2getherments

Just imagine

community of active families where you could seemlessly blend the joy of past conveniences, present experiences and future aspirations.

Just imagine a community where you can re-live, grow and live the best parts of your life and create joyful memories for your family.

Just imagine a community where raising your kids in a carefree, active and inclusive environment are met and exceeded.

Just imagine a community where growing your own food in a safe space is just a short walk away.

Just imagine a community where staying fit and staying active are woven tightly through your everyday journey.

Just imagine a community where you are eager to come home to and stay long in.

Just imagine a community where it is possible to grow younger and wiser as you age.

Now ‌ stop imagining.

Just come home to 2getherments ‌ the new wave of city living Not just apartments, it is 2getherments – Unconditionally empathic Where you are truly you.

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4

AMMAMMA AVAKAYA Indulge in the aromas of yesteryears and sharer in the joy of community cooking. The satisfaction & fulfiliment of that meal is unparalleled and indelible.

Can we ever forget the taste of the first morsel of hot steaming rice mixed with that delectable rich red concoction dunked in aromatic ghee handfed by grandma? How fondly most of us walk down the memory lane reliving the nostalgia of dozens of cousins gathered together, eagerly waiting for our turn as ammamma patiently fed the season’s first serving to each one of us! The satisfaction and fulfilment of that meal are unparalleled and indelible.

The very mention of aam ka achaar not only triggers a physical response lips puckering at the recall of brine and teeth teetering on its tanginess but also evokes a plethora of memories: of courtyards filled with women hand-pounding the red chilli in rhythmic motion with long wooden poles, exchanging gossip and news over heaps of raw mangoes chopped into even pieces with a handheld knife over a chopping board, of ceramic jars in which they are stored, of children running around, of laughter, of happiness, of togetherness as a community. The sight of fresh pickle

taken out from the jar with a ladle into a serving bowl and its taste is distinct, vivid and what idyllic childhoods are made of.

Call it Avakaya or Aam ka Achaar, mango pickle has been a part of our precious childhood memories as well as our staple diet as we grew up.

The slightest smear on the tip of your tongue is an instant pick up for a bland meal. Almost every Indian family usually stocks a range of achaars made by their grandmother or by someone else’s grandmother. If a store-bought version makes it to the table, then we consume it whilst reminiscing about our grandmother’s original version and the affection with which she served us the season’s first serving.

Over centuries, the mango pickle has evolved in households across the country, with each region adding its own special touch to the preparation from the marmalade-like chhundo in Gujarat to the fiery avakai of Andhra.

For most people in South India, it’s an

annual affair that begins in summer and lasts for the rest of the year. In fact, when made with cold pressed oil and freshly ground ingredients, pickles have natural probiotics and aid digestion when you begin a meal with the first morsel of pickle rice, much to the contrary belief that the fiery red delectable concoction is unhealthy. Obviously, our forefathers

knew the nutritional benefits of pickle and therefore, every meal began with it.

With time, pickles bought across the counter in supermarkets may have taken the place of homemade varieties but still evoke memories of a culture, a lifestyle that symbolized living together as one.

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5

HOW MANY WINDOWS DID YOU BREAK? SORRY, UNCLE! Do you remember the thrill of running away every time one of us broke a glass while playing cricket? And fondly remember the faces of our annoyed but forgiving uncles and aunties?

Every single evening the whole complex would be buzzing with activity. There was noise, chaos and every inch of space was used to play either the regular or self invented games. Injuries were something to be proud off. Fights and arguments were fierce but quickly forgotten. To ultimately resolve an argument there was one sincerely honest person whom all of us trusted.

He was the big guy and he never lied.

All accepted his decision and only after he gave his verdict the game would continue. Those were days when there was no internet, no cable TV, no fast

food joints, no mobile phones and no coaching classes. Those were days when the building compounds were considered to be a heaven for all the resident children and young adults. All sorts of games were played, right from cricket to char pathar, from tennis(with a plastic ball and both hands as the racket) to goti, from football and badminton to langdi and of course games like chor police, carroms etc. 5 pm onwards was the official play time. During school days 5 pm was the magical time. An hour before one suddenly became extra studious and would be seen with books

silently convincing the parents that all is perfect on the academic front. If you were sick that day, at around 5 PM you would start feeling better. The only way the session would end was with loud impatient voices of angry parents from their respective balconies or kitchen windows calling us back home. Back home was some regular nagging, some good food and then we would watch some really classy and fantastic TV serials like Ye Jo Hai Zindagi, Nukkad, Hum log and Buniyaad. Nobody shut their main doors or avoided neighbours.We rarely watched a cricket

match in our own homes. Important cricket matches often resulted into building get togethers. Life was vibrant in every single nukkad and there was a lot of Hum ness between Logs. Sample this rare brand of English language.

The English we spoke was a direct translation of Indian languages. A few examples... coming then come fast.

What to do re, he is like that only. Then what (instead of "of course"). Morning morning don't eat my head. Gone mad or what. Anyways your father's what goes?" Unforgettable precious memories!

Good old days...

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6

HORIZONTAL LIVING As Indian cities grow bigger and bigger, our communities grow taller and taller - until our aspiration for newer heights are disproportionately increasing our isolation and alienation from each other.

Interior decorators and architects will ascertain the buzz words in Indian home planning today 'authentic', 'ethnic', 'traditional. A reclaimed brass puja room door is installed here or a heavy swing added there and yet, the feel that was being recreated remains elusive.

Perhaps this is because the beautiful designs of the past not only looked grand, but also had functional value and directly affected the way people lived in them. Consider the agrahara style neighbourhoods of Tamil Nadu, the Chang houses of Assam, simple rural farmhouses of Punjab or the Colonial style bungalows of Kolkata.

All these houses have something in common. Invariably, each had a clearly demarcated area outside their dwellings where the house's inhabitants could sit and socialise with others. Whether it was the terracotta or hay thinnais of the South, or the verandah which stretched all around the house, these areas invited informal conversation. The heart of the house, the central area, also invited gatherings - typically, it was the kitchen.

There was a sense of neighbourliness in the construction of these houses which influenced a cohesive spirit, the likes of which gated communities of today don't experience. The agrahara houses of the South were laid out like a garland leading to the primary temple, so that the entire neighbourhood participated in functions. Similarly, the simple courtyards of Punjab were used for group celebrations, and the wide

verandahs of bungalows overlooked the centre courtyard where you could watch all that went on. Each of these houses was a labour of love, in which the entire neighbourhood collaborated from the material suppliers to the builders. Everything was hyper local, and this not only added to the sense of community, but also made the house themselves more relevant. The red

oxidized flooring of Southern houses which remain cool through boiling summers. The cooling tiled roofs of most Indian houses, and their antiseptic sun-baked brick or mud walls.

All these were created with locally available materials and built keeping in mind the inhabitants' precise needs.

What a difference such 'horizontal'

living makes versus today's 'vertical' living in apartments! Rather than create cookie-cutter houses that follow a global pattern, 2getherments uses long established Indian arts and designs as inspiration to craft houses which blend harmoniously with the society and environment.

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7

THE NEED FOR VERTICAL BY INTEGRATING OUR HORIZONTAL IDEAS

Where the clubhouse and gardens are not isolated zones but what we walk through everday while walking in and out of our homes. in the expertise of the key design team to integrate horizontal living ideas into vertical spaces.

Consequently, every single occupant of 2getherments gets their due with a fair share that caters to their wants and needs. As India’s first-of-its- kind user experience 2getherments weaves a dream that is beautifully visualised and realised. From the youngest member of a family to the oldest, every resident’s wish list is taken into account and incorporated seamlessly. If you think it’s a tall order, just step in. Spaces speak louder than statements.

HORIZONTAL LIVING Interior decorators and architects will ascertain the buzz words in Indian home planning today ‘authentic’, ‘ethnic’, ‘traditional’. A reclaimed brass puja room door is installed here or a heavy swing added there and yet, the feel that was being recreated remains elusive. Perhaps this is because the beautiful designs of the past not only looked grand, but also had functional value and directly affected the way people lived in them.

Consider the agrahara style neighbourhoods of Tamil Nadu, the Chang houses of Assam, simple rural farmhouses of Punjab or the Colonial style bungalows of Kolkata.

All these houses have something in common. Invariably, each had a clearly demarcated area outside their dwellings where the house’s inhabitants could sit and socialise with others. Whether it was the terracotta or hay thinnais of the South, or the verandah which stretched all around the house, these areas invited informal conversation. The heart of the house, the central area, also invited gatherings - typically, it was the kitchen.

Given the constraints in today’s urban India, it becomes imperative to devise ways and means to maximise living spaces. At 2getherments, one of the essential principles of architecture is to ensure that every available inch of space is not only utlilised productively but also gainfully.

Besides offering real value for every rupee invested in acquiring the property, 2getherments stands as a testimony for empathic user experience. Years of research have resulted in zeroing in on the prime locality of Miyapur, the emerging hub of modern spaces of living and work. However, the key lies

There was a sense of neighbourliness in the construction of these houses which influenced a cohesive spirit, the likes of which gated communities of today don’t experience. The agrahara houses of the South were laid out like a garland leading to the primary temple, so that the entire neighbourhood participated in functions. Similarly, the simple courtyards of Punjab were used for group celebrations. Each of these houses

was a labour of love, in which the entire neighbourhood collaborated from the material suppliers to the builders.

Everything was hyper local, and this not only added to the sense of community, but also made the houses themselves more relevant. The red oxidized flooring of Southern houses which remain cool through boiling summers, the cooling tiled roofs of most Indian houses, the antiseptic sun-baked brick or mud walls & many more.

All these were created with locally available materials and built keeping in mind the inhabitants’ precise needs.

What a difference such ‘horizontal’ living makes versus today’s ‘vertical’ living in apartments! Rather than create cookie-cutter houses that follow a global pattern, 2getherments uses longestablished Indian arts and designs as inspiration to craft houses which blend harmoniously with the society and environment.

With the breakdown of joint families, Separated from the elders in the community there is rarely anyone who has the time or the inclination to pass on our great Indian traditions. Part of the charm of folklore involves its being handed down by word of mouth.

Isolated as we are in urban apartments, these stories may very well get lost and become distant memories. In less complicated times, every street in India invariably had a gathering place where some elderly person would beckon all the children and impart their stories, and in turn their wisdom, to the assembled crowd. These tales varied from region to region, and as they were told to a different audience, subtle changes would often get introduced to the tale. Soon, several variations of the same tale would get created by different storytellers, creating a fond sense of nostalgia as the listeners clamoured to tell their versions of the story.

