Design element atop Kolkata high-rises to add glam quotient to skyline



The city’s skyline is set to become more glamorous in the years ahead with builders adding crowns to their developments. A commercial building along EM Bypass is set to get a 20m crown, the tallest in the city. Another 30-storey mix-use building being developed in New Town’s Fintech Hub will sport a spire.To get more news about traders domain, you can visit wikifx.com official website.
A purely aesthetic element, the concrete and steel crown atop Ideal Unique Centre near Science City will resemble a real crown, with the base measuring 36.3m and the top 45.7m. “The crown will make the building an architectural landmark and add to the city’s skyline,” said Ideal group director Nakul Himatsingka. KMC’s buildings department has recently sanctioned the increase in the building’s elevation from 28th floor to the 31st floor.
The Vertical City in New Town, whose construction is set to begin later this year, will have a spiral crown on top with a viewing deck just below it. “The 100ft crown that will adorn the building will celebrate the verticality, reaching skyward,” said architect Dikshu Kukreja.
Several other buildings in the city also sport the design element, including various Mani group projects, like Tirumani in Ballygunge Phanri and Vivara next to JW Marriott on EM Bypass, as well as Ideal group project Ideal Heights in Sealdah that was also designed by Hafeez Contractor, the same architect who designed the elevation for Ideal Unique Centre.

Developers of The 42 on Chowringhee, the city’s tallest skyscraper, had also aspired for a crown, but aviation nod proved a hurdle.
Pushyamitra Londhe, associate architect of Hafeez Contractor, said the crown was a decor element designed to ensure that a tall building did not end abruptly. “A crown adds to the beauty of the building,” he said. The Imperial Towers building in Mumbai, also designed by Hafeez Contractor, sports a crown as well.
Mani Group managing director Sanjay Jhunjhunwala said the crown atop a building served to break the monotony of a monolithic concrete structure that stops the viewer’s eyes from wandering up into the sky. “When people look up at high-rises, a crown halts the movement upwards and then one looks down again at the building,” he said.
Architect Abin Chaudhuri felt the crown on a building also pampered the architect and the developer’s ego by pushing the height barrier up. “These are non-functional high-rise elements that can be a standout feature. In skyscrapers, spires are added to make them the tallest buildings. In others, a viewing deck is added from where people can get a panoramic view of the city,” he said.
To architect J P Agarwal, the crowns also lend character to the city skyline, like in New York. “The concept started over 90 years ago with the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building in Manhattan, New York. Now, it is popular all over the world,” he said.