High rises provide the most practical and efficient solution to the housing and office shortage in cities.

- KT Jithendran

CEO, Birla Estates

What is your outlook on high-rise buildings sector in the coming years?

High rises are the most dominating symbol of the cities and a human-made marvel that defies gravity by reaching to the clouds. It embodies unrelenting human aspirations to build even higher. With increasing urbanisation, metropolitan areas are facing a shortage of developable areas for housing and commercial activities. The internal migration puts the big cities under pressure of ever-increasing population. It is not feasible for cities to grow horizontally due to paucity of area and increasing commute times. High rises provide the most practical and efficient solution to the housing and office shortage in cities. Hence, there is always going to be increasing demand for high-rise buildings. They also provide the opportunity to control urban sprawl with their relatively small footprint. The area thus saved can be developed to provide amenities for the neighbourhood.

High-rise buildings are also landmark development, for e.g., Burj Khalifa in Dubai, Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, etc. Skyscrapers provide inhabitants with those end-of-day views to savour and wind down.

According to Census 2011, India's urban population was 37.7 crore, which is projected to grow to about 60 crore by 2030. This will necessitate construction of more efficient and sustainable skyscrapers to meet this impending housing demand. Mumbai, which is one the most densely populated cities in the world, would be leading the construction of high rises to serve its housing demand with all the other major metropolitan areas following suit.

From a developer's perspective, what are the major challenges faced in the construction of high-rise structures?

Construction of high-rise structures is particularly challenging. Some of the key challenges are:

Design: Skyscrapers are some of the most complicated structures built by man. All the building systems like the piping network, HVAC systems (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), fire sprinkler system, etc. need to be designed and constructed with utmost care. All the safety features, especially those addressing fire need to be built in.

Wind and earthquake forces may cause nausea effects in the residents due to lateral movement in case of large deflections and vibrations. Hence, the buildings must be designed for both earthquake safety and comfort conditions.

Since there is a large requirement of parking services in high-rise buildings, the provision of basements becomes almost essential. All the activities associated with the construction of basements such as retaining walls, diaphragm walls, and underground waterproofing pose a challenge for designers and engineers.

Safety: The construction of high-rise structures needs utmost safety precautions since the workers are working at great heights. Constant maintenance of good housekeeping is a must to reduce occurrence of accidents and improve the overall safety performance. Specialised training is a necessity and important part of accident prevention policy.

Cost and speed of construction: High-rise structures are designed as lightweight structures, making the selection of materials for structural and non-structural members a challenge during planning and execution. It becomes essential to make use of high-performance concrete (HPC), pre-stressed concrete, composite construction with steel, high-strength steel, lightweight masonry for walls and partitions, etc. which increases the cost dramatically.

The speed of construction in high-rise buildings is another challenge. Pumping of concrete, lifting materials and equipment, and working at higher levels in tall buildings are some of the major challenges which slowdown construction progress.

Approvals: There are significant additional approvals required with respect to Fire norms, Environment norms, High Rise Building rules, Aviation guidelines, etc.

Experienced team: Design and construction of high-rises requires a very experienced and professional team of architects, engineers and contractors.

How does technology play key role in high-rise building construction?

Technology has made construction sites safer and workers more efficient. It has allowed us to increase productivity, improve collaboration, and tackle more complex projects.

Fast track construction methods are vital in high-rise constructions. Use of modular systems, which are developed in factory environment, provides faster and quality installations. Modular MEP installations, use of wall panels and unitised façade are particularly suited for high-rises due to higher number of repetitions.

AI/ML and IOT are also playing a key role in the modern high-rise construction. Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) are also being used to monitor jobsite progress with real-time, actionable data to improve jobsite productivity. Autonomous drones and rovers are equipped with high-definition cameras and LiDAR to photograph and scan the construction site each day with pinpoint accuracy. Incorporation of sensors during structural works helps the engineers to monitor concrete strength and achieve faster slab cycles.

Mobile technology allows for real-time data collection and transmission between the jobsite and project managers in the back office. Cloud-based solutions enable on-site employees to submit timecards, expense reports, requests for information (RFIs), work records, and other verified documentation. This can save hundreds of hours per year in data entry and automatically organises critical files—no more shuffling through files looking for old reports.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is another new technological innovation that incorporates digital representations of buildings in 3D models to facilitate better collaboration among all stakeholders on a project. This can lead to better design and construction of buildings. Changes to the BIM model occur in real time, so any changes or updates to the model are instantly communicated to all team members when they access the model. Everyone is working with the most up-to-date information at all times. Because the schedule can be simulated, a visual representation of the construction process allows team members to plan out each phase of construction.

Heavy weight lifting of material by heavy duty cranes and other machineries, automatic climbing system formwork, and pouring of concrete with hydraulic placing booms are a few other technological advancements in high-rise construction industry. Innovations in manufacturing of energy efficient electrical fixtures, electronic equipment and pumps, controlled flow CP fittings are other sustainable options facilitating lesser operational cost.

What are the major innovations in construction materials used in high-rise towers?

Use of high strength and high performance concrete is one of the most important recent technological advancements, which is bringing about a remarkable change in the high-rise construction industry. Modern technological development allows concrete with compressive strength of 120-150 Mpa vs 40-80 Mpa earlier. This has helped to reduce the dimensions of vertical members in high-rise buildings, which in turn has led to more usable space.

Self-compacting concrete allows us to pour concrete with less manpower especially in congested reinforced sections.

Use of pre-engineered steel systems and high performance steel allows further optimisation and efficiency in multi-storey steel building design enabling large column free internal spaces. Steel being flexible, allows the building to move and deflect with the wind forces, rather than making it rigid like concrete.

Innovative facade technologies are creating intelligent, sustainable facades with energy efficiency and comfort.

How do you look at policy support from the government in the construction of skyscrapers?

High-rise buildings have the potential to decongest urban sprawl as they can deal with high-density issues and lack of available land for development. They are important for the evolution of cities. Their construction needs adequate support from the governments in terms of single-window building clearances. Since they are also far more sustainable compared to horizontal development, incentives in the form of comparatively lower approval costs should be levied on them. Tall buildings also save energy for a city because people do not need to travel too far for business. Moreover, there is less power loss in a city's power grid. Hence, these benefits should be passed on to the builders and residents of the high rises.

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