At 2getherments, we dream of creating a space where these stories, once again, are told and retold. When we lose our folktales, we lose our roots. Here’s to rediscovering them once again!

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8

THE NEW NORMAL OF VERTICAL LIVING

We are bringing back the best of the ‘then’ and blending it with the community needs of the ‘now’.

Activites in 2getherments are mapped according to two key aspects.

1. Level of activity -active or passive.

2. User age group -kids , adults , seniors.

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10

FROM THE FOUNDER’S DESK

Nagesh Kumar Battula leads the Design Expertise which distinguishes 2getherments. “It’s amazing how a smart phone that would cost around a lakh of rupees is based on the user experience, while a house that costs a few crores - the place you call a home, the asset that is every human being’s ultimate aspiration has never been centred around the user experience!

At 2getherments, we know that if we need to create a remarkable home for people, we need to understand the user experience. We also understand that our job is to ensure that we create the

right kind of journeys. The goal of the UX designer is to make users effective.

UX actually means studying the entire process of the individual’s experience and their subjective opinion of their life’s’ situations.

We did this by understanding that one of our core audiences is the double income working couple, where both the husband and wife are working with a kid or two. Their parents stay with them occasionally but most of the time they are alone, juggling their careers and family life. And so they need certain conveniences which are typically not

provided by most builders because builders look at creating their idea of happiness quotient, which could mean beautiful granite flooring or maybe extra facilities in the Club House. But these are superficial.

petty things that monopolised their attention. So if we could create and convert these four hours into superior quality time then we would have achieved the objective of delivering a solution.

So we began by speaking to couples in this double-income segment. And we asked - ‘what would your ideal solution be?’ And we got very interesting answers. Some of them said that they need an A/C in the kitchen because they cook at times after getting dressed.

For examples Many of them felt that hanging washed clothes in the balcony was an ugly option. So we created a contraption from where the clothesline comes down when there is a need and goes back up once you’re done with drying the clothes.

Also, most of these couples accumulated items over time. For example, they had at least about 20 pairs of shoes and they needed a place to store them. Another problem that people spoke about is the stress faced by domestic help.

Considering the fact that a modern households dependent on loyal domestic staff, it was imperative to look at their comfort as well.

We also earmarked places to store the brooms, detergents, soaps, toilet cleaners etc in the utility area neatly. In the larger scheme of things, we adopted `ChameleonTech’, a term coined by us to create transformative spaces for maximum utilisation of space. Another stressful experience for any home owner is the planning and execution of a fully functional home and that our home by a process promises.

One of the key realizations of our research was that one of the most precious commodities in the lives of working couple was quality time. They had just about two hours of free time in the morning and two in the evening.

These four hours were cannibalized by

So what does this all mean? It means just one thing and that one thing makes all the difference in the lives of home owners. While `Apartments’ drive people apart, `2getherments’ brings people together”.

WHO IS WHO

NAGESH KUMAR BATTULA

HARINATH RAO

VIJAYA DURGA

RAJENDRA KUMAR

Founder & Director

Managing Director

Director

Director

Nagesh Kumar Battula leads the Design Expertise which distinguishes 2getherments. The Managing Director & CEO of the Fountainhead Design (FHD) Group, Nagesh, who has over 25 years experience in the real estate and design indistry, is recognizable as the brains behind the selfsustainable community Organo, Known for being completed within time and on budget, Organo has changed the way people in Hyderabad live, keeping them closer to nature and the society as a whole.

Mr. Harinath lends his Construction Expertise to 2getherments. A civil engineer by profession, he is a well-known name in Hyderabad, with over 70 residential projects in and around the city.

He founded Lahari Constructions in 1990 which has since then experience sustained and study growth. He is a leader of great repute and calibre and construction and project management. He has a dynamic personality and his committed to lead and work with dedication and determination.

Raj, as familiarly addressed, is the backbone of Marketing and Sales at FHD, with a focus on international and national business development, strategic planning and deal negotiations. He has an experience of over 15 years in the field of business development, design and construction. He has been instrumental in helping developers, landowners and institutions exceed those aspirations. Being an entrepreneur himself, Raj, started his first firm Shobha Lighting Design (SLD) in 1997.

With over 20 years of experience in the field of interior designing, Vijaya is heading the Interiors team at FHD. She has an eye for detail and a great sense of color, fixtures and finishes, enabling her to take impeccable decisions on the spot.

She shares the vigor to develop Organo, as a highly productive yet aesthetically pleasing farming community.

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11 Miyapur Plus Metroservices To respond to the rising public transport needs and mitigate escalating vehicular traffic in the twin-cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Government and the South Central Railway zone jointly launched the Multi Modal Transport System (MMTS) in August 2003.

ADVANTAGE MIYAPUR Miyapur is a designated ‘high rise’ zone and a large number of premium apartment complexes have come up in Miyapur, as a result the suburb has developed into a major residential, educational and commercial hub.

Hyderabad Metro To Help Miyapur Property Run On Fast-Forward Mode Miyapur is no more the same after the Hyderabad Metro began operations on November 28. The 30-kilometre long first phase runs from Nagole to Miyapur.

This Is Why You Should Invest In Miyapur Realty Market Miyapur is one of the top localities in the real estate forum where enquiries usually pour in. It has been identified as one of the growth corridors in the Corridors of Growth report by Magicbricks.

Top 10 Schools Of Miyapur Sri Shanti Niketan School I Play I I learn -Miyapur F S Academy of Excellence Kidzee Pupils Public School Sharada Vidyalaya Public School Gowtham Model School Sentia Globalt School Kidzee Geetanjali IIT Olympiad School.

Roads Rail Air

Inter City Bus Terminal (ICBT), Survey Number 20, Miyapur (upcoming) Indian National Highways (NH) NH9, the Pune - Hyderabad - Machilipatnam highway passes through Miyapur NH7, the Varanasi-NagpurHyderabad - Bangalore - Kanyakumari highway is connected to NH9 via the intermediate ring road.

Miyapur Depot-I Miyapur Station Indian Railways City Rail - Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) Hafeezpet (HFZ) station is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of Miyapur.

Miyapur is the most preferred locality as it offers the best infrastructure as well as connectivity. It also has options across a wide price range. This gives flexibility to the consumers to choose as per their budget.

Though, most consumers are looking for 3-BHK options in Miyapur.

The major infrastructure project in the corridor is the development of the Metro node at Miyapur. The Miyapur-LB Nagar Metro route is being developed as Corridor-1 with a distance of about 30 km. Miyapur to SR Nagar and SR Nagar to LB Nagar are referred to as Stage-2 and Stage-5, under the overall work plan of the Hyderabad Metro Rail network.

As per latest information, Phase-1 comprising Nagole to Mettuguda (Stage-1) and Miyapur-SR Nagar (Stage-2) is all set to become operational.

Operationalisation of this line will build connectivity to the corridor with other residential and commercial areas of Hyderabad. The state government has announced plans for extending the Phase-1 of the Hyderabad Metro.

From the corridors perspective, the Metro line is expected to be extended by a further 13 km from Miyapur to BHEL and Patancheru. An Inter-City Bus Terminal (ICBT) is also being developed at Miyapur.

Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) is working on a plan to improve the

pipeline work in Serilingampally Circle.

This will improve the water supply of the corridor.

PRESENT RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

The corridor has a mix of apartments and plotted development. Bachupally has more plotted development options because of availability of land in the area. About 65 percent supply in the resale segment in the corridor is of multistorey apartments followed by builderfloors independent floors. The 2-BHK format dominates across property types with a saleable area of 1,000-1,200 sq ft.

This accounts for 61 percent supply in the re-sale segment with 3-BHK units having 35 percent share. The 3-BHK units are bigger in size with an average saleable area of 1,500 sq ft.

Miyapur, Chandanagar and Nizampet are amongst the top 10 localities by consumer preference in the city when it comes to purchase of a residential property. Similarly, in terms of consumers looking for rental options, Miyapur is again amongst the top 10 localities of Hyderabad. In terms of price level, the corridor caters to consumer preference in the lower price bracket.

PROPERTIES AVAILABLE IN THE CORRIDOR The corridor offers relatively less expensive options for consumers as

compared to localities which are closer to IT/ITeS office hubs. Within the corridor, Miyapur and Chandanagar are established localities with higher capital values (sq ft).Bachupally and Nizampet come next. This price differential impacts the budget and BHK format wise spread of options.

BEST SECTORS TO INVEST IN A HOME

Rental demand in the corridor emanates from buyers looking for residential options close to IT/ITeS office hubs in Madhapur and Gachibowli but cannot afford the options in localities which are close to them. Miyapur ranks high because of its location on National Highway-9 (NH-9) and presence of support infrastructure. It is easily accessible from different areas. Between Nizampet and Chandanagar, the former scores in terms of lower rentals while the latter is a well-established locality.

Bachupally is still evolving and suffers from last mile connectivity and hence, the lower demand.

BASED ON HOME BUYING DEMAND IN SECTORS

Miyapur is the most preferred locality as it offers the best infrastructure as well as connectivity. It also has options across a wide price range from Rs 20-40 lakh to Rs 1-1.2 crore. This gives flexibility to the consumers to choose as per their budget. However, most consumers are looking for 3-BHK options in Miyapur.

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12

TRANSFORMATIVE SPACES ESSENCE OF LIVING TOGETHER

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13 ESSENCE OF LIVING TOGETHER

Traditional Indian house space planning was always flexible and morphable to the emerging conditions/programs that would happen at that time in space.

The house with the ”Muttrum” (courtyard) flanked by a large open space was the active space of the house. This space could act as drawing room to invite guest; it could transform into a dining space during lunch and dinner; it could be a sleeping space with mats/beds arranged to accommodate the whole family; it could even accommodate family functions like marriages and more.

Rooms in the periphery of this active space are separated with walls. These

walls with minimal openings (for climatic reasons as well ) are often too small, very private and typically used during our life milestones (newly married couples, puberty, etc) or to keep valuables safe.

STIGMA

After “modernisation” of Indian life, living in multi-utility space currently carries a stigma as low and cheap. As society grows more towards nuclear families, the idea of having individual spaces for respective activities has grown in popularity.This way has developed into supersizing spaces for ourselves and does not work well for us anymore. The increasing urbanisation, shrinking family, unaffordable real estate have made way for unliveable Indian spaces.

This has encouraged us to drift apart

from the roots we have.

CHANGING TREND

In recent years, changing family structures and work-life pressures point us to relook at the traditional compact living and multi-utility spaces, which can bring back our cultural values of living together as family and community. Thus, the static physical entities of space can become more transformable and become a renewed architectural outcome. ”2getherments” is an effort to bring back these transforming spaces with multi-utilty aspects & compactness back into mainstream multi-family living.

