Festival City is luxurious commercial project, it will be India’s largest open air high steel project in 25 lacs sq. ft. with over 1500 retail shops, offering huge prospectus to tap huge market. The project offers at very competitive and affordable price. This project is adjacent to several excellent academic institutions alongside and also provides a modern-day parking facility with multiple automation entry point for simple entry and exit for convenience.
Layout
It is strategically located at main exit on Noida expressway. It has three different courts: Entrance Court (Green & Beautified); Festival Court (International concept – Giant Carousel and Iconic Clock Tower) and Fountain Court (India’s large musical concept just like Bellagio in Las Vegas and Burj Khalifa).
The project Festival City Noida is adjacent to several excellent academic institutions alongside 1200 acres JP Wish Town city with over twenty-five thousand people residing in near projects. Also provides, a modern-day parking facility with multiple automotive entry points for simple entry and exit for convenience, about to keep over 7000 cars.
Earlier the Tower was conceived as a non-glazed building with individual balconies. But now the facade system has been changed to fully glazed building without balconies. There is a double height landscaped forest floor as a segregation between the retail floors and IT Office. At 18th floor, the offices have been recessed to achieve an architectural depression and along with this a vertical recessed facade is planned to gain the balanced composition. Iconic Sky club has been planned on the roof top of the Tower.
As an Architect Urban Designer, my ongoing journey through this project has been a wonderful experience. Many factors have contributed towards the exclusivity of this under – construction IT Complex, spanning across 25 Acre site, on Noida Expressway. First and the foremost being the first of it’s kind high rise ‘ Pre-Engineered Building’. The idea behind the adoption of Steel Building Structure, was primarily to make the 150m high rise structure, lighter in weight so as to avoid excessive expenditure on the piling; and over that gaining the advantage of escalation in the pace of erection, as compared to the conventional RCC Structure. The high yield structural steel, which has been produced for the very first time for this Tower, has given us the flexibility to explore spans within the range of 10.5m, which would not have been possible with RCC structure. The Credit for such a futuristic decision on the adoption of PEB structural system goes entirely to Mr. Satinder Singh Bhasin (Bhasin Group), whose vision will be an inspiration for the times to come.
Kulpreet Singh Khokhar, Director, Studio AMK Architects
Accreditation
This full steel building has got many first to its credit:
- It is first steel high rise Skyscraper in Noida area and National Capital Region of the Country.
- It is the first 30 floors storey high rise in steel structure, actual number of storey being 32.
- It created a sensation in real estate market of national capital region, by targeting for the first time and announcing a completion time of less than one year essentially because of adopting composite construction philosophy for the basic skeleton framing and slabs.
- For the first time in India speed floor construction for composite slab has been adopted. Its unique feature of fast removal temporary joists was a big contributor to the owner’s efforts to achieve very tight construction scheme.
- Special structural bracing system to provide resistance to seismic action. Delhi begin seismically active zone. Special care had to be taken in designing the bracing configuration and member types and sizes.
Experts Involved
The building provides a very effective blending of the technical skill and innovation and track records of similar composite structure of the design team of the project structural consultant, in this case being Constructure Designs Pvt. Ltd.
The consultant with the willingness of the owner and the architect to take bold decisions with the capability and strength of Jindal Steel, they were invited to work on this project to look after construction aspects specially from the angle of economy and cutting short construction time. Jindal Steel supported the project by bringing in speed floor concept with proper demonstration and presentation and acceptance for the same for all parties concerned.
The main focus of the structural system concept of the building was speedy construction, while keeping the cost quite competitive, Compared to R.C.C, the composite construction of column and beams with high grade steel and concrete was favored. The adoption of steel construction was proved right the main frames with floor slabs being completed in a very short time. Bracing system was provided in vertical plane on outer frames of the building to limit lateral
deflection in earthquake and wind.
HARIOM GERA, Director, Constructure Designs Pvt. Ltd.
Facing Challenges
Steel structure building with composite construction is a new concept in this country and constructing 30 plus storeys for the first time in national capital region by itself, posed a big challenge both for designer and the contractor. The combined efforts and proper co-ordination of the structural consultant, the contractor and the architect backed with technical support of the project team of owner created a positive environment which helped to handle confidentially the challenge.
Structural Steel Sections
Mostly grid size of 10.5m x 7.5m and 7.5m x 7.5m were used, some variation being provided locally near stair, lift well etc were used. Although, as in normal practice, main beams were envisaged to be fabricated plate girders, the steel section manufactures could propose nearest ready made rolled sections. This also resulted in a substantial saving of fabrication time.
Bracings used were primarily hot finished structural hollow sections. High grade steel Y350 were used in all cases. Total quantity of structural steel utilized for the project was 4500T, which include rolled I-section joists, box sections and rolled channel sections.
Composite Construction Details
A very slender slab section of 90mm thickness was placed integrally above the floor beams. Such a low thickness was possible with the introduction of speed floor system whose inherent feature required a system of closely spaced temporary beams average spacing of beams being approximately 1000mm welded wire mesh were provided as reinforcement in the concrete. Concrete grade used for the slab was M-30.
Speed Floor System
Speed floor system used was design snipped by Jindal Steel and Power Ltd in collaboration with Speed Floor Holidays Ltd, New-Zealand. Speed Floor system essentially a hybrid Stal fee beam known as speed floor joist in one direction and an integrated continuous one-way slab in other direction. The joists of different depth are manufactured in roll former where it is roll formed, punched and slotted in a fully computerized machine.
Unique feature of the computer system are the lock bars which support the temporary plywood for work between the joists during construction. They are spaced approximately 300mm apart the top sections of joists are imbedded in concrete and has following four features:
- It serves as compression element of non-composite joist during construction.
- It provides chair for the weld mesh of reinforcement.
- It locked in and support the slab shuttering system (lock bars and plywood forms).
- It will give a continuous shear connector for the composite system after the concrete has matured.
- The bottom section of the joist acts as a tension member both during the construction phase and when the joist is acting compositely with slab.
After concrete has set the lock bar will be released and plywood framework will be removed.
The whole system has worked very effectively for the festival city project which led to substantial saving in construction time and saving in weight of concrete which further helps in reducing dead load on the structural system.
Composite Columns
Composite columns with steel sections encased in concrete were used throughout the building covering all the floors. Concrete grade M-80 was utilized for all the columns. At upper floors concrete grade was reduced to M-40. Apart from strength the concrete provides the required fire proofing which is an added advantage of casting concrete. The concrete casing basically provides increase in stiffness of column which assist in controlling lateral displacement which is critical criteria for structures in seismically active region like Delhi.
Fireproofing
Steel columns are fully encased and therefore additional fireproofing was not envisaged but considered necessary for steel beams, no fireproofing is required whatever false acting is provided. However, for exposed steel beams.