Woods Bagot are one of the best urban planners out there.  They are known as ‘people’ architects – constantly evolving to meet the needs of the people they are designing for.   Zeitgeist was fortunate to work with them on a 200 acre township – a learning that added so much value, that Zeitgeist began to morph into this kind of thinking – system level thinking.  

Design Strategy was the requirement for this project – a holistic solution was what would set this project apart from the rest. Mango groves and coconut trees abundantly studded the site – and it become imperative to protect them.  We designed strategies to retain the natural landscape and incorporate it into the site’s design as a value addition for shade, natural vegetation and outdoor experience.

In conjunction, we brought in Sherwood Design Engineers – a brilliant team who pioneered rainwater harvesting in San Francisco – to create a water neutral site. One of our main concerns was to mitigate the looming water crisis in Bangalore.  Beautiful canals that stretched through the site were designed for consumer experience and also to feed recharge pits, if ever faced with a drought. This in turn would stabilise the soil for a cleaner overall environment.  

Homes were conceptualised in inward facing clusters to induce the sense of responsibility at a smaller scale, in turn ensuring the overall health of the larger community at stake.  We also incorporated solar power – to be piped underground from across the highway, from a piece of disjointed land that was part of the site.  Sound, light and air pollution studies were all imperative in understanding how the site’s program mix should be situated and delivered, given the fact that it was so close to the airport.  For example, we put the large commercial spaces that were designed to be lively, in pockets where sound was calculated to be the loudest.

Benchmarked to global areas of interest and standards, we developed a concept that had the power to change perception toward living in community driven systems.