For example, living room with open dining can expand or contract into more open space as the tables and

chairs can be stowed into ledges and walls. Secondary bedroom (guest room) can act as a home office for someone who works from home by day or as a home theatre when we fold up the bed to the wall. In the children’s room, beds can turn back into study desks by day and allow a large play area inside room.

There is a resurgence of rethinking core values in the contemporary Indian context in different aspects (environment, food, health care, culture, architecture, fashion, technology) of life. This thinking brings our long forgotten Indian aspects with a new perspective from today’s context. “2getherments” plays its part not only as an architectural expression but also as an active agent in the social and cultural system of life.

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14

CITIES BURSTING AT THEIR SEAMS Cities across India have grown exponentially in the last 50 years. What happens in the next 30 years will determine the global environment and the quality of life.

In a nation where 62% of our GDP comes from cities, it’s easy to see why Indians flock towards a small number of urban super cities in search of better employment and a happier life. According to the UN World Urbanisation Prospects Report of 2014, the annual growth in urban Indian population rivals that of other major economies, with a whopping 404 million people estimated to be added to its urban centres between just 2014 and 2050! In 2007-08, 35% of this growth came from migrants from rural India.

However, the bright future these masses aspired for is more often than not denied to them. Our cities are not equipped to handle the strain of so many people utilizing their meagre resources, and inequalities of income and opportunities are rearing their ugly heads. Belonging to the privileged few who have access to the internet and are reading this article, you may very well ask why this is your problem.

After all, at a singular level, it doesn’t seem to affect your lifestyle. However, the reality is that your life is already impacted, and will continue to be so in the future. Think of the water scarcity

in your building, or the hefty water charges every summer. Piped water is never distributed for more than a few hours per day, and only to about half the urban population. Leakages, water stealing, unauthorised connections and collection inefficiencies are incredibly large, siphoning away 40-70% of the available water.

Meanwhile, 60% of slums are completely deprived of water supply! Such is the irony of the times we live in. Less than half the sizable slum population in India have access to a basic flush or pit, which means about 35 million people in urban India alone are living alongside unsanitary and potentially dangerous conditions. Little wonder then that the precarious water available to slum dwellers is used and re-used, open sewage abounds, and diseases in the whole city are on the rise.

The truth is that while you may be in the best of apartments, your access to the most fundamental of resources including clean air, fresh water and good health are just as threatened by this urban explosion if not now, then in the near future. The biggest misconception of our times is that the little problems

we face in our day-to-day lives can be solved independently and in isolation.

As cities become overwhelmed, so do its people, resulting in increasing negativity and stress levels which you can already see all around you.

Solutions are, unfortunately, nowhere in sight. Since economic growth is driven by those who have money, the bigger population of have-not’s needs are sidelined commercially. Balanced civic amenities remain a distant dream as they aren’t affordable by those who most need them.

The majority of the time, built forms emerge from the need to satisfy society’s commercial needs, instead of essential social requirements. As of 2011, 7.5 lakh apartments remained unsold across India’s major metros, while 65 million people lived in slums and another 0.9 million were homeless***.

90% of the housing shortage is faced by low-income groups, but there are no affordable housing solutions to meet their needs. Nor, as it has been outlined, do they have access to the basic resources that could help them lead a healthier, more productive life. At 2getherments, we believe that it is these

intangible essential needs of society that are at the heart of design, intent and life itself. Each built form needs to be understood in the larger urban context.

This understanding of urbanisation helped in the way we build our apartments. While we cannot end slum dwelling altogether, we can make a smart start towards living better in the emerging urban context.

We do this by creating local jobs for the people around us. We create eco-friendly alternatives which don’t create massive power-drains. By composting waste and initiating rain water harvesting, we don’t exhaust the limited resources in our over-burdened cities. Our vertical gardens and rooftop kitchen gardens help improve the quality of air and food available to those around us. All in all, we’re making a small, but significant step to build houses that are the “right kind” for those in urban India today. ***National Sample Survey Organisation 2005-06 National Family Health Survey Census data.

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15

HOW WE DRIVE OUR PROJECT And why we’re different

TYPICAL APARTMENTS

Typically, the design is in response to investor /builder aspirations and market conditions.

Home design is emphasized through a set of unique selling points

Units are more compartmentalized and introverted with focus primarily on interiors and less on community experience.

Units tend to be closed door home lined along repetitive corridors.

2GETHERMENTS

The design is user centric and a directly driver by empathy to users’ needs and aspirations,

Home design is user centric with all aspects of the design in response.

Units , while enjoying a certain level of privacy, are clustered around active congregation spaces.

Units are lined along corridor-streets that are personal and varied. This brings back Indian street architecture to vertical living.

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16

ELEPHANTS ARE EMPATHS

Research on elephants is full of examples of the animals apparently behaving empatheticallyrecognizing and responding to another elephant’s pain or problem. Often, they even make heroic efforts to assist one another.

Empathy is understanding and relating to an experience of another, being able to understand the perspective of another, to momentarily view reality through the eyes of another, to walk that mile in another's shoes. To understand their perspective, their hardship, their life so that you may respond with love, with non judgment, and in a way which serves the other and serves all. This is similar and yet somewhat different from being an empath. An empath relates to the feeling and experience of others with a psychic sense, with a sense that is beyond the physical. Feeling the emotion of another, feeling the joy, the love, the sorrow, the tragedy of another as if it were one's own. Interestingly, elephants have been proven to be confirmed empaths. Elephants help each other in distress, grieve for their dead, and feel the same emotions as each other-just like us. Research on elephants is full of examples of the animals apparently behaving empathetically-recognizing

and responding to another elephant's pain or problem. Often, they even make heroic efforts to assist one another. In Kenya, researchers have watched mother elephants and other adult females help baby elephants climb up muddy banks and out of holes, find a safe path into a swamp, or break through electrified fences. Scientists have spotted elephants assisting others that are injured, plucking out tranquilizing darts from their fellows, and spraying dust on others' wounds. And on at least one occasion, researchers have watched an elephant struggle to help a dying friend, lifting her with her tusks and trunk, while calling out in distress. To show that elephants experience the same emotions another is feeling, scientists watched captive Asian elephants in a park in Thailand. They noted when one elephant was upset by something, such as by a snake in the grass, and they recorded her behaviours to see if there was a pattern. There was. In response to

a stressful event, an elephant flares out her ears, erects her tail, and sometimes makes a low rumble. Scientists watching elephants in the wild have reported the same behaviors. Both in the wild and in this captive study, researchers have watched other, nearby elephants react to the other elephant's distress by acting in exactly the same way. Scientists call this emotional cognition. The elephants also ran to stand beside their friend, touched her with their trunks to soothe her, and made soft chirping sounds. Sometimes one would even put her trunk inside the other's mouth, a behavior elephants find particularly comforting, the researchers say. We do something very similar when watching a scary movie with a friend.

When the main character is threatened, we feel his fear. Our hearts race, we may tremble, and for reassurance, we reach for our friend's hand. The researchers also recorded what the elephants did when they were in the same locations with their same friends nearby, but

nothing stressful occurred. In those moments, none of the elephants acted in an empathetic way. By comparing the two types of events stressful versus non-stressful-the scientists were able to say that "emotional cognition" occurs only when an elephant sees another in distress. Some scientists may still argue that this is not sufficient evidence for true empathy, that the experiment doesn't reveal what's going on in an elephant's mind when she rushes to aid a friend or worries over a dying companion. But the fact that elephants make any effort at all on another elephant's behalf suggests that they are at the very least highly aware and emotional beings, concerned in some manner for each other. If only we can learn a lesson or two on empathy from these majestic beings, we can make the world a better place to live in!

HOW CAN WE DEVELOP EMPATHY? The research shows that empathy is partly innate and partly learned. Everyone can improve, however, below are eight ways to strengthen your own empathy:

So what exactly is empathy? It's the ability to step into the shoes of another person, aiming to understand their feelings and perspectives, and to use that understanding to guide our actions. That makes it different from kindness or pity. And don't confuse it with the Golden Rule, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. As George Bernard Shaw pointed out, ‘Do not do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ might have different tastes. Empathy is about discovering those tastes. The big buzz about empathy stems from a revolutionary shift in the science of how we understand human nature. The old view that we are essentially self interested creatures is being nudged firmly to one side by evidence that we are also homo empathicus, wired for empathy, social cooperation, and mutual aid. Over the last decade, neuroscientists have identified a 10-section "empathy circuit" in our brains which, if damaged, can curtail our ability to understand what other people are feeling.

Evolutionary biologists have shown that we are social animals who have naturally evolved to care for each other, just like our primate cousins.

And psychologists have revealed that we are primed for empathy by strong attachment relationships in the first two years of life. But empathy doesn't stop developing in childhood. We can nurture its growth throughout our lives and we can use it as a radical force for social transformation.

The research shows that empathy is partly innate and partly learned.

Everyone can improve, however, below are eight ways to strengthen your own empathy: 1. Challenge yourself. Undertake challenging experiences which push you outside your comfort zone. Learn a new skill, for example, such as a musical instrument, hobby, or foreign language. Develop a new professional competency. Doing things like this will humble you, and humility is a key enabler of empathy.

then check in with them periodically to see how you are doing.

4. Explore the heart not just the head. Read literature that explores personal relationships and emotions.

This has been shown to improve the empathy of young doctors.

2. Get out of your usual environment. Travel, especially to new places and cultures. It gives you a better appreciation for others.

5. Walk in other's shoes. Talk to others about what it is like to walk in their shoes about their issues and concerns and how they perceived experiences you both shared.

3. Get feedback. Ask for feedback about your relationship skills (e.g., listening) from family, friends, and colleagues and

6. Examine your biases. We all have hidden (and sometimes not-so-hidden) biases that interfere with our ability to

listen and empathize. These are often centered around visible factors such as age, race, and gender. Don't think you have any biases? Think again we all do.

7. Cultivate your sense of curiosity. What can you learn from a very young colleague who is inexperienced? What can you learn from a client you view as "narrow"? Curious people ask lots of questions (point 8), leading them to develop a stronger understanding of the people around them.

8. Ask better questions. Bring three or four thoughtful, even provocative questions to every conversation you have with clients or colleagues.

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OUR INTROVERTED SPACES THE JOURNEY HOME FROM WORK Where elevator rides should not be moments of awkward silence, but a place to greet and engage with people you are fully acquainted with

JOURNEY HOME FROM/TO WORK Contemporary apartment circulation design typically includes public spaces that appear to encourage us to be introverted. For example, we can all relate to the functional basement parking, fast elevators and repetitive corridors. And the design focus appears to be more on transition & transport and rather less on engagement and interactions.

