Total Environment, Bengaluru
Specialisation: Sustainable Residential Buildings
An alumni of IIT Kharagpur with a degree in architecture, Kamal Sagar was navigating through the profession predictably, with a brief stint in the US, followed by a series of independent projects in Pune. It was in 1996 when he moved to Bengaluru that he found his true calling in the profession. The quintessential hunt for an apartment reminded him of the bad state of large-scale housing projects in the country — and to his dismay, developers weren’t open to his sensible design solutions. One man’s apathy became another’s mission, and Sagar decided to take on the task of developing and constructing liveable apartment buildings himself. This model of forward integration led to the genesis of Total Environment, a construction and real estate development company run from an architect’s perspective with a vision to design and build without compromise.
Total Environment’s hands-on approach extends from the layout to the furniture to the garden – and more! “Every home is part of a product family that has its own characteristic plan, specifications, details, furniture layout and customisation options,” explains the architect. A dedicated in-house team – Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Design – focuses on research and development for sustainable design concepts and features. The firm takes their D&B commitment a step further with Machine-Craft – manufacturing facilities and construction/delivery capabilities for furniture, fenestrations, metal and glass works, masonry, flooring, specialised interior works and landscaping. “We have an elaborate Quality Management System (QMS) too which focuses on inspection, testing, prevention and providing a direction to ensure control over all associated activities, and to mitigate potential quality risks,” adds Sagar, clearly a perfectionist who sees great value in offering people an opportunity to live in a house that is thoughtfully built.
Attention to detail
Windmills of Your Mind is Total Environment’s flagship D&B project built on a 24-acre property on the edge of a small lake in Whitefield, Bengaluru. Comprising seven 20-storey towers, the property encompasses a total of 1.75 million sq-ft of residential space with an interesting mix of 405 large format, fully-furnished and custom-built homes. Nature resonates throughout the property from the green rooftops of the villas and community centre, to the terrace gardens of individual simplex, duplex, triplex apartments, adding to the 3,400 trees interspersed within the property. The horizontal landscaped green surface area in the project is larger than the land on which it is built.
Constructed with exposed wire-cut bricks, the façade needs minimal maintenance, it reduces transmission of heat and reduces load on the structure. The commitment to sustainability is reflected in architectural design and infrastructure: wells and storm water drains recharge the groundwater every 30m, custom ceramic discs in each faucet reduces water consumption, and the green rooftops and terraces make the air quality better. A standout feature in the project is the 70’ x 14’ double-height garden in the duplex apartment, sporting a water body, and glass deck on the upper level and wooden deck on the lower level. The water body running along the outer edge of the garden is also a safety feature, preventing one from getting too close to the edge. If it isn’t obvious yet, Total Environment meticulously plans and executes the minutest details in order to deliver the best in residential developments, thinking always from an architect’s perspective.
”We have made a significant difference in how a home is perceived, and challenged convention by providing customisation options even in the mass housing context. All this could not have been possible without D&B.”
Kamal Sagar, principal, Total Environment