Geared Towards the Upwardly Mobile Denizens of Thane, Tata Serein Set to Provide not Just Apartments but an Urban Sanctuary to its Residents

MUMBAI, April 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Sensitivity to human needs is the basis of the Tata Serein housing complex, a project by Tata Housing Development Company and designed by Edifice Consultants Pvt. Ltd. Located in the city of Thane - popular for its lake-dotted landscape and close proximity to the bustling metropolis of Mumbai - the site of the project sits adjacent to Pokhran Road No. 2. The site is flanked on the northern and eastern sides by residential developments, and overlooks the Yeoor hills to the west. Situated close to the Upvan Lake, the neighbourhood has emerged as a sought-after residential precinct in recent times, especially given the upkeep of infrastructure in the area and excellent connectivity with the city.

The complex consists of 600 residential units - with a mix of 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom homes - accompanied by amenities such as sports facilities, children's play area, wellness centre, community hall, swimming pool, open air theatre, distributed equitably among the dwellers. The built form of the towers possess a distinct aesthetic appeal, sure to gain landmark status within the town. The result is a design for a high-quality agglomeration of 600 homes encased within four towers in a 5-acre parcel of land, capable of housing 3,000 people.

The design of the towers is characterized by atypical dwellings stacked within the building envelope to create multiple-height terraces arranged in a staggered geometric manner along a central vertical axis. Some of these terraces are private decks to the dwelling units, while some act as common social spaces as well as necessary fire escape routes and refuge areas within the tower. This staggered pattern creates a distinctive jagged incision in the tower façade, creating visual linkages between the site and the housing units as well as between the housing units within a tower, manifesting the notion of a vertical neighbourhood.

With a common podium between the four towers, the living spaces have been hoisted above the site level, enforcing the idea of the isolated block typology. The podium has been devoted entirely to parking and service areas, freeing up the open-to-sky upper level for community activities. Vehicular access has been relegated to the very periphery of the site with a vast central green court - essentially, an urban park - at the heart of the upper level. This urban park connects all the towers at the base and forms the fulcrum of the neighbourhood; an exclusively pedestrian zone. With the towers arranged around the urban park, this central green space effectively becomes the courtyard of the housing complex.

Vertical gardens have been created on the walls of the staggered balconies in each of the towers, creating a porous and 'living' façade that serves as a visual extension to the urban park; the swimming pool, situated towards the Southern edge of the site, also opens into this urban park.

The towers feature clear glass facades to maximise daylight penetration to all habitable spaces, and prioritizes natural ventilation for each dwelling unit. The interior spaces are also highly flexible, to allow for customization by the individual. The complex provides a luxurious yet sustainable lifestyle to the occupants, by creating climate-responsive homes. In an urban culture where the concept of habitat identity is becoming obsolete - with rows upon rows of identical towers with little floor-to-floor variation in built form dominating the skyline - the distinctive voids within the built envelope of Tata Serein allow residents to locate their homes even from a distance. The project is set to be completed by 2020, and is sure to become a hit with homeowners and investors alike.

Please find images here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zaulk2ip41ftm1f/AAC-xxgGZ5b2QFi4zShjm-Hma?dl=0

About Edifice Consultants Pvt. Ltd.: 

Edifice Consultants Pvt. Ltd. is one of India's premiere design consultancies. Founded in 1989 by Ravi Sarangan and Sanjay Srinivasan, Edifice has as many design philosophies as it has designers - sensitivity to culture, context and the environment is the paramount value that ties them together.

Today, 28 years and more than 1,200 projects later, Edifice Consultants is one of the largest and most impactful design practices in the country. While the firm handles projects of diverse sizes - from interior design to architecture to urban design, across diverse typologies - it has striven to keep its idealism untarnished through them all.

With over a 150-million sq. ft. of built and ongoing projects, Edifice is truly thriving towards designing the future of architecture in India.

Media Contact:
Shivangi Agrawal
[email protected]
+91-9560793260
Communications Manager
Edifice Consultants Pvt. Ltd.