Infra development spurs use of innovative facades, glass

01 Oct 2019 CW Team

The focus on the development of infrastructure is creating scope for innovative facades and novel uses of glass. For instance, in designing a new railway station at Hubli, a first for having a large span, Architect Indrajit Kembhavi of Kembhavi Architects opted to give the building an airport-like appearance to be experiential for all classes of society. “Being public property, we also needed to consider, in particular, economy, as well as flexibility and sustainability. So we opted for toughened laminated glass, aluminium composite panels and galvanized aluminium sheets.”

Earlier this year, Rishikesh’s iconic Lakshman Jhula, built in 1940, was declared unfit. It was closed and, simultaneously, a plan to build India’s first glass bridge near the Lakshman Jhula was unveiled. The new bridge is expected to be in place by Kumbh 2021. It will be made using Chinese glass. Incidentally, China is fairly advanced in glass bridge construction and is home to the Heibei glass bridge, the world’s longest glass-bottomed bridge boasting 1,077, 4-cm-thick glass panels, and the world’s highest glass-bottomed bridge, the 430-m-long Zhangjiajie glass bridge, with 99 panes of three-layer transparent glass. Glass bridges open up a new application of this versatile, environment-friendly construction material.

“Glass has a huge role to play in the infra development of the country,” agrees Manish Sisodia, National Head - Glass Future, Saint-Gobain Glass India.

Infrastructure Urban

01 Aug 2026

AI Data Centre Leaders Map India’s Infrastructure Roadmap

Mumbai, 22 July 2026: As artificial intelligence reshapes global digital infrastructure, industry leaders gathered in Mumbai today at the AI-Powered Data Centre Conference 2026 to discuss how India can build the capacity, technology and ecosystem required to emerge as a global AI infrastructure hub. Organised by ASAPP Info Global Group and conceptualised by FIRST Construction Council, the conference revolved around the theme, “From Capacity Gap to AI Superpower: Building India's Digital Backbone for the Intelligence Economy.” Bringing together developers, technology providers, enterpr..

SCLR Extension Nears Completion Linking BKC With Signal-Free Route

The Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) extension towards Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) via the Mumbai University campus has entered its final stage, bringing motorists closer to a direct, signal-free connection between the Western Express Highway and the city’s commercial district. The elevated connector is being built as an arm from the SCLR alignment and will link the western suburbs with BKC without surface signals. The link is designed to reduce journey times for commuters travelling from the western suburbs to BKC and to improve access to eastern Mumbai. By carrying through traffic above s..

Raiganj MP Seeks Bengal Only Highway Link To Siliguri

Raiganj Member of Parliament Kartik Chandra Paul met Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi to press for a new stretch of national highway in North Dinajpur district. He urged approval for a Bengal-to-Bengal link that would connect National Highways 12 and 27 to allow vehicles bound for Siliguri to avoid the current route through Kishanganj in neighbouring Bihar. He also submitted a proposed alignment of the new road to the ministry for consideration. At present vehicles from Raiganj travel along NH-12 and join NH-27 at Purnia More in Dalkhola, a route that p..