First look at UNStudio’s eco garden city wellness concept for Karle, Bangalore
by Andrew Manns | 24 May 2019
Architecture practice UNStudio and its tech division, UNSense, have revealed an ambitious plan to turn Karle Town Centre (KTC) in Bangalore, India, into a tech campus and futuristic garden city, powered by Internet of Things (IoT) technology.
The Project is being undertaken for developer Karle Infra.
The 72-acre redevelopment, designed to create a work:live community based around health, culture and greenspace, will see KTC transformed with the addition of a range of leisure and lifestyle facilities, including a theatre, bike routes, sky gardens, public spaces and specialist retail.
Bangalore is the Silicon Valley of India and rapid growth is creating demand for high-end residential space for tech workers and their families.
Data-gathering sensors are being deployed across KTC to enable designers to better understand the optimal ways to positively shape residents' mental and social wellbeing.
UNStudio co-founder Ben van Berkel said: "We have so much data at our fingertips that can be used to analyse behaviour and inform design on an urban scale.
“We should use this to devise urban solutions that allow us to live in healthy environments that enable social interaction and for us to capitalise on our valuable free time."
In explaining the concept, landscape architect, Lodewijk Baljon, of Baljon Landscape Architects,, said: "KTC will be an innovative cultural phenomenon. Gardens are places of reconciliation between man and nature and the Garden City of the 21st Century will demonstrate new ways of bringing people into contact with nature."
Landscaping across KTC has been designed to cast shade and reduce the urban heat traps created by large buildings. Some areas of the city will be car-free and the development will face the water of Nagavara Lake, which will have a shaded waterfront promenade.
Aesthetically, KTC has been designed so all elements – from buildings to street furniture – are harmonious in style. UN Studio has given the built structures rounded silhouettes, humanscale elements and a bright white, highly durable paint finish called The Coolest White.
This proprietary paint system reflects solar radiation and reduces energy consumption to deliver carbon savings.
The Coolest White, was developed by UNSense in partnership with Netherlands-based manufacturer Monopol.
When complete, the development – currently on-site – will have 2.3m sq ft of apartments, 2m sq ft of retail space, 3.6m sq ft of offices and six acres of greenspace. It's 30 minutes from Bangalore airport.
The scheme is the second for the site. A previous scheme was proposed in 2012, but only a limited number of elements of it came to fruition, including Zenith Residences, a series of connected high-rise towers.
UNStudio UNSense Bangalore Karle Town Centre
Ben van Berkel said UNStudio's master plan differs significantly from 'traditional master plans'. / Courtesy of UNStudio
Karle Infra, the project's developer, will position data-gathering sensors throughout the city. / Courtesy of UNStudio
BALJON Landscape Architects is also attached to the project. / Courtesy of UNStudio
Lodewijk Baljon, principal at BALJON, called KTC 'an innovative cultural phenomenon. / Courtesy of UNStudio
Architecture practice UNStudio and its tech division, UNSense, have revealed an ambitious plan to turn Karle Town Centre (KTC) in Bangalore, India, into a tech campus and futuristic garden city, powered by Internet of Things (IoT) technology. The Project is being undertaken for developer Karle Infra. The 72-acre redevelopment, designed to create a work:live community based around health, culture and greenspace, will see KTC transformed with the addition of a
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