Indian architects firm designs green building in Dubai

Chennai: The Mumbai-based architects group Sankalpan group has finished designing the BPO facility for an European MNC bank in the Dubai Outsource Zone, Dubai. The site work is expected to start next month.

What is interesting about the $2-lakh design order is that the facility has to be designed as a green building/environment friendly building, a new concept there.

Says Kshitij Limaye, director, Sankalpan Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, "As a group we understand thoroughly BPO building requirements-multiple access points, seating space and others. The challenge here is to design the interiors so that the building qualifies to Gold Leed (leadership in energy and environmental design) Certification."

To get that rating, the materials used for interiors and other fixtures should have highest recycled component, low in power and water consumption, eco-friendly paints,among others. "A lot of research was involved in selecting the materials that are eco friendly while planning the interiors."

For instance to save on water usage, the building will be fitted with waterless urinals. "In a 15-second flush system around 1.6 gallons of water is let out. On an average a person uses the office toilet thrice in a day and the total water usage comes to 4.8 gallons per person per day. In the case of BPO facilities where thousands of people work round the clock the water saving, if used efficiently, would be enormous."

According to Limaye, the company''s primary focus now is on completing the ''green building'' project successfully. "We will later look at other opportunities in the Middle East countries. Currently the company has put six people to work on the project, which will be increased to 20 later on."

In India the Rs60-crore Sankalpan group, which is mainly into design consultancy and turnkey projects is expanding its foot print as well as getting into new areas like hotels, real estate development and facility management businesses.

According to chairman Ninad Randive, the group is talking with an international hotel chain for building a star hotel in Mumbai. "We have acquired the required land. The hotel will be managed by our proposed joint venture partner." Similarly the group is in talks with a US based facility management company for a joint venture.

The group is in the process of expanding its southern presence. The shot in the arm is the latest $2-million interior fit-out turnkey project for Cognizant Technology Solutions that is setting up a 700-seat facility in a special economic zone (SEZ) near Chennai. "For us Chennai would be the hub for all our southern business operations and we would be concentrating on other cities as Coimbatore, Kochi, Trivandrum, Hyderabad and others where IT parks and retail infrastructure are fast growing," says Randive.

According to him the group is in talks with couple of overseas equity funds for money so that it can get into real estate development in a big way.