Lifestyle

Climate-change sweeps real estate buyers out of cities

by IBNS 05 Jan 2016, 06:19 am

Kolkata, Jan 5 (IBNS): With the climatologists' persistent warnings of climate change that is and will be affecting the entire world; investing in real estate becomes a nail-biting risk game.

It is also not really a good thing that the adaption measures for climate change are extremely expensive which enhances the input on construction and maintenance of a property. The engineering and a building's compilation will ask for making big adjustments from the scratch. 

"Earlier it used to be just the matter of purchasing a property, it is not the same now. With big towers being built for residential purposes, as a customer I would be interested in its rigidity and strength. If you ask, climate change statistics are scary and one should keep that in mind before investing in a real estate property," said Basudev Banerjee, a gadgeted officer settled in Kolkata.

With every year there is a rise in the temperature of the Indian cities because of global warming. The climatologists have declared Kolkata, New Delhi and Mumbai 'risky' place to live in in terms of climate. To adapt to the heat, the air-conditioning system will need to be evolved but that will lead to major consumption of energy and fuel.

Apart from the rise in temperature, the rising sea level is also a potential threat to real estate properties. Kolkata is a city which is in close proximity with water bodies of immense strength, which worsens the scenario even more.

It becomes really important that the real estate developers provide a sturdy and convincing option to the customers for them to invest in real estate when the climate tock is ticking away.

An engineer by profession, Debabrata Sen from Kolkata said, "Well, Kolkata is extremely polluted and is extremely vulnerable to global warming. Kolkata is also a very very old city. For the city to adapt climate change measures immediately is not an easy task. It will take a lot of time to make this evolution visible. For the time being' I'd like to look for properties in the suburban areas, they are relatively cooler than the city."
 
A paradigm shift in the mentality of an Indian residential property buyer gets highly reflected in the rising numbers of high-rise luxury residential towers in the suburban areas, aligned with all the big cities in India.

The reasons for such a shift can be narrowed down to some basic criteria. Firstly, the cities in India are overcrowded and over-occupied without any open spaces and people searching for new residential property look out for a life away from the 'hums and drums' of the big cities.

And then with the rising average income of the Indian population and a humongous number of it already settled in the cities, the demands of building more sky-high superstructures are also rising to provide housing to the new buyers. The cities have almost reached the saturation level of housing such a big population.

Kolkata, eastern India's 'City of Joy' is also surrounded by the vertical growth in its suburbs which includes various areas of North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Nadia. The real estate developers here are focusing on providing top-notch facilities and qualityliving to the residential property buyers in the suburbs.

Not too far from the city, these locales are thoroughly transforming the lifestyle of its residents. 

Choosing a residence away from the highly-polluted cities seems like a better option to those who are concerned about physical well-being. Besides, the suburbs are gradually evolving to accommodate all the elements of a big city that makes it liveable.

Kolkata's leading real estate developers Primarc in association with Riya has launched its first five star project at Mankundu town in West Bengal near Kolkata, with this housing project using latest Aluminium Formwork Systems to allow smooth edges without beams or pillars in the apartments.

The residential project 'Aura' is offering its residents a five star life, but more than that it is emphasizing on the quality of the construction as the real estate firm used Aluminium Formwork System, which is durable and cost effective.  

Primarc's Aura offers the residents with impressive features including its skytrail, superior building materials, more floor space, premium club and a paradise pool.

All these facilities promise Aura to be a luxurious destination for the residents of the East Indian state who are planning to live a comfortable five-star life away from the hustle and bustle of Kolkata. Sprawling across 4.62 acres with 70% open space, Aura brings together the best of nature and innovative architecture. 

Aura brings together the best of nature and innovative architecture. Now the interiors are more appealing with the added advantage of more usable floor area.

Another residential project of Primarc ‘Gangetica’ at Chandannagar has been awarded with a 'Silver' rating in the Green Building segment by Indian Green Building Council.

Previously, Primarc's 'Astitva' residential project has been awarded with a pre-certified ‘Gold’ rating in the 'Green Building' segment in CREDAI awards 2015. Also, it's 'Southwinds' residential project has been certified earlier by IGBC as a Silver-rated green home.

Primarc's 'Southwinds' residential project in Kolkata has also been awarded with a pre-certified 'Silver' rating for its construction by IGBC. 

Southwinds' construction offers pile foundation for durability and stability and earthquake resistant RCC superstructure.

So the residents are bound to get a healthy environment in home as well as, an added benefit of low recurring cost for power uses or maintenance.

The apartments will have energy conserving electrical appliances which means there will be lower energy consumed and it will save on the electricity bill. This optimizes energy efficiency.

Southwinds provides a healthier living space by providing windows which are designed to help penetrate more natural daylight inside flats. Hence, proper ventilation and a healthier environment for living can also be achieved.

The entire area at Southwinds consists of 25% landscape and 65% open space. 50% of the landscape will have plants which have draught surviving capabilities.

The buildings are earthquake resistant. They have in-built Sewage Treatment Plant and water efficient plumbing systems to minimise wastage of water. 

Southwinds has also introduced 'Rain water harvesting' to recycle water . SRI (Solar Reflective Index) paint/ tiles are used to keep the heat away from the flats with its reflective coating/roofing.

It has introduced CFC (Chloro Fluro Carbons) free AC sytems in community halls and club house.

Primarc Group has made it's priority to deal with the environment and climatic factors in it's constructions and delivery.