access control at lift lobby; entry through turnstiles; access cards for entry to all critical service areas; guard tour system for complete building control; and vapour detectors to check the boot space of vehicles for suspicious elements.Meeting all specsFurther, the project has been certified with A ++ specifications for the following:• Fully integrated building management system• HVAC with 24-hour cooling in server rooms, temperature in office areas at 22° to 23°, fresh air supply at 60 cu m per hour per 10 sq m of rental space• High-quality elevators with speed up to 4 m/sec• Two independent sources of power supply with automatic changeover to diesel generators• UPS for emergency system for lights in common areas, fire escape staircase, elevators, etc • Security control system.Project details:Developer: Brigade Enterprises Ltd. Tel: 080-4137 9200. E-mail: enquiry@brigadegroup.com Cost: Rs 350 crore Completion: May 31, 2012Civil contractor: BE Billimoria & Co Ltd. Tel: 022-6654 5000. E-mail: beb@bebanco.comArchitects: HOK, USA. Tel: 022-2570 8956. E-mail: india@hok.com, Venkatramanan Associates. Tel: 080-4030 3050.Website: www.vagroup.comLandscape architect: Terrafirma. Tel: 080-2221 5412. E-mail: terrabio@bgl.vsnl.net.inStructural consultant: Chetana Consultants. Tel: 080-2559 7667.IT and security consultant: Venba Tech Pvt Ltd. Tel: 044-2847 0898.Electrical and plumbing consultant: Potential Semac Service Consultants. Tel: 080-4074 9074.External cladding consultant and contractor: SP Fabricators. Tel: 022-6513 4163. Website: www.spfab.net Elevators and escalators: Schindler (passenger elevators). Tel: 022-6703 1000. Website: www.schindler.com Thyssenkrup (service elevators). Tel: 020-6612 4001. Website: www.thyssenkruppindia.comHVAC contractor: VKHVAC. Tel: 080-4242 4646. Website: www.vkhvac.com Electrical and fire-detection systems: Micron Electricals. Tel: 080-3990 8600. E-mail:corporate@micronelectricals.com UTCFS. Website: www.utcfireandsecuri ty.comAir-conditioners: Daikin. Tel: 0124-455 5444. Website: www.daikinindia.comPlumbing consultant: Potential Semac Consultants. Tel: 080-4074 9074.Glazing: Sezal Glass.: Tel: 022-2863 3383. E-mail: info@sezalglass.comCement: ACC Cement. Tel: 022-3302 4321. Website: www.acclimited.comCoromandel Cement: Tel: 044-2852 1526. UltraTech Cement: Tel: 022-6691 7800.To share details of any project with us, write in at feedback@ASAPPmedia.com