With designers and end-users pushing for a better experience when coming home or when leaving for work, the journey from your car to your home ought to be calm and welcoming. At 2getherments, your journey home

starts at the basement and goes all the way to your main door and beyond.

Come home & park your car in welllit, safe and active basements. As you travel up the glass elevators, wave hello to your family & neighbours as they play, gather, explore and enjoy the community areas. And maybe prepare to grab your racket for a quick game before dinner. And say hello to your next door neighbor as you compliment them on the new string lights around their blue door. Bring back all the joy of horizontal living into vertical living.

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BASEMENT 1 KEY PLAN

B1a Drivers Lounge B1b Lockers B1c Ironing Station

B1b

BASEMENT LOCKERS As Indians, we know how priceless our valuables are for us. Every item has a sentiment, a memory, a legacy attached to it. At 2getherments, we understand the importance of storing our stuff in safe spaces. That’s the sole reason for us to go that extra mile and create special Lockers in the basement for safe storage of your precious things. As Indians, we know how priceless our valuables are for us. Every item has a sentiment, a memory, a legacy attached to it. At 2getherments, we understand the importance of storing our stuff in safe spaces. That’s the sole reason for us to go that extra mile and create special Lockers in the basement for safe storage of your precious things.

B1d Trolleys

B1c

IRONING ROOM & LAUNDRY We know how important washing clothes and getting them ironed are in your everyday routine. At 2getherments, there is a special laundry zone for all your daily needs so that you don’t have to step out or waste time going to the one at the corner of your street.

We’ve thought it all out. That’s what makes our homes APT and EMPATHIC.

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19 BRIGHTER AND GREENER BASEMENTS Proper lighting, natural light wells, trees & planting, bright colours and visual continuity is essential to providing a positive user-experience in basements. These design interventions diminish shadows, improve visibility, help people feel safer and drivers feel more in control. At the end (or start) of the day, come/head home from safe, secure and pleasant basements.

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BASEMENT 2 KEY PLAN

B2a Drivers Lounge B2b Lockers

B2a

DRIVER’S ROOM Who’s the most sought after extension of your family?

Other than the cook and other domestic help, more often than not, everybody’s Man Friday is their driver.

At 2getherments, we understand how integral a driver is in the fabric of a home. That’s why we have designated rooms for them to relax, rest and rejuvenate in between errands. Obviously, their efficiency will be optimal.

B2c Dry Cleaning B2d Trolleys

B2d

TROLLEYS Oh, the pain of lugging all those shopping bags from your car to your home. Besides the physical strain, the sheer stress of balancing all those things is hugely stressful. At 2getherments, trolleys welcome you right at the entrance. All you need to do is to get hold of one of them, transfer your bags or luggage from the car and cruise your way home. Quite easily done, right?

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LIFE VALUE PERCOLATION FESTIVALS In the not-so-distant past, entire streets would come together to celebrate every occasion. The entire community would help decorate, and open their doors wide so they could wholeheartedly participate.

Diwali, Holi, and Pongal - do you remember the excitement surrounding these festivals when you were younger?

The days leading up to the festivities used to be full of excited shopping for new clothes. The smell of sweets and savouries being prepared would waft from the kitchen. Everyone would wake up early on the day of the festival, and spend the day together, celebrating with everyone on the street, as well as with their extended families! Two kids were overheard talking in the playground.

One said, “It’s Holi next week, no?

”The other responded gleefully, “Oh! Holiday!” That’s all a glorious festival means to many people now, a day off from school or office. There is no excitement in buying clothes or eating scrumptious sweets. As for the rituals surrounding the festivities, few people remember the reason behind them.

Invariably, people spend their “holiday” relaxing in their individual houses.

What a far cry from even a decade ago!

In the not-so-distant past, entire streets would come together to celebrate every occasion. The entire community would

help decorate, and open their doors wide so they could wholeheartedly participate. Thus children learned about different cultures and the greatness of our secular country in a far more meaningful way than any Civics or Geography book can teach. There are still pockets of urban India where festivals are celebrated in this manner.

In the heart of Chennai, within an area called Mylapore, temple festivals are occasions for the entire street coming together. There are no divisions of where one’s house ends and the neighbour’s

begins. Everyone comes together to decorate the street with vibrant rangoli patterns. Children run about freely without fear of danger. The happiness in the air is palpable, as no one is a stranger, and everyone feels like they belong. It is this sense of well-being that we used as an inspiration when we thought about the kind of community we want to build with 2getherments.

Let’s celebrate, together!

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FOLKLORE Who among us hasn’t experienced the magic of an elderly person spinning a story as groups of children sit by their feet, enthralled?

'Once upon a time', the familiar refrain takes us back in time to mystical lands and happy endings. Unlike common Western fairytales, our great Indian stories don't just talk about princes and princesses. Rather, they weave intricate tales of talking animals and wise birds, of kingdoms lost and won over games of dice. Our mythical gods and goddesses provide for a plethora of stories like none other in the world. Who among us hasn't experienced the magic of an elderly person spinning a story as groups of children sit by their feet,

enthralled? Sadly, this tradition too, may soon become a story for the books.

All around us, a generation is starting to look towards mobile phones and video games for their entertainment. Stories are provided by television sets and the internet. Separated from the elders in the community with the breakdown of joint families, there is rarely anyone who has the time or the inclination to pass on these great traditions. Part of the charm of folklore involves its being handed down by word of mouth.

Isolated as we are in urban apartments,

these stories may very well get lost and become distant memories. In less complicated times, every street in India invariably had a gathering place where some elderly person would beckon all the children and impart their stories, and in turn their wisdom, to the assembled crowd. These tales varied from region to region, and as they were told to a different audience, subtle changes would often get introduced to the tale. Soon, several variations of the same tale would get created by different storytellers, creating a fond

sense of nostalgia as the listeners clamoured to tell their versions of the story! At 2getherments, we dream of creating a space where these stories, once again, are told and retold. There are infinite benefits to cultivating a culture where folklore is shared and disseminated. Most folklore imparts a clear moral lesson, apart from being uniquely relevant to the country in which it originated. When we lose our folktales, we lose our roots. Here's to rediscovering them once again.

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GROUND FLOOR

Active Elder

Active Adult

Active Kids

KEY PLAN

0h

Crèche

0i

Basketball Court

0f

Central Court

0a

Multi-purpose Hall

0g

Senior Citizens Gym

0e

Pedestrian Entrance

0d

Vehicular Entrance

0f

CENTRAL COURT Celebrating togetherness - A key aspect of many successful housing communities is the strong camaraderie amongst neighbors and friends. Strong bonding is encouraged when everyone comes together to celebrate festivals, birthdays, events, national holidays and more. Organising such events is usually a collective effort. We’ve create a partially covered central court as a

congregation space for the families to host and meet for large events.

Knowing that there will be lights and music during these events, power supply for music systems and lighting as well as water tap-off point for cleaning the court post-event are small details that will help support smooth functioning of events.

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25 PEDESTRIAN ENTRANCE

Walking in and walking home - During the morning rush, how often we worry about that our children racing to the school bus might run into the path of a car exiting the basement? Wouldn’t it be nice to walk home without having to wonder where the footpath is? Or if there is a car coming from behind?

We’ve designed and designated a secure entry and exit point that is completely pedestrian. School buses will be directed to stop near the pedestrian gate for safe pick-up and drop-off. Also, the experience of coming home through a nicely landscaped pedestrian area helps to forget the noisy distractions of bus rides and commute.

SENIOR CITIZENS GYM

For the young-at-heart - For many seniors, walking is a preferred form of exercise. Given the constraints of urban environments (such as traffic pollution, loud car horns and disappearing footpaths), we designed keeping in mind the fitness requirements of our seniors.

In-campus walking is supplemented with outdoor senior gym to provide an appropriate fitness solution for our seniors. Gym equipment includes activities that encourage gentle strengthening and flexibility. Some gym equipment is designed for more than one person and this helps foster socialisation. And if they want a change, there is always the option of choosing fully-fitted gym, aerobics center and yoga deck for their fitness needs.

MULTI PURPOSE HALL Let’s get the party going - From family events, birthday parties, anniversary parties, reunions with a large group of old friends, the banquet room can easily be your venue of choice. In additional to the large reception area, there is banquet hall which can accommodate over 35 people easily. An outdoor spillover space for extra guests is provided in the open area outside the reception area. Also, if the hosts want to bring their caterers, there is a dedicated kitchen and cleaning area.

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TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN

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GROUND FLOOR

INTRODUCING CHAPERON SERVICES Work is running late. Your kids are coming home from school. Their safety is the prime concern of every parent.

That’s why we have certified Chaperons to look after them in your absence until you reach home.

Meanwhile, the chaperons will take your kids for their after-school activities within the community after a quick snack at the café.

CRECHE Where happy toddlers play For working families and aging grandparents, childcare facilities are critical and essential services. With the growing trend of crèches in housing communities and office parks, this is becoming the new normal for many communities. At 2getherments, this essential service will be offered by a reputed child care service provider in the specially designed crèche and attached children’s washrooms

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FIRST FLOOR

1a

KEY PLAN

Viewing Deck 1a

DOUBLE HEIGHT SPACE FOR BALCONY VIEWING Double the delight - When a big celebration was on at your grandparent’s village, were you one of those little ones climbing up a Neem tree for better view? If so, you now have a safer version of that in 2getherments. With the first floor corridor looking into the large double-height central court, families can have a gallery view of events below.

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CAN WE BLEND NUCLEAR AND JOINT FAMILY VALUES? The answer lies in a community lifestyle which existed a few decades ago when people believed and lived by the philosophy of All for one; One for all.

The whole family setup or the way we lived in and as a community has become redundant today. In the last five decades, society has been veering away from a joint family system and towards individualism. Today, it is quite natural that people who live in nuclear families keep their ageing parents in old age homes and pay the monthly service charge. If we analyse the root cause, we can trace what caused this change in thinking. All this happened due to industrialisation where people moved from agriculture based economy to other means of mass production.

The West has witnessed these trends centuries ago and India too followed suit in the last century. The concentration of mills coming up near the major British towns and cities led to mushrooming of individual families. Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai experienced these changes in the 20th century.

Enhanced standard of living and urban

English speaking middle class came into existence in this process. However, the trading communities live in joint families in the urban areas, even today.

