With a legacy spanning over three decades, Brigade has developed its competencies across multiple real estate asset classes, developing best-in-class developments offering superior value propositions. They believe in leveraging their core competencies to create connected communities that span across residential, commercial, or retail developments. The Brigade Gateway development in Bangalore is an excellent example of a mixed-use development that has transformed neighbourhoods and continues to impact the lives of the community positively.
The brand is well-known for seamlessly integrating residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, and education. From their first office space development, Brigade Towers, completed in 1986, to the iconic World Trade Centre at Brigade Gateway, their properties have been trendsetters in office space design and development.
In this exclusive interview, Nirupa Shankar, the Joint Managing Director of Brigade Enterprises, gives us a detailed insight into the factors contributing to the company’s unstoppable rise and growth. “Our focus on ‘Building for Tomorrow, Today’ motivates us to create landmark developments that challenge our own thoughts and benchmarks. To harness the collective capabilities within the organisation, we have crystallised our ethos under the Six Tenets: creating landmarks; building for tomorrow, today; Design First Philosophy; Green Thinking at the Core; Community Vibrancy that Fosters Well Being; and Exceptional Facility Services and Management. These tenets are the foundations of our ‘Inspire Nxt’ philosophy. We partner with world-renowned designers and architects to create modern, creative, innovative, and collaborative working environments based on our “design first” philosophy. Some of our developments that dominate the city skyline include the World Trade Centre in Bangalore and Chennai, designed by HOK, the largest US-based architectural firm; Brigade Tech Gardens designed by NBBJ, an internationally renowned architectural firm based in Seattle, USA; and Brigade Signature Towers designed by Venkataramanan Associates.
“It is difficult to provide a foolproof solution that will always be up-to-date, so we have implemented principles that allow us to stay current with the latest advancements.”
Nirupa Shankar, the Joint Managing Director of Brigade Enterprises.
At Brigade Group, we’ve always believed in building a better tomorrow. Our projects stand out for a sense of responsible consumption of natural resources, while also having a positive socio-environmental impact. We’ve made sustainable design interventions, developed certified green buildings with reduced dependency and utilisation of power, water and materials, adopted green power solutions and cut down our carbon and waste footprint. Brigade has over 20 buildings that are Platinum or Gold certified by LEED / IGBC. This showcases our commitment to sustainably developing projects.”
Setting the right standards, ensuring that their premises are maintained to the highest standards is one of the top priorities at Brigade. The company doesn’t just stop at the finish line; they offer end-to-end property management as part of its commitment to providing an exceptional tenant experience. This means that its tenants can focus on their business while Brigade takes care of maintaining their workspaces in optimal condition.
Brigade is into designing and developing ‘Speculative’ office spaces where in most cases, the end-user or users may not be known till halfway through construction. In such circumstances, it is very important to have a people-centric approach and design the workplace where certain important elements are taken care of and where any end user, whatever the company, will be comfortable. These key aspects that Brigade takes into consideration are:
• Convenience in terms of mobility and office arrangements – Well-designed vehicle parking with safe and quick access to the office, optimally designed vertical transportation and building core and large span column grids to enable flexibility to different interior layouts based on multiple tenant requirements.
• Adequate natural daylight – Most of the Group’s large office buildings have a central core design that allows maximum ingress of natural light through high-performance glazing.
• Providing and locating recreation and central food court and cafeteria spaces – These are thoughtfully sized and located such that users have an enjoyable experience.
People-centric approach
Brigade prioritises a people- focused approach to create communities and provide positive workplace experiences. Their sustainable and forward-thinking designs, from the reception to the offices, are based on ergonomic principles that ensure maximum productivity for occupants. Brigade aims to provide tenants and their employees with a sense of pride and healthy workspaces.
To offer effective real estate solutions, Brigade focuses on convenience, ensuring well-designed parking, optimised vertical transportation, and flexible spaces that can adapt to tenants’ needs. Most large office buildings have a central core design to allow maximum natural light and digitally accessible food and beverage ecosystems. Brigade believes in adopting a long-term holistic approach to stress management, with dedicated spaces for wellness, well-being, and collaboration.
The World Trade Centre in Bangalore has a man-made lake, while Brigade Tech Gardens has activated lobbies, a central spine for social interaction, and a 75-year-old banyan tree that serves as an outdoor breakout area. A botanical garden, garden theatre, numerous food and beverage options, an open-air amphitheatre, and a dedicated amenities block with a health and fitness centre including a swimming pool, aerobics and yoga studio, and spa services encourage community spirit. Brigade’s philosophy of ‘creating vibrant experiences to foster well-being’ guides its design to benefit the overall community.
