Riding high: four tall building projects in India and Sri Lanka

Rapid growth, boundless ambition and a strong desire to develop and innovate. Buro Happold’s work in India is expanding rapidly, with projects that include the world’s tallest residential tower and the largest commercial development in Buro Happold’s history.

In southern India, several high-profile project wins have resulted in the expansion of our footprint in the region, with the opening of a new office in Hyderabad, an ideal location to serve commercial and hi-tech clients across southern India.

Our design office in Mumbai also supports a growing client base. From here we provide structural and MEP design services, specialising in high-rise and sustainable design solutions. Current projects for this office include Lodha Place for Lodha Group and Waters Edge in Bangalore for Equinox Realty. Here is a look at four projects our Buro Happold teams are working on in the region. 

1. Life Hub+, Kokapet, India

Set to deliver 41.2 million ft² of “Grade A” commercial IT office space across 14 towers, Life Hub+ is a largescale masterplan and mixed-use project in Kokapet, by the Hyderabad developer My Home Group. The impressive development is part of the wider Kokapet SEZ development, which aims to deliver a new city with a workspace comparable to nearby Hyderabad.

Buro Happold, working with Korea-based architect Space Group, is providing building services engineering for the project, as well as health, wellbeing and productivity consultancy and site-wide infrastructure engineering services, including traffic, parking and pedestrian area design.

Designed to benefit both the business owner and the occupants, the development will include a district-wide cooling distribution system, a 48-hour power backup and indoor air quality monitoring to help improve occupant wellbeing. The project is also aiming for LEED and WELL certification. 

2. 67 RCR (RCR Mahalaxmi), Mumbai, India

The two striking mixeduse commercial towers designed by architects OMA will stand at 175m and 275m, and provide 2.7 million ft² of commercial space, mainly consisting of grade A office spaces and retail spaces in Mumbai.

The location and desire for column-free floorplates presented several challenges for our structural engineers. The first key challenge was developing an efficient lateral load-resisting structural system (LLRS) for the taller of the towers, which will be the tallest commercial development in India with an eccentric core. The second is developing a shallow, gravity load-resisting floor system (GLRFS). This will result in an impressive 18m span of column-free space — 4.2m floor-to-floor and 3m in clear height.

The development’s sustainable features include energy-efficient HVAC systems, 100% wastewater utilisation, rainwater harvesting and solar PV. The project is aiming for LEED certification as well as providing community spaces and gateways.

3. World One Tower, Mumbai, India

Designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in New York, with interior design by Giorgio Armani, this Mumbai residential skyscraper will have 117 storeys and will eventually stand at 452m high. Once completed, World One in Mumbai will be the world’s tallest purely residential structure. The complex will feature swimming pools, gyms, a health club and even a cricket pitch complete with pavilion, for residents to enjoy.

4. Krrish Square, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Situated in Sri Lanka’s central business district of Colombo, the Krrish Square development is made up of two impressive towers standing at 280m and 250m that will house a five-star hotel, luxury apartments, and a new podium complete with food and retail outlets.

With two of the towers at Krrish Square set to be the tallest in Sri Lanka, the project aims to represent the city’s economic and cultural progress. Contributing to a wider drive to modernise the Colombo cityscape, Krrish Square will provide exceptional facilities to a dynamic community.