Heights of learning

Artistic impression of proposed university campus

Azim Premji University in the city will be the tallest in the world with four towers of 49 storeys, two of 22 storeys, in an 80-acre campus which is a self-contained township

 

Bangalore already has an enviable reputation as a higher education hub, drawing thousands of students from across the country and even from abroad. That distinction is set to be capped – literally speaking – by a project to construct the tallest university in the world.
 

The three-year-old Azim Premji University (APU) has its sights set on building a campus that will house towers going up as high as 49 storeys. By comparison, the highest educational high-rise elsewhere is the 39-storey structure, called Cathedral of Learning, in Bangkok’s Assumption University (see box) .
 

Planned on a sprawling 80-acre 8area between Attibele and Sarjapura – a motorable distance from the city centre – the land procurement has been finalised and the team of architects gave a preliminary presentation on the project on Wednesday to the faculty members.
 

Four 49-storey towers and two  22-storey towers will be the crown jewels of the campus, which will be a veritable educational township with an administrative block, classrooms, hostels, flats for the staff, cafeterias, libraries, auditoriums, recreation spaces, amphitheatres, malls et al. The project will be implemented in stages over the next 8-10 years. In keeping with APU’s green mantra, the built-up area will be no more than 30 per cent of the campus, the remainder comprising green areas, open spaces, water bodies and pathways.
 

 ‘We don’t want to create yet another concrete jungle. Our choice of architect was one who would go with our line of thinking, who could merge education while designing the building. Our university is created with a definitive purpose, to create professionals both in the education and development sectors. The architects gave a preliminary project presentation to the staff to elicit their responses and suggestions. There is still some way to go in terms of finalising the plan based on inputs, getting approvals of relevant government authorities, etc,’’  Dileep Ranjekar, CEO, Azim Premji Foundation, told Bangalore Mirror  . The campus, with a built-up area of five million sq ft, has been designed keeping in mind the demands on the university from the increase in the number of courses and an estimated 3,500 staff and students by 2017-18. Two towers will be exclusively for staff housing – one-, two-and three-bedroom flats will be allotted based on the number of members in the faculty member’s family, not on his/her seniority.

 

APU has roped in architect Christopher Benninger, an American settled in India, who has made a name for himself with signature campuses in Pune and Ahmedabad. The construction will take place in phases – two million sq ft will be built initially at an estimated cost of Rs 400 crore. The campus, situated 29 km from MG Road, will also house a school for the children of the local community which, like other schools of the Azim Premji Foundation, is likely to teach the state syllabus.
 

“The primary purpose of Azim Premji Foundation schools is to demonstrate that within the government framework, it is possible to demonstrate good education. We will soon decide whether to have the state syllabus or introduce CBSE in the new school,’’ said Ranjekar.
 

In keeping with APU’s green mantra, no fuel-driven vehicles will be allowed in the campus. Motorised vehicles will have to be parked outside, and one will have to hop on to eco-friendly bicycles or buggies to commute within the campus.

 

Source: http://tinyurl.com/n3zd825