“Our focus on ‘Building for Tomorrow, Today’ motivates us to create landmark developments that challenge our own thoughts and benchmarks.”
Nirupa Shankar, the Joint Managing Director of Brigade Enterprises.
Creating a sustainable environment with tech-integrated designs
In order to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of technology, it is important to be forward-thinking in design. Commenting on this, Nirupa Shankar states, “It is difficult to provide a foolproof solution that will always be up-to-date, so we have implemented principles that allow us to stay current with the latest advancements. We collaborate with industry leaders in technology to ensure that our new commercial spaces are equipped with infrastructure that can be upgraded with the latest technology to meet the evolving needs of our customers. This includes dedicated server and BMS control rooms, as well as optimally designed MEP plant room spaces. “Sustainability” focused platform within our Start-up portfolio at the Brigade Real Estate Accelerator Program (Brigade REAP). Currently, about 25% of the start-ups mentored in the program are in the sustainability space. We are in the process of creating a “Sustainability” focused platform within our Start-up portfolio at the Brigade Real Estate Accelerator Program (Brigade REAP). Currently, about 25% of the start-ups mentored in the program are in the sustainability space.
- WEGOT – has saved over 3+ billion litres of water using their patented sensors and effective water monitoring system.
- Clairco – provides clean, air indoors through special air filters in over 1.5+ million Sq.ft. of commercial space.
- Synconext – saves 14.43M kWh of electricity through reduced consumption by way of sensor-based utilisation.
- Smarter Dharma – has created the world’s first Sustainability Resource Platform (SRP) to enable real estate developers to design zero discharge and zero carbon footprint buildings.
- Eco STP – cleans sewage water and polluted lakes without using electricity or chemicals. 92 million litres of water has been treated and 150MW of power has been saved.
- LivSafe – has protected three million sq.ft. of space from cell phone tower radiation using patented technology.
- Birds Eye Energy – uses patented composite solar panels to generate electricity and to heat water Angirus and Strawcture – uses eco-friendly technology to make building materials from 100% waste materials for the affordable housing industry.
- Vision Earthcare – is focused on wastewater rejuvenation while development cannot be stopped, the least we can do is to build sustainably and responsibly give back to Mother Earth, who keeps on giving to us.”
Brigade is at the forefront of technology adoption in the construction industry, implementing IoT-based applications to oversee and regulate utility systems. Its real-time monitoring includes tracking crucial parameters like indoor air quality, energy consumption, water usage, and potable water quality and taking corrective actions as needed. In addition, the company uses IoT to manage customer complaints, schedule work orders, track foot traffic, and enforce COVID-19 safety measures. It also integrates IoT with its CCTV systems to enhance security surveillance.
Green commitment
“We are deeply committed to sustainability and take it very seriously in all aspects of our work. This includes everything from selecting the right site to managing waste and water in our construction practices. Our efforts have resulted in LEED certification for all of our projects, with some of our most notable developments, such as Brigade Tech Gardens, Brookfield, and Brigade Opus, achieving Platinum certification. We prioritise reducing our carbon footprint and promoting renewable energy sources,” explains Nirupa.
All the company’s commercial office spaces are certified by either the USGBC or IGBC. For instance, Brigade Tech Gardens office campus in Bangalore is a three million square foot LEED Platinum-certified building and serves as a model for sustainable office design in the country. The building features a variety of ultra-modern sustainable design elements, including solar rooftop gardens and a green wall, clever use of natural light and terrain, gathering spaces on top of each office tower, and a unique water recycling system. The organic layout of Brigade Tech Gardens is north-south with a landscaped and vehicle-free central spine that minimises solar heat gain, reduces energy usage, and creates cool and shady spaces for people to interact.
The company takes pride in their tree replantation program, which is an expensive investment but one that we believe is worth it to protect green spaces. The buildings are designed for energy efficiency, with an optimum window-to-wall ratio, high-performance low-E glass to maximise natural light and reduce heat gain, and the latest destination-controlled elevators in the lift and toilet cores to minimise waiting time and optimise energy usage. It also provides low-flow toilet fixtures, waterless urinals and basins, and real-time water management to conserve water. Their MEP and HVAC systems and the electrical equipment are designed based on rating and sizing as per the NBC. They monitor energy usage patterns gathered from their various office buildings to provide most multinational companies with what they require.
The company has deployed advanced software programs such as Proleaz, E-facility, Facilio, and SAP for managing its facilities. At the same time, for accounting and billing, use cloud-based software called Focus-i. Additionally, they use Novapro, Delbi, and Security Centre software to handle our CCTV and security operations.