Go green: Bengaluru architects are bringing nature inside apartments

BENGALURU: Bengaluru’s transformation from a garden city to India’s tech capital has not only changed its landscape, but has also caused concerns over the thinning green cover. A recent study by IISc professor TV Ramachandra says the city’s green cover has come down alarmingly from 68% in 1973 to 6% in 2017.

Interestingly, this has sparked a new housing trend — botanical spaces are coming up within four walls. Architects and developers are catering to the eco-conscious home buyers and bringing nature inside apartments and row houses in the Rs 1-3 crore category. Many home buyers are lapping it up.

Linston Manoj Gojer, 44, managing partner at an industrial solutions company, is moving from his independent bungalow of 10 years in Peenya to an upcoming rowhouse off new Bangalore International Airport Road. His Peenya bungalow, apparently, has no space for green cover. The new home comes with an in-built botanical courtyard, besides the living room and a miniature step-garden adjacent to the dining space. “Since most of our lives are spent between the four walls of our home, it is important for me and my kids to be as close to nature as possible. Access to greenery and sunlight in every room is a luxury,” says Gojer.

Experts say the building industry is a major cause for climate change. Going green is, thus, the need of the hour and a section of developers is taking note, especially in concrete-heavy IT hubs like Sarjapur and Whitefield, and North Bengaluru.

Akshay Dewani, CEO – Residential, at Assetz Property, says, “The old way of living in Bengaluru saw large-sized dwellings bedecked with central courtyards and backyards. We want to give a modern take with nature-inspired pockets inside new-age homes that give buyers a space to nestle in greenery.” He is integrating concepts like internal courtyards with greens growing from ground level to skylight and soil beds for plantation next to bath spaces inside homes.

Total Environment Building Systems, known for its residences with step gardens and creepers, is adding temple trees in bath spaces and tall trees engineered to grow through the walls and living rooms of apartments. While the selection of trees is not finalised, the plan is to source them locally. “Since Bengaluru’s weather is conducive to cultivation, it is easier to implement such green projects in the city than in cities like Hyderabad,” says managing director Kamal Sagar.

The design philosophy of developer SUN Vista changed once it got angel investor Uday Khemka, known for his contributions to climate protection, on board. It is creating soil beds in balconies besides implementing other energy-efficient solutions in its projects. Joint MD Raghuveer Veeramachaneni says, “Buildings, vehicles and energy are top three sectors disrupting the environment. We, as builders, feel guilty and are looking at ways to be pro-environment now.”

Anshul Chodha, principal architect at Sanctuary Architects and Designers, recently gave a TED talk on sustainable habitats. “By 2030, we will need to build 70% more than what we have already. Architects and developers must learn from countries like Holland, New Zealand, Australia and Japan and raise energy-efficient homes.”