In the urban working class, the change took place in a different way. In the villages where they lived, they didn't face the problem of housing. But when they migrated to cities, they had to live in decent affordable quarters or apartments. They worked for long hours to improve their standard of living. The next generation of this community got better education thanks to their parent's aspiration to enable their Gen Next to find gainful employment and enhance their lifestyle.

Though individualism led to prosperity, over a period of time the couples found it difficult to cope with the situation.

Earlier, the nuclear family provided care and support in times of crises and extended support wholeheartedly. As a homemaker, a woman's responsibility

increased as she had to step out to supplement the family income and bear the burden of raising the child single handedly. As the child grew up, she had to nurture, train and inculcate good family values without the support of her elders. Things have changed drastically as a woman started making rapid strides in her profession; she has to juggle different roles as a homemaker, mother and a successful career woman.

Some women are lucky to have parental support or get the support of domestic help to raise their children while she climbs the professional ladder. But with increasing insecurity and lack of safety for children, a modern working mother has begun to feel pressurized. She longs and craves the comfort her parents and in-laws can provide in terms of family support. She is definitely looking for an eco-system that will provide more safety and security to her children when she is away. The answer lies in a community lifestyle which existed a few

decades ago when people believed and lived by the philosophy of All for one; One for all.

And if you come to the work-home balance, not so long ago, home and work had clear boundaries. The pressures of our profession hardly entered the home but now thanks to smart phones, one doesn't know when to switch of. Yes, it is good we excel in profession thanks to our connectivity, but can we say the same about our families? So, the crux here is we need to strike a balance in providing care and security to family members. Although we lack the support and care of a joint family, it may be a good option to live in a community. Yes, we need to think on those lines to make our lives stress-free by bonding with neighbours and retrieve the old values which were lost in the transition.

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BRIDGING THE GAP ACROSS GENERATIONS The concept of “non-familial intergenerational interactions” is centered around the seemingly simple idea that old and young can bring new energy, knowledge and enthusiasm to each other’s lives.

It may not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things, but research has proven that these interactions can have fantastic benefits for each generation.

In Australia and the UK studies have shown that activities that include children and older adults can increase self-esteem and promote friendships. In Japan, shared play activities have been found to result in greater smiles and more conversation for elders.

Intergenerational activities show elders that they are valued as individuals that still possess lifelong skills rather than

just being passive recipients of care.The little ones bring a new sense of vibrancy and fun and the focus is no longer on watching time pass but on living in the moment.

These days extended families are separated by distance and time, but programmes that bring children and older adults together could change the whole of society’s outlook. Children are

the worlds’ future but that doesn’t mean we should consign older generations to the past.

Article by CatrinHedd Jones, Lecturer, Bangor University. Republished under Creative Commons licence.

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Passive Elder

Active Elder

Active Kids

SECOND FLOOR

2f

Hopscotch Court

2e

Loungers Lawn

2c

Toddler’s Play

2a

Floor Chess

2b

Multi-Game Mini Court

2d

Loungers Lawn

KEY PLAN

2f

HOPSCOTCH COURT From lines on the sand to chalk marks Our kids play it. We played it. Our parents played too, as did theirs, and many generations before them.

Hopscotch remains as popular then as it is now. A court or block pattern is drawn on the ground and then a small stone or tile is thrown into the numbered block. The player needs to hop or jump through the blocks and retrieve the stone. And this again becomes a crossgenerational spectator game, when the players or team grows larger.

2e

LOUNGER’S LAWN Remove your shoes and rest your feet.

Watch the little ones play hopscotch, the older child play giant chess with the uncle from fourth floor and your wife chat merrily with his wife. Listen to the giggles and the breeze through the leaves as you watch your neighbours connect across age groups in this large park.

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33 CHECK MATE Chess is one of the games that can be played across age groups. Here the seniors can brush up their chess skills while the younger ones sharpen theirs. Because of the size of the giant chess, this game becomes a spectator sport encouraging audience to cheer on the two opponents.

HAMMER AWAY IN FUN Hammer & ball and similar lawn games help build flexibility and balance of our seniors. They also give the opportunity to get some exercise, improve hand-eye coordination, and feel connected with peers. Lawn games have been introduced as a response to the needs of our senior citizens. These team games encourage socialization and reduced isolation.

In addition, this is a fun opportunity for younger generations to learn from and practice with older generation experts. Across many scientific studies, there is growing evidence that crossgenerational activities have beneficial impacts on cognitive functioning and psychological health of seniors.

MULTI-GAME MINI COURT Hammer away in fun - Hammer & ball and similar lawn games help build flexibility and balance of our seniors.

They also give the opportunity to get some exercise, improve hand-eye coordination, and feel connected with peers. Lawn games have been introduced as a response to the needs of our senior citizens. These team games encourage socialization and reduced isolation.

In addition, this is a fun opportunity for younger generations to learn from and practice with older generation experts. Across many scientific studies, there is growing evidence that crossgenerational activities have beneficial impacts on cognitive functioning and psychological health of seniors.

ENTERTAINMENT AREA Reading with each other - We all know that reading to children builds vocabulary, comprehension skills and improves the child’s communication skills. Many studies show a strong correlation between reading and improved cognitive functioning among seniors. The challenge, of course, is when both parents work. Between school runs, work, grocery shopping, and attending to household chores, we miss out on reading to and with our children and our parents. As solution, we have designated the entertainment room (having a wall of books, newspaper and reading materials) where children, adults and seniors have a common space to share their love of reading as well as share their life experiences and knowledge.

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Passive Adult

THIRD FLOOR

3a

Conversation Court

KEY PLAN

3a

LET’S TALK “Sometimes the greatest adventure is simply a conversation.” - Amadeus Wolfe Every conversation is an opportunity to share and to learn from each other. We can find information, friendship and wisdom in the meaningful engagement with people across all walks of life. And here at the conversation court, it is easy

to pull up a chair and join the table as neighbours and friends share their thoughts, ideas and experiences. And who knows? Perhaps the next start-up idea may crop up during a conversation? Or a better tool to manage your personal finances? Or even share a few parenting tips from the older families to younger ones?

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Active Elder

FOURTH FLOOR

4a

Board Games

KEY PLAN

4a

STRATEGY LESSONS FROM BOARD GAMES With our children (and some of us adults as well) stuck to gadgets, it is becoming important to experience forms of play other than mobile games. Board games bring people together through competitive and cooperative game play.

They encourage family time, quality engagement with friends, speed up response times, develop logic and reasoning skills, and improve critical thinking skills. In addition, playing board games teaches us how to handle losing well (no whining), how to handle winning well (no gloating) and on being hap-

py for others. Playing is an important source of relaxation and stimulation for adults as well.

In the designated space for board games enthusiasts, there is a stimulating environment for skill sharing, crossgenerational play and hosting games.

Want to come together with some friends for an afternoon game? How about hosting a competitive game series on Indian board games like Ashtapada, Chaturanga, Vamana guntalu, Meka puli aata, Pachisi?

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KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER As wisdom is passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, it gives people a chance to make the knowledge that’s shared their own.

While the Western cultures documented their findings, Indians have always believed in the power of the oral tradition. As wisdom is passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, it gives people a chance to make the knowledge that’s shared their own. Interaction is possible, as well as a healthy interchange of questions and answers. Story telling was an unparalleled art that harnessed creativity, community bonding and a constructive way to spend time rather than frittering it away on mindless TV watching or playing mobile games. However, over the years, younger generations seldom spare the time to listen.

Thus, a lot of the practices that we follow in modern day India come from a place of half

baked knowledge.

It’s easy to write them off as dogmatic, or debunk them. Most of the information we glean today comes from the internet. While it’s fantastic to have access to information in a way that no previous generation ever had, the fact remains that real, local knowledge still lies in the hands of the elders around us. While we Google which vegetables are seasonal, our grandparents can instantaneously tell us! Not only that, they also know what impact they had on various body parts and what time of the day you should consume which kind of food.

Remember the glorious days of summer vacations when grandmothers would line the terraces of the house with appadams?

The heady aroma of mango pickles and their unique taste in each household conjures pleasant nostalgia. It’s only when they pass on their recipes that we can hope to recreate this feeling. Farmers and artisans seem to have retained their traditional skills better, but in the urban setup, especially in nuclear families, it’s easy to lose sight of our roots and merely imitate other cultures. There is much value to be gained from the legendary and inimitable Indian culture. It’s said that the Mahabharat contains every tale that ever was, is, or will be. Imagine the lessons that are folded within those stories! The Bhagvad Gita alone provides invaluable counsel on approaching life. Similarly, the Bible or the Quran, Guru Granth Sahib or Jataka tales.

Studies have shown the societies that give a moral grounding to children from an early age are far more stable and crime free than those who don’t make an effort in imparting value based stories. Lessons are learnt the hard way in such societies or not learnt at all.

So why break something that can be easily fixed with a glue called knowledge transfer.

At 2getherments, we bring together people of various generations so that we can all benefit from one another’s experience. For instance, elders could talk us through skills we find challenging today, be it handling money or separating work from life!

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FIFTH FLOOR

Active Adult

KEY PLAN

5a

Dance Room

5b

Music Room

5b

STREAMING MUSIC We are meticulous in choosing schools and extra-classes for our children. We work around schedules to ensure they are regular with their after-school classes. Also, many of us have learnt music as children and would love to practice our skills. But with family and work responsibilities, following our music interests sometimes takes a back

seat. With the convenience of having on-site music studio, it becomes easier to hire qualified instructors to teach vocal or instrumental music. Plus there is the added benefit of not having to commute to music academies/studios.

So, looks like there are no excuses to come together and create your own music band.

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GAMES WE PLAY AS KIDS Even if you were sick all day, you would become just fine by the play time. The best part is, the games cost nothing and the physical exercise was priceless!

The pre gadget days were the best time to be born in. You could play outside all day and never be tired enough to come back home. With a new game to play every day, every minute, there was never a one dull moment! Evenings were reserved for outdoor games when all the kids and the youngsters of a colony assembled in the play ground or sometimes in the gallis (lanes). Even if you were sick all day, you would become just fine by the play time. The best part is, the games cost nothing and the physical exercise was priceless!

Here we're listing 10 most popular games with the rules and regulations for anybody who wants to gather a bunch of coplayers and get out to the `maidan':

1. LANGDI

Langdi is a team sport between two sides, played 12 players a side, and an additional three extra players. · A match lasts 36 minutes. It is played in four innings of nine minutes each.

The team that wins the toss defends. · The chasing team sends chasers who hop on one foot and try to tag the defenders. The chasers can step out of the ground as long as they keep on one foot. · The defenders are declared out if they step out of the ground or commit a line fault. · The team that tags most defenders is declared the winner We Indians love to play 'catch catch' so much that we can even do it with just one leg, even at the cost of looking like crazy chickens. Oh, and it also helped us

in our bhangra performances.

