UNstudio has designed a new Karle Town Center (KTC) as the latest hub for the rapid technological growth, which is taking place in the Silicon Valley of India- Bangalore. The plan is to counteract the urban stagnation, which is prevailing in India and leading to its continuous decline over the last 20 years. Currently, the new campus, which has been designed in partnership with Karle infra and UNSense is in under construction.
The main intention of designing this campus is to connect the city’s main ring road and metro lines. It is located next to the established Manyata Tech Park, boasting outstanding scenic views over Nagavara Lake. With this location, the design aims not only to connect the sensorial technologies with the environment but also make a perfect balance between the two and support activities in the urban framework.
UNStudio has created the Urban Branding Manual for Karle town to avoid ‘urban stagnation’. The Branding Manual helps to facilitate the design intentions and requirements of the engineers, architects, clients and urban planners. Along with this, it also serves as a safeguard for the integrity of the design and longevity of the buildings. Divided into three crucial pillars- Garden, health and culture- the Branding Manual works to support each aspect of the design.
According to Ben Van Berkel of UNStudio, “Traditional masterplans focus on the general layout and urban planning. Our Urban Branding Manual, on the other hand, concentrates on experience and how to translate this experience into reality. With a network of specialists - sometimes more than a few hundred people - you need a clear vision and strategy to stay on course over the long duration of the project. The Urban Branding Manual helps the client to realise this ambitious undertaking.”
Most of the large-scale masterplans have to face obstruction due to their lengthy construction and development phasing. However, UNStudio turns each plot and building into its thriving urban microcosm in order to avoid such problems leading to project delays.
UNStudio created a welcoming place for living, working and entertainment. Also, they pay immense respect to deeply rooted Indian cultures, beliefs and traditions. Understanding the importance of capturing India’s broader personal identity, they included event square plazas, a grand central theatre, amphitheatre style staircases, and elevated retail stages to provide several small and large meeting points. Further, the campus has a multitude of paths through the site, which allows permeability for both pedestrians and vehicles. The masterplan enables feasible and easy connectivity to multiple destinations in a green and shaded environment with no or limited vehicular traffic.
UNStudio project also responds to the decline in green space across the city, intending to create Bangalore’s ‘Garden City Of The 21st Century’. Several oblong structures will define the city’s skyline. The exteriors of the building will be painted in UNStudio and Monopol Color’s unique and patented ‘Coolest White’ ultra-durable paint, which will provide a contemporary identity to the Karle Town Centre Masterplan. This also helps to combat the urban heat island effect.
UNStudio has designed a resilient and sustainable landscape plan in collaboration with BALJON Landscape Architects that is linked to the concept of creating a garden, which offers leisure and relaxation. Particular focus is given to the promotion of lakefront promenades, providing sufficient streetscape and avenue vegetation, and the integration of vegetative sky gardens throughout the architecture.
Lodewijk Baljon: “As gardens are places of reconciliation between man and nature, the Garden City of the 21st Century will demonstrate a new way of bringing a man in contact with nature. In bringing forward the qualities of nature in the city, KTC will be an innovative cultural phenomenon.”
The design by UNStudio increases passive design techniques, focussing on natural sunlight and prevailing wind direction. KTC has an innovative vegetative integration strategy that does not allow heat to rise through thermal buffering. It reduces unnecessary wind and filters Bangalore’s air from fine particulates that generally get suspended in the air from the soil. For the proper irrigation of onsite vegetation, large groundwater retention zones are used.
Client: Karle Infra Pvt Ltd
Location: Bangalore, India
Building surface: 10 - 13 million sft.= 930.000 - 1.200.000sqm
Building site: 62 acres
Contribution UNStudio: Masterplan and Urban Branding
Programme: Mixed-use
Status: under construction
Credits:
UNStudio: Ben van Berkel, Gerard Loozekoot with Harlen Miller, Maurizio Papa, Filippo Lodi, and Atira Ariffin, Bianca Dobru, Dana Behrman, Emma Whitehead, Jacques van Wijk, Jung Jae Suh, Maria Zafeiriadou, Pietro Scarpa, SibillaBonfanti, Yuntao Xu