Tall & Urban News

Located in Kolkata, Biowonder attempts to counter the tendencies towards the segregation of land-use and programs in the current Indian urban realm. Being the first biophilic corporate park of East India, this mixed-used development offers multifarious opportunities for work, housing, recreation, entertainment, and public facilities. This super adjacency of diverse programs aims to bring about the emergence of an informal community space. Upon completion, the two 20-story, LEED-certified buildings will boast a range of amenities including food courts, a gymnasium, a facility shop, a pharmacy, a 120-room hotel, convention space, a business center, and banquet facilities.

The approach aims to be sensitive to the environment in order to help sustain the surrounding biodiversity. The design of this building facilitates connected values such as energy efficiency, the proliferation of green elements and increased performance and productivity at the workplace. 

Environmental positive features have been adopted as design interventions to reduce the load on the services. Architectural “offsets” within the building are provided as a measure to considerably increase the amount of green space . These offsets also create shadow zones, cutting off the scorching afternoon heat, while facilitating rainwater harvesting and renewable energy production.

For more on this story, go to World Architecture News and Architect Magazine.