case study of lavasa

1. Lavasa, India's first planned hill city
C.A. -2 . Landscape Typology: City Plans.
Ar. Soumitra smart. S. Y. M. Arch. J.N.E.C.

2. Introduction
• Lavasa, India's first planned hill city is being developed by Lavasa
Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of HCC the leading engineering,
construction and infrastructure development company.
• The overall Lavasa development includes three self-sustaining towns:
Dasve, Gadle and Dhamanohol. The 1,700-acre Dasve Valley is the
Phase One development currently nearing completion.
• Lavasa is planned for a permanent population of around 3 lakh
residents and a tourist inflow that is envisaged at 20 lakh per annum.
It is the first Indian city being developed using Geographical
Information System (GIS).
• Lavasa when completely built will have 5 towns - Dasve, Mugaon,
Dhamanohol, Sakhari-Wadavali and the Central Business District
(CBD). The target completion date is 2021.

3. Salient points
• Planned for a permanent population of around 3 Lakh (0.3 million)
with tourists estimated at over 20 Lakh (2 million) per annum
• New Urbanism design principles combined with an aspirational
lifestyle.
• Architectural Design sensitively integrated with natural environment
• Area to be Greenfield through landscaping, hydroseeding, mass
plantations,etc.
• Infrastructure support & service standards across 5 towns for
residents and visitors, well enabled by GIS mapping and e-
governance.
• Over 25,000 lakeside apartments and villas with over 50,000
employment opportunities should be available at Lavasa city.
• Apart from it's diversity in work possibilities, Lavasa also present well
designed housing options for permanent residents.

4. Geography
• This region of India subjects to seasonal flooding from monsoons.
• The Western Ghats, a mountain range that hems the site on one side,
cause storm clouds to empty after their long journey across the
plains.
• Valleys fill up with as much as nine meters of water for three months,
but the site remains arid the rest of the year—a condition worsened
by modern agricultural techniques.
• The site’s original ecosystem was a moist deciduous forest that in
recent times had become an arid landscape.
• In its original state, trees would have maintained soil quality, stored
water through the dry season, and provided a canopy to control
evaporation.

6. Lavasa, India's first planned hill city
• 70% Amount of previously deforested land that will be restored
through detailed landscaping, reforestation and slope greening.
• 30% Reduction in carbon emissions.
• 65% Reduction in potable water consumption.
• 95% Reduction of waste sent to landfill.

7. • Located in the western region of India in the
picturesque landscape of the Sahayadri
Mountains, it is set amidst 7 hills and 60 km.
of lakefront. A three hour drive from Mumbai
and an hour’s drive from Pune, the city is one
fifth of the size of Mumbai.

8. Design Philosophy
• It is stylistically based on the Italian town Portofino, with a street and
several buildings bearing the name of that town.
• The architects wanted it to be an imitation of an Italian hill-side town.
• The plan is based on the principles of New Urbanism which
conveniences its residents by placing all essential components of daily
life within walking distance of each other & in a more organized
manner.
• All residential and commercial buildings are situated in the town
centre, which facilitates the ‘walk to work’ culture, hence minimum
stress on transportation.
• Besides this, architectural considerations such as land character,
building frontage and other design guidelines have also been taken
into consideration while making the Master Plan.

9. DESIGN
• It is broadly based on a town planning principle known as the
“transect model”, where the development follows a natural pattern of
high density core surrounded by successive layers of descending
densities and transcending character from urban to rural.
• The densely packed smaller villas are positioned at the base of the
hills while larger villas are located further away from the town centre,
as one goes up the slope.
• The master plan draws inspiration from traditional patterns of Indian
town planning as well as vernacular forms of building. It emulates
principles that are culturally based and that have proven sustainable
for centuries.
• Overall goal and vision of the Master Plan is to create a world–class
hill city that will promote new economy in a remote and backward
area of the state, offering high quality facilities and environment for
living. This would be achieved by harnessing the natural assets of the
place and without adversely impacting the environment.

10. DESIGN
• Master plan for Lavasa developed by internationally renowned design
consultant HOK, USA is based on the vision “People living in harmony
with nature”.
• The design is said to offer the best-in-class infrastructure,
international educational institutions, leading non-polluting
industries, exciting avenues of leisure & tourism and homes for
comfortable living.
• This as-yet-incomplete city has been controversial for multiple
reasons including procurement of land, harm to the environment, and
loans acquired through political corruption.
• Although the land is disputed by some, the master plan for Lavasa has
already won 3 Global Awards.
• Some other famous concepts of hill cities, but all developed during
the British Raj, are Shimla, Kullu and Ooty.

12. Sustainability
• On the environmental front, conscious efforts have been made to
ensure that Lavasa maintains nature's ability to replenish and renew
its resources.
• The principle for sustainable growth at Lavasa adopts a two-pronged
strategy; protecting the existing natural habitat as it is and further
enhancing the habitat through hydro-seeding, geomatting, mass
plantations and beautification of ravines.
• Lavasa has tied up with the Biomimcry Guild (USA) and is also working
with IGBC (Indian Green Building Council) for developing benchmarks
for new cities.
• With tie-ups already in place with Sir Nick Faldo for a golf course and
academy, Manchester City Football Club for a Football Academy, Sir
Steve Redgrave for a Rowing Academy and Hockey Australia for a
Hockey Academy, Lavasa is also poised to emerge as an international
sporting destination.

13. Borrowing from nature
• The architects are designing a building foundation system to store
water, as the trees once did.
• For the future city’s rooftops, architects are borrowing from the
unusual morphology of the native banyan fig leaf: its so-called “drip-
tip,” a pointed spear at the leaf’s end that doubles water run-off and
cleans its own surface in the process.
• Using the leaf as a model, HOK is developing a tiled shingle system
that will shed water in the same way.
• During the rainy season, however, there is the problem of where to
send overflows; for this, HOK looked to local harvester ants, which
divert water away from their nests with multipath, low-grade
channels.
• The site’s master plan will adopt this insect strategy to channel water
through the city.

14. Five villages

16. DASWE -Daswe is the first town being
developed at Lavasa. It is focused on
hospitality with major developments
including ITC Fortune, Novotel, Hilton
etc. and boasts of the largest
international convention centre
managed by Accor. The lake edge
development predominantly features
residential and retail developments

20. Lavasa - Landscaping

21. Lavasa - Landscaping

22. Lavasa - Landscaping

23. Lavasa - Landscaping

24. Lavasa - Landscaping

25. Lavasa - Landscaping

26. Development across Plotted Land, Apartments, Retail, Hotels,
Event and Convention Centre, Education, Information Technology,
Biotech Parks and Recreation Facilities, spread in 5 towns.

27. Lavasa - Landscaping

28. Economy
• An aspirational yet affordable pricing for multiple socio-economic
classes
oSeveral design options for residents in each product category
oRental housing, starter homes, dormitories, budget hotels, affordable
entertainment – all integrated in the Master Plan itself
• Proposed infrastructure of over Rs. 4000 crores is being created.
Many employment opportunities to be created at all levels

29. Salient point