2. CHAR PATHAR/ NAALUGU RAALLA AATA/ FOUR STONES

and finally reach his/her native. box. A player, while shifting to other boxes, is declared to be out when he/ she is touched by the danner. The game continues as long as one of the players is out

Four independent boxes are drawn on the ground.

3. LINGODCHA/ PITTU/ SEVEN STONES · Four players stand in their squares The game requires a tennis ball and set and four stones one above the other are placed at the center. The objective of each player is to have a stone without being captured by the danner. The objective of the danner is to capture the players who move in their way.

When the game starts, the danner keeps moving along his path to capture the players who try to pick up the stones. · The danner is not supposed to enter into the boxes. One of the players takes initiative to pick up all the stones and tries to move into any of the boxes one by one and distributes the stones to the other players. · However it is not necessary that only one player should take initiative in picking up all the stones, but every player can pick up any number of stones for distribution. When each player picks up at least one stone by default, there is no need of distribution. · When all the players get their stones, they would ask the danner to choose either "Gumpu" (Group) or "Chuttu" (circling). When the danner chooses Gumpu, and selects a particular box, then all other players carefully gather in the selected box, with the stones in their hands. For the choice of Chuttu, each player will have to make 6 rounds

of seven stones which can be stacked up to form a small tower. The aim of the game is to be able to break the tower and then rebuild it before getting hit by one of the opponent. There are two teams - A and B. · Each player in team A takes their turn in breaking the tower from a certain distance using a tennis ball. A player from team B is assigned to catch the ball after it gets thrown by team A. Rest of team B become fielders. · When a player from team A succeeds in knocking over the tower, the team's next aim becomes to rebuild the tower while everyone in team B tries to get all the players out in team A by hitting them with the tennis ball. · If team B succeeds in getting the players with the pitu coin in hand out from team A before the tower is rebuilt then they have defended a pittu. · But if team B fails to do so then team A gets a pittu and they carry on with their turn in breaking the tower. · Once everyone in team A has had their turn, the teams swap the roles. · After both teams have defended, the team with most number of stones wins

4. THOKKUDU BILLA / HOPSKOTCH

To play this game, a court is first laid

out on the ground. Depending on the available surface, the court is either scratched out in the dirt or drawn with chalk on pavement. Courts may be permanently marked where playgrounds are commonly paved, as in elementary schools. Designs vary, but the court is usually composed of a series of linear squares interspersed with blocks of two lateral squares.

Traditionally the court ends with a "safe" or "home" base in which the player may turn before completing the reverse trip. The home base may be a square, a rectangle, or a semicircle. The squares are then numbered in the sequence in which they are to be hopped· The first player tosses the marker also called a "lucky" unto the court.

This object should land in the square without bouncing, sliding, or rolling out. It is typically a small, at stone, coin, bean bag, or small chain with a charm. · The marker must land completely within the square without touching the line. The player then hops through the course, skipping the square with the marker in it. Single squares must be hopped on one foot. · For the first single square, either foot may be used. Side-by-side squares are straddled, with the left foot landing in the left square, and the right foot landing in the right square. Optional squares marked "Safe", "Home", or "Rest" are neutral squares, and may be hopped through in any manner without penalty. · After hopping into "Safe", "Home", or "Rest", the

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player must then turn around and return through the course (square 9, then squares 8 and 7, next square 6, and so forth) on one or two legs depending on the square until reaching the square with the marker. · The player stops in the square before the marker and reaches down to retrieve the marker and continue the course as stated, without touching a line or stepping into a square with another player's marker. Upon successfully completing the sequence, the player continues the turn by tossing the marker into square number two, and repeating the pattern

5. GACHAKAYA/ GUTTE/ FIVE STONES

One of the most famous games that is recalled in every nostalgic talk, this game can be played by both adults and young ones, and by any number of people. You just have five stones in the game. What you have to do is toss a stone up in the air, and before it falls on the ground, you need to pick up the other stones. It's fun! Try it someday if you haven't yet!

6. KANCHA/ GOTI

Played mostly by the children, the game is known by different names all

over India. This is a game played by using marbles or kancha, as it is known in Hindi and Goti as it is known in Hyderabad. · Amidst an array of marbles, you are to select one particular kancha, target it from a distance and hit it. It is again one of the most popular and fun filled games ever played.

7. GILLI DANDA

Two sticks, one striker and oodles of excitement make this game a totally fun filled one. It is much like cricket, if we may say so, albeit a far reached comparison it is. In this game, you have two sticks on varied lengths. · The first, and the longer stick, is known as danda while the much shorter one is known as gilli. · What the striker has to do is hold the danda and hit the gilli lying over the ground in such a fashion that it is lifted to a height. Now, before the gilli touches the ground, the striker has to strike the gilli with the danda as far as possible, and before it is collected by the opponent team, he has to run a pre-decided point.

8. KHO KHO

This game is one of India's most popular tag games. It's interesting and a very sporty game! In fact, many schools

in India used to keep kho kho in their annual sports games list · This game consists of two groups among which the members of one group sits or kneels at the centre of the court adjacent to and facing each other. · Now, the team which takes the shortest time to leap and tag all the members of the opponent team wins the game.

9. KABADDI

Kabaddi is a contact team sport that originated in Indian subcontinent in Tamil Nadu. It is popular in South Asia and is the state game of the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Bihar and Punjab. It is also the national sport of Bangladesh. · Two teams of 7 members compete, each occupying its own half of the court. They take turns sending a `raider' into the opposing team's half and earn points if the raider manages to touch opposing team members and return to the home half, all while chanting `Kabaddi Kabaddi' in a single breath. · If, however, the raider is tackled and prevented from returning, the opposing team earns the point. · The raider will be declared "out" and will not gain the point if they inhale before returning to their side, or return without touching an opponent. The tagged defender(s) will be "out" if they do not succeed in catching the raider

who tagged them. · Wrestling the raider to the ground can prevent them from escaping before they need to in hale.

10. DAAGUDU MOOTHALU, DANDAKOR/ CHUPPA CHUPPI/ HIDE AND SEEK

This is a game that has been played by children throughout the ages and even throughout the world. It is not only children who enjoy it a natural instinct for parents is to play a facial form of hide and seek with their children from the earliest age, as it teaches children about attachment and detachment in a safe and caring environment. This outdoor game provides interaction amongst children it is effcient to play.

In the Telugu speaking communities the ditty went like this: Daagudu mootha dandakor, ekkadi dongalu akkadane gup chup (Beware we're playing Hide and seek, all the thieves hide wherever they are and keep quiet) · One person is chosen to be the chaser who counts from 1 to 20. The rest of them hide in the meanwhile. · The game is all about finding the hidden players one by one. Any number of players can participate.

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Active Adult

Active Kids

SIXTH FLOOR

6a

Children’s Play

6b

Rock Climbing

6c

Console Gaming

KEY PLAN

6c

WHAT’S YOUR GAME PLAN Boom in gaming industry is triggered by enthusiastic participation from school & college students and passionate adult gamers. In the on-site gaming lounge, you can play with friends or your children and have a good time. Who knows, maybe you are the active gamer who hosts gaming events every week/ month and runs Gamers workshops

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CLIMBING ON ROCKS Few exercises can rival rock climbing when it comes to training a diverse range of muscles. A rock climbing wall is an artificial wall with grips for hands and feet. Whether we are adventurous or cautious, rock climbing is definitely a fun indoor/outdoor activity (using harnesses and with safety personnel on hand, naturally).

CLIMBING UP WALLS Ready to be the next spidey? Targeted at the younger members in the community, these low walls can be scaled by the little explorers (under supervision, naturally). Under the watchful eyes of their parents seated around the walls, these fun walls help develop eye, hand and foot coordination and improves concentration skills.

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Active Adult

SEVENTH FLOOR

7a

Air Hockey & Foosball

7b

Billards

KEY PLAN

7a

FOOTBALL & HOCKEY ON TABLES Table top games such as Air Hockey and Foosball are a fun and engaging way to spend an afternoon with friends and children. With the added benefit of improving logical thinking skills and hand & eye coordination, these dynamic games remain popular across many age groups. So, ready to organize the next community tournament?

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CUE SPORTS Did you know the game of Snooker (a version of Billiards) originated among British Army officers stationed in Ooty in 1850s? With parents & children exploring new sports, cue sports (Billiards, Snookers, etc) is becoming a popular competitive sport in India.

Cue sports helps build focus, balance & control while improving cognitive skills

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THE INGREDIENTS OF UX THAT HELPS US UNRAVEL BUYER NEEDS At 2getherments we know that if we need to create a remarkable home for people, we need to understand the user experience. We also understand that our aim was to go beyond in creating the user experience. Our focus was to ensure that we create the right kind of customer journeys.

FOCUS ON THE KEY OUTCOMES

The goal of the UX designer is to make users effective. It has to result in some key outcome. And the outcome could be enhancing the feel good factor, it could be saving time. It could be making life easier. So we understood that the user experience is just the tip of the iceberg. It was very clear that first and foremost aspect of doing UX actually meant studying the entire process ofthe individuals experience and their subjective opinion of their life's situation.

THE CORE AUDIENCE

At 2getherments we did this by understanding that one of our core audiences is the double income working couple, where both the husband and wife are working quite possibly in an IT company. They are young. They have a kid or two and they are busy.

They are living in nuclear families.

Their parents come once in a way to stay with them but most of the time they are alone, and they are battling both their career and also balancing their life. And so they need a whole lot of conveniences which are typically not provided by most builders because builders look at creating what they think is the happiness quotient.

TRUE HAPPINESS QUOTIENT

Happiness quotient according to most builders could be beautiful granite flooring or maybe two or more additional facilities in the Club House, or it could be beautiful glass facades in the balcony. But these, we term it as only surface happiness creators because they are just skimming the surface. They are not going really deeper in terms of understanding what are the user needs and how do we build and measure those solutions in the real world to see if they actually work.

QUALITATIVE CONCEPTUAL RESEARCH

We spoke to about 250 people who were all double income couples, most

of them working in IT companies and they had a couple of kids. The results that emerged from this detailed survey and interactions with young couples, some of whom were parents and some yet to be, taught us invaluable lessons we incorporated in every area of 2getherments.

and feelings a lot. And so some of the questions that we asked were: What is the users' motivation to be here in the place? How does this make them feel? So they said that if the maid feels happier, if the maid feels in control of the situation, then their own sense of well-being is going to be far better.

UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PSYCHOLOGY

QUALITY FAMILY TIME

One of the critical aspects of UX design is to understand psychology. A user's mind is complex. So we realized that we need to understand subjective thoughts

One of the vital factors, we found in our research, that was sorely missing in the lives of couples, is their time together and with their family. They probably, on better days, had a couple of hours in the morning before they left

to work and a couple of hours when they returned home. In order for them to make the best of these quality hours, they needed to communicate in open spaces with fewer walls to separate them. At 2getherments, our endeavour is to create Time Earning Habitats. Our (Your) homes are designed in such a way that everybody is visible and audible to one another. Additionally, the seamless architecture ensures that they have enough space to hang out together while watching television or listening to music or working or just doing things they love collectively and individually.

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TINY ASPECTS OF USER BEHAVIOUR

Are you thinking of the user's wants or needs or your own? Do you gift people what they need or what you want?

That’s a million dollar question that all of us need to mull over. That’s what we did as architects. We did not sit and discuss amongst ourselves what home owners need like most builders do.

We went out there, into the world, and spoke to people, young couples, active 50 + couples whose needs vary because of the different stages of life they are in. Based on the results our research threw up, we designed APT homes. In fact, we’re still in the process of visiting homes of our personas to figure out their pain points, the lacunae in their existing living spaces and understand what they need, want, desire and aspire for. We look for abandoned, orphaned items, unravel bits and pieces and arrive at our solutions. Rather their solutions.

Therein lies our fulfilments as architects to design homes that speak to their owners and read their minds. Our only agenda is to ensure that the homes respond to their residents’ needs.

SMART SOLUTIONS

We have taken into account aspects that seem micro in the big picture but macro for the residents, like clothes lines and

spaces for kitchen gadgets. Most people are at a loss when it comes to hanging their washed clothes because there are no designated areas in apartments.

Consequence – clothes hung in balconies making the apartments look terrible when you view from outside.

There are no contraptions that can bring the clothes line down to suit the height of domestic help. We have thought of even such small aspects and created a push button for the clothes line to descend and go up after the clothes are hung. Aesthetics and functionality can co exist and make the lives of residents and easy breeze.

EVERY THING IN ITS PLACE

From designated spaces for brooms to labelled kitchen containers, we have mapped them all and addressed every single – major and minor need of our residents. At 2getherments, everything has a space and everything is in its place

the entrance, designated camouflaged areas for kitchen gadgets, so on and so forth.

compartments for crockery and cutlery to plate and spoon holders, we have made provisions for every requirement.

THE ROLE OF USABILITY IN UX DESIGN

CLEAR DOCUMENTATION THE FOURTH DIMENSION

UX design is meant to make every day chores easy and everyday items to be handy. Whether it is a water bottle, school bag, badge, Saturday school dress, you name it.

FUNCTIONAL DESIGN THAT MAKES LIVES EASIER

Simple stuff in life is made very complicated often when empathy is lacking. Take the case of coloured and white clothes getting mixed up. Why would we want to waste precious time trying to segregate the laundry? We created specific cupboards to store laundry to make it simpler for your domestic help or for you while handling the chore.

USER ASSUMPTIONS

PROVIDING USERS WHAT Empathy, our driving factor, has enabled THEY NEED EVEN IF IT and empowered us as architects to not assume but visualise ourselves in the MEANT SPENDING MORE spaces and situations of our residents to provide them exactly what they need. That explains the presence of an airconditioner in the kitchen, mirror at

We, as architects, believe in being guided by empathy, intuition and research while creating APT homes for the residents of 2getherments. From the

Beautifully organised lists of features at individual and community level which are easy to find is another well thought out aspect which you’ll find at 2getherments. We only have our unconditional empathy to thank, when it comes to envisaging and understanding several such micro aspects which go beyond surveys and research. The next level was documentation. And we said that it's extremely important to talk about a whole lot of unit level features as well as community level features.

Thus we put it together and created beautiful lists, which are easy to find.

Does it sound confident and tell?

MULTIPLE WAYS OF DOCUMENTATION

Manuals, easy to-do guides, graphically designed for even an illiterate domestic help to understand, with the appropriate size fonts, soft copies, legible hard bound copies, are all an integral part of 2getherments user manuals.

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ACTIVE - 50s WITH FLOATING KIDS Whether it’s enjoying chai after the morning walk, or catching up with friends regarding favorite shows and activities, or comfortably hosting children and grandchildren during their visits, or engaging in activities that improve physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, you will find your tailored apt solution at 2getherments.

With a growing senior population (from 104 million in 2011 to 173 million by 2026), increase in life expectancy, and aspirations of active senior living, the need for specific housing solutions is high amongst Indian seniors.

A lot has changed in typical senior retirement lifestyle experience in the last 3 decades. Earlier, middle-class families worked through their life, held one job, lived in one city, built/bought a home, and after retirement, drew pensions/ savings and lead quiet retired lives. While some of them were not financially dependent on their children, they needed emotional, mental and at times physical support from their adult children.

Nowadays, seniors are looking forward to an active retired life and to indulge in interests and community engagements that they had little time for during their working life. Travel, gardening, community service are high up on their priority list, along with support for their grandchildren upbringing. While some would like to move away from the big cities, others choose to stay back as there is a larger support system in place for their growing needs (such as better healthcare facilities, social engagements, professional opportunities, etc).

A report released by the United Nations Population Fund and HelpAge India Earlier, studies and careers took families to different places. But when it came to retiring, most families choose to come back to their hometowns. Nowadays, with children travelling across the country and globe, home town can be where their friends, children or interests are present. With those aspirations comes typical pain points senior families face including:

PAIN POINTS

• Feeling social loneliness with limited opportunity to increase friend circle • Feeling stressed on how much chores there are to do around the house • Having limited access to pursue fitness activities • Having limited access to pursue hobbies and sports

HIDDEN ASPIRATIONS

From our research and decades of work experience designing residential communities, we’ve identified some hidden aspirations of senior families and have designed solutions that help address their needs appropriately.

Typically, senior families require: • Spaces for family to engage and connect with each other, friends (old and new) and neighbours • Stronger community in which to build and develop new friends • Homes that do not require too much housekeeping effort and time • Adequate storage for requirements of the family • Expandable home for visiting families and guests • Options for the whole family to explore and develop skills and interests; and reduced commute times while pursuing those activities.

LIFESTYLE CHOICES

In addition, we are also seeing an increasing preference for lifestyle choices that include: • Moving towards organic food sources and greater food safety • Developing interest in kitchen gardens and home-grown greens and vegetables • Responsibly managing waste segregation, disposal and recycling • Responsibly consuming energy & water • Craving for homes that are closer to nature and cleaner environment.

Given the above needs and requirements, we’ve designed the units in 2getherments to be apt homes for senior families; homes that also have multi-tasking spaces; homes that change from time-consuming habitats to time-earning habitats. As we walk through each room design, this larger design intent will become evident from the solutions and provisions that have been included to help address these specific aspirations of such families.

While we’ve designed homes keeping a typical senior family persona in mind, we understand that not all families are the same or all their requirements identical. And so, we are offering customization services (as an add-on service) where our designers will work with you and your family to create a home that meets your specific needs and requirements.

Read more at: //economictimes. indiat imes.com/ar t icleshow/47484119. cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_ medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

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HOME DESIGN - ACTIVE 50s WITH FLOATING KIDS A large comfortable home designed specifically for active seniors family, keeping in mind their practical needs and lifestyle. This home has a welcoming foyer, an impressive living area, a formal dining area, a quiet master bedroom, a children’s bedroom for visiting adult children, a guest bedroom that duals as study room or gaming room for their grandchildren and extended families, comfortable bathrooms, resting balconies, a private kitchen and efficient utility, and adequate and more storage.

The home is designed to empathic to the aesthetic, functional and practical needs of the active seniors family as well as their belongings.

EXTERNAL FOYER - ACTIVE 50s WITH FLOATING KIDS Welcoming entrance that respond to the functional and cultural needs of home owners.

•

Personalised main door designs are available as an add-on options.

•

Care has been taken to address specific needs such as elegant door bell, door number and name plate.

•

Space for accessories such as potted plants and accent light has been provided.

•

Specific cultural requirements such as door threshold decorations and pumpkins, etc can also be incorporated into the main entrance design.

•

Power supply provisions have been made for thorans/decorative string lights, etc

•

Outdoor clutter can be minimized by using the wall mounted shoe cupboards

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INTERNAL FOYER - ACTIVE 50s WITH FLOATING KIDS

Come home to a space that is both welcoming and functionally responsive, and anointed with sophisticated elegance.

Many practical needs have been accommodated in this space such as

option for an elegant console with drawers for bills, letters, milk card, newspaper cards, etc.

Adequate storage has been designed for newspapers, additional shoes, rainwear, umbrellas and shopping bags. This

has been tucked discreetly under the comfortable bench seats. Full mirror wall expands the space visually and also acts as full height mirror.

Space has been provided for wall art or large family portrait, which will hide

the DB panel. Space has been provided for a tall display unit that can house travel mementos, picture frames, etc.

A fold-away bed provision option is available, if in case the family have a live in assistant or driver.

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LIVING - ACTIVE 50s WITH FLOATING KIDS A large space opens up as you enter from the foyer. In the living area, sufficient seating for the whole family has been provided … to enjoy conversations or view the large balcony garden or spend an afternoon watching a movie.

Many practical needs have been accommodated in this space such as •

The entertainment unit, that has been designed to accommodate a large screen TV, DVD, Set-up box, DVD collections, magazines, display items.

•

Space for a large sofa with lounger, coffee table, side tables and an armchair.

•

Space for two additional ottomans has been provided, tucked next to the entertainment unit design, to address additional seating requirement when there are guests.

•

Ceiling has been elegantly articulated with recessed lighting, spotlights and provision for stylish ceiling fan.

•

Provision has been made for ceiling to floor curtain.

DINING - ACTIVE 50s WITH FLOATING KIDS This is a large dining area and can accommodate several lifestyle and functional needs, such as: •

Formal dining for six

•

Multifunctional storage / display unit has been designed to accommodate several requirements such as travel mementos, home documents, medicine box, first aid box, medical reports, crockery, and cutlery, serveware and disposable dinner ware. There is also space for a tray of pickles and condiment.

•

Hand wash area elegantly integrated into the design of the multipurpose storage.

•

Space has been provided for wall arts and family photo display.

•

Option for a box room to store suitcases and other articles.

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KITCHEN - ACTIVE-50s WITH FLOATING KIDS This large closed kitchen has been designed keeping in mind the comfort requirements of the Senior Citizens.

