Design Dissertation

1. BUSINESS HUB: A FUTURISTIC APPROACH

2. MULTIMEDIA PARK & INSTITUTE

SUBMITTED BY SREEJITH KINI

 Business Park – A futuristic approach

Introduction

Business is an important part of a region’s economic growth. This in turn, brings upon many
developments in infrastructure, healthcare, transport etc, around the region. Mixed use
developments is a good option for flourishing commercial markets, but risks other aspects such
as safety, work environment and proximity.

A business park in an area of land which groups many office buildings together and does not cater
to residential or industrial buildings. These business and commercial hubs are developed in
suburban locations, where development is cheaper because of lower land costs and lower
building costs for building wider. (Business park - Wikipedia, n.d.)

Business parks which are on the outskirts of town, offer the main benefits of any town or city
without the noise and pollution. Rather than employees and visitors having to battle the crowds
as they head to and from the office location, business parks tend to offer excellent transport links
and parking facilities without the usual hassle. It not only focuses on work spaces but the work
environment where they are working, with the incorporation of pedestrian areas and cafes,
gardens etc. They also focus on green building and sustainable initiatives.

Justification of topic

With a growing population of 1.2 million residents, Vasai–Virar is the fifth largest city in
Maharashtra (Census of India, 2011). The Vasai–Virar belt is rapidly developing in all spheres
related to real estate – be it residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, entertainment and
amusement. With the population explosion in the city of Mumbai, people started looking at this
region for stationing themselves and travelling every day to Mumbai for work and education. As
of present, this belt has developed itself in residential sector, catering to huge labour forces,
increasing the load on all public transport towards the island city.

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1: Commuter traffic data from Western Railway

There is a speculation that, if the region is successful in decongesting the main city and providing
employment in the region itself, this suburb can become and independent city (MagicBricks,
2013). A futuristic commercial hub is the best growth option in this region as a business district.
Rajeev Patil, the Mayor of VVMC (2012), was quoted saying that the Mumbai-Ahmedabad
highway, the Western Railway and the Konkan Line passes through Virar. One can also travel by
sea if needed to reach certain places. One can reach Gujarat GIDC [Gujarat Industrial Development
Corporation] from within an hour and thirty minutes. Also, the new international airport in Navi
Mumbai can be reached within an hour and a half from Virar. (Rajeev Patil, 2012). With all these
features, a business hub is a give and take establishment for the region, because the business park
would be fed by the labour forces and in turn this park would help the growth of the city.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) draft plan 2016-2036 has allotted almost 1 Lakh
hectare of green zone for commercial activities. It has also identified Vasai-Virar as potential
growth centres for commercial and industrial development. The multi-modal corridor between
Virar and Alibaug will be the major factor for the development of these regions. These corridor
will halve the trael time between the two. The entire corridor is expected to function by end of
2022. This facilitate connectivity to other growth centres as well as to the Nhava Sheva Airport.
(Venkatraman, 2018)

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 Benefits to the society

The maximum labour population

which operates the island city,
comes from the extended
suburbs of the city, fighting
congestion, time and money.
These three factors would be
relieved as a commercial park
would facilitate employment
opportunities in the
neighbourhood region.
Transport would flourish, as the
population shift would be more
towards these hubs. Facilitate in
establishing a new image of the
growing city and may help to
move towards the claim of an
independent city.

2: Potential growth centres according to MMR draft plan 2036

Aim

To design a business hub with commercial buildings, gardens and supported amenities according
to latest technologies and changing trends.

Objective

 Plan and design workplaces with respect to work culture and technology at present and
in the coming future.
 Easing the working population load on the island city and improving the transport and
other public amenities in the region by concentrating the employment in extendend-
suburbs.

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Scope

A business park, consisting of commercial and IT buildings, would attract the market leaders to
invest in this office spaces and create an image of their own. The spaces would be safe, with the
addition of work-n-play environment and latest technologies.

They would also provide top-class facilities and infrastructure with sustainable approach.
Integration of amenities such as restaurants, shops, outdoor relaxation areas etc. This hub would
cater the current philosophy and ideology of a commercial office space.

Limitations

 It does not take into account the masterplan of a business city with complete facilities.

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 Multimedia Park & Institute

Introduction

The animation and Visual Effects (VFX) industry continues to steadily gain acceptance with Indian
talent trying to be at par with international skills. The animation industry in India registered a
growth of 8%, with revenues amounting to INR 15 billion. Also, the animation intellectual
property (IP) recorded a growth of 8.7%. The VFX industry is fast emerging as an integrative part
of film making, and the cutting edge work carried out by Indian studios has resulted in global
recognition. The post production segment saw a robust growth of 13 per cent in 2016, and
continues to perform and reap the benefits of an established ecosystem around the segment.

International projects continue to account for a lion’s share of the VFX industry revenues at over
70 per cent. However, with growing acceptance of VFX as an important tool for domestic
productions evidenced by films like the ‘Baahubali’ franchise, ‘Fan’, ‘M.S. Dhoni etc, the
contribution of Indian films towards VFX revenues is expected to outpace international revenues
in the next five years. (KPMG India - FCCI, 2017)

However, some challenges continue to plague the animation and VFX industry. Animation in India
continues to be perceived as a kids’ category unlike the US, where adults constitute a major
audience for animated content, lack of subsidies from both Central and the state governments,
studio setups etc. Till date, Red chillies VFX has the largest share in VFX industry in India. Others
still lack in basic necessities in post-production and also lack of skill set. A place where all the
requirements of VFX are full-filled is the need of the growing industry. The development of VFX
also demand motion capture studios, their equipments and also discovering new algorithms for
rendering process. The study, research and practice of such a subject requires an overall creative
environment which would be fulfilled by the institute. There is a need of establishing a structured
and more collaborative training approach between the academia and industry players. (RK
Chand, 2017)

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Justification of topic

The Vasai–Virar belt is rapidly developing in all spheres related to real estate – be it residential,
commercial, retail, hospitality, entertainment and amusement. The main city is falling short of
land for wide variety of uses, be it studios and built sets. With Maharashtra passing the permission
of grants for National Centre of Excellence for Animation, VFX, Gaming and Comics, Vasai-Virar
becomes a potential location in terms of connectivity to India’s largest film destination-Mumbai.
With this belt progressing in education sector with varied courses, this institute would be a
feather on the cap.

Aim

To design a multimedia park consisting of all the studios and workstations for a full-fledged VFX
production with an institute for VFX education.

Objectives

 Designing a hub for all the VFX production necessities, ranging from concept
development to final renders.
 Educate students according to the industry standards.
 Attract global studios to establish their offices in this park.

Scope

Creating workplaces fit for VFX professionals with the integration of concept stage areas,
production stage studios and post-production stage workstations and render-farms. These
studios would collaborate with the institute for imparting knowledge.

Limitations

 This topic does not deal with the technological requirements of the project.
 The institute does not facilitate hostel or accommodation areas.