A sliding door closes and provides privacy with in the kitchen. The kitchen has additionally been designed to respond to and accommodate the needs of Indian style of cooking.

•

Storage provisions for dry goods, cooking utensils, cooking vessels, every day serve ware, every day dinner sets, tiffin boxes, lids, pans and pot wares, spices, pulses, rice, atta, evening snacks, tea coffee beverages, onion, potato and garlic, oil, kitchen towels, kitchen rolls etc.

•

Provisions are made for a four burner hob and hood.

•

Provisions have been made for several appliances including lefthand refrigerator, counter top micro wave oven, kettle, toaster, electric cooker, mixer and wet grinder.

•

If required, a hanging rod can be installed for spice racks, mugs, ladles, and scissors.

•

There is sufficient counter space available for prepping ingredients, kitchen tools such as knife blocks, ladle stand, oil bottles, dicing boards and food containers.

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A vegetable sink in the kitchen.

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As an upgrade option, provision for a under-counter dishwasher and under-counter baking oven is possible.

•

Provision has been made for AC if required by home owners

•

Kitchen is lit through a large window and a glass door that allows sunlight.

UTILITY- ACTIVE-50s WITH FLOATING KIDS A glass door from the kitchen leads to the large multifunctional utility area and accommodates •

A double bowel sink with single drain board

•

Provisions for traditional stainless steel dish rack/storage unit that is wall hung above the sink

•

Option for a small hanging shelf can be installed for dish washing liquid and detergent.

•

Underneath the sink, storage has been allocated for recycling bin and plastic bags.

•

On the opposite wall, there is an integrated laundry unit. This unit will house

•

washing machine (provision only)

•

cloth dryer

•

laundry cupboard for segregating

white and colour as well as a shelf for laundry liquid and powder.

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Next to the laundry unit, there is small provision to hang brooms and mops.

•

Option for retractable ceiling mounted cloths drying rails to allow for both shaded drying of large fabrics as well as sun drying of the same.

•

Along the length of the utility, 2

one-foot-wide ledges has been provided which can be used for drying larger vessels such as pressure cookers, kadais, etc. This can also be used to keep some small potted herb planters.

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BALCONY - ACTIVE-50s WITH FLOATING KIDS

Large external balcony has been provided to create an inviting outdoor living environment. This has been achieved by providing sufficient space for •

Large planter for fruit/flowering tree

•

Space for relaxed rocking chair

•

Space for garden table with 2 chairs

•

A quaint wash basin to cleanup.

•

Cabinet underneath the wash basin to store gardening equipment tools and liquids.

•

Option for cabinet underneath the wash basin to store gardening equipment tools and cleaning liquids.

•

Provision has been made for festive/decorative string lighting.

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POOJA ROOM - ACTIVE-50s WITH FLOATING KIDS A comfortably large pooja cupboard has been provided. Pooja cupboard opens on to the flexible dining space so that in event of small family pooja there is sufficient standing and seating for all members of the family.

•

Traditionally designed doors encase the Pooja cupboard

•

Sufficient space for wall pictures, small statues, pooja articles.

•

A retractable tray for offerings,

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A drawer for every day pooja article (Agarbathi, cum-cum, campher etc.

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Another drawer for devotional books, etc

Another drawer for special occasion/ festival items such as tall lamps, small lamps etc. This drawer will be lockable.

GUEST BEDROOM - ACTIVE-50s WITH FLOATING KIDS

This multifunctional room has space to accommodate several needs such as: A home office for seniors: With a convenient nook that provides a table space for laptop, printer, papers, documents and stationeries. There is space for a chair that slides under the table top, and provision for phone and mobile devise charging station has been located here. Additional storage has been provided for home files and documents. Sufficient power supply

points have also been provided here.

A gaming room for children and grandchildren: With provision for TV screen, gaming console & for all associated equipment. There is provision for a sound bar for sufficient sound system. A transformative sofa/bed system (optional).

Sofa can be used while gaming.

A guest room for visiting family and friends: With a pull out bed that offers

a sleep area for guests. A long wardrobe is provided as storage space for guest’s suit cases, clothes, toiletry, secured drawer for valuables, spare linen and for spare towels. Additionally, space to keep items such as extra gifts, unused gadgets and cables is also provided.

GUEST BATHROOM This bath room is adjacent to the guest room. It has been conveniently located such that both visiting guests

and overnight guest have access to this bathroom. Elegantly designed fixtures include wash basin on counter top, a comfortable WC and a shower area.

There’s an option of under-sink storage provided for extra toiletries and towels as well as hooks for toilet brush, toilet broom and a small shelf for cleaning liquids.

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CHILDREN’S BEDROOM - ACTIVE-50s WITH FLOATING KIDS

CHILDREN’S BATHROOM A door from the dining area leads to the master bed room. This large room has space to accommodate a queen bed and two side tables. On the bathroom door, which is next to the dresser, a full length mirror has been provided. Wall length wardrobe with full height sliding doors providing adequate storage for everyday clothes, special occasion clothes, spare bed linen, extra pillows and blankets, extra hand bags, ties and

belts, secured drawers for valuables and personal documents. Space for a small study table and chair.Care has been taken to optimally locate switches and plug points including wall holder for A/C remote. Above the head board of the bed, recommendation for hanging wall art, family photos, etc. A wide standing balcony with potted plants on shelves have been provided to create a green outdoor space

This ensuite bath room is attached to the master bed room. Elegantly designed fixtures include wash basin on counter top, a comfortable WC and a shower area. This dry bath room has been designed to reduce water spillover near the wash basin and the WC area. This can be achieved by installing an elegant shower curtain or upgrade to a shower door. There is an option for under-sink storage for extra toiletries and towels as

well as for discrete storage with hooks for toilet brush, toilet broom and a small shelf for cleaning liquids.

MASTER BEDROOM - ACTIVE-50s WITH FLOATING KIDS A door from the dining area leads to the master bed room. This large room has space to accommodate:

holder for A/C remote.

Wall art, family photos, etc can be hung above the head board of the bed.

A king bed or two single beds, based on end-user preference two side table, a chest of drawers (with a table top mirror) that also functions as a dresser. This dresser can accommodate everyday cosmetics, toiletry, fashion accessories, hair grooming tools and equipment, small garments, towels and extra bathroom toiletry.

A standing balcony for potted plants on shelves has been provided to create a green outdoor space and bring green living into the private spaces as well.

On the bathroom door, which is next to the dresser, a full length mirror may be installed.

Wall length wardrobe with full height sliding doors providing adequate storage for everyday clothes, special occasion clothes, spare bed linen, extra pillows and blankets, extra hand bags, ties and belts, secured drawers for valuables and personal documents.

Care has been taken to optimally locate switches and plug points including wall

MASTER BATHROOM This ensuite bath room is attached to the master bed room. Elegantly designed fixtures include wash basin on counter top, comfortable WC and a shower area.

This dry bath room has been designed to reduce water spillover near the wash basin and the WC area. This can be achieved by installing an elegant shower curtain or upgrade to a shower door.

Option for under-sink storage has been provided for extra toiletries and towels.

Option for a discrete storage has been provided with hooks for toilet brush, toilet broom and a small shelf for cleaning liquids.

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HYDERABAD METRO TO BOOST REALTY PRICES IN MIYAPUR The second phase of the Hyderabad Metro is likely to boost realty prices in Miyapur. The plans are on to construct 83 km of metro lines under the second phase of the Hyderabad Metro rail project. The five proposed corridors announced for the second phase are: 1. LB Nagar – Hayathnagar (7km) 2. Miyapur – BHEL – Patancheru (13km) 3. Nagole – LB Nagar – Falaknuma – Shamshabad Airport (28km) 4. Raidurg – Gachibowli – Shamshabad Airport (28km) 5. Tamaka – ECIL (7km) Miyapur, a part of Greater Hyderabad and developed by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, is administered by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.

Miyapur has been designated as a highrise zone and it has developed into a

major mixed used hub with a large number of residential, commercial and retail space. The social infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals are also developing quite rapidly.

Hyderabad has seen a 67% increase in sale of housing unit in the four quarters ending in the third quarter of 2015 compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. Hyderabad seems to be shaking off its blues cast by the political uncertainties, caused by the bifurcation of the state and also the global financial crisis, which particularly impacted non resident Indians as well as those employed in the Information Technology (IT) industry.

Hyderabad has always had a flourishing economy with a workforce of young dynamic professionals. The drive for the buoyancy in real estate sector is coming from IT and IT enabled services (ITes)

companies. Today there is an increased demand for commercial, retail and residential space.

Hyderabad has also emerged as one of the more affordable metros in India.

Even in well developed residential areas such as Kukatpally, Miyapur, Sainikpuri and Manikonda, a prospective home buyer can pick up an apartment within the budget range.

Hyderabad has also shown an increase in office space absorption in 2015. It along with Chennai, Pune and Bangalore were on the top of the list of cities where office space was absorbed in the country. The office space absorbed pan India was 36 million sq ft; this should augur well for new recruitment as well as for housing in these metro cities.

There has been a 1.5 times more increase in the number of project

launches compared to the previous year. There has also been an increase in capital values in certain key localities in the city. The prices are likely to increase further once infrastructure such as the Metro becomes fully operational. Prices will also go up once the connectivity within the city and intra city improves.

The Metro will also ease the congestion on the roads, which will, once again encourage home buyers to invest in areas which are further away from the central business districts and the city centre.

It is also noticed that there was an increase in economic activity in the state which has vastly improved the market sentiment. The corporate sector is coming back in strength. The government is now going all out to garner new investments, which will eventually boost the housing sector.

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ACTIVE - 50s WITH DEPENDENT PARENT Active 50s+ with dependent parent Whether it’s enjoying chai after the morning walk, or catching up with friends regarding favorite shows and activities, or comfortably hosting children and grandchildren during their visits, or engaging in activities that improve physical, mental and emotional well-being, you will find your tailored apt solution at 2getherments.

More and more families are moving back to semi-joint family structures. An emerging type of urban Indian family unit is that of senior single parent living with married senior children.

Given how critical support for aging individuals is, it is heartwarming to notice that family values continue to stay strong and support for seniors increase among many Indian families. Home requirements of this family unit are very specific and the solution was designed accordingly.

With a growing senior population (from 104 million in 2011 to 173 million by 2026), increase in life expectancy, and aspirations of active senior living, the need for specific housing solutions is high amongst Indian seniors.

A lot has changed in typical senior retirement lifestyle experience in the last 3 decades. Earlier, middle-class families worked through their life, held one job, lived in one city, built/bought a home, and after retirement, drew pensions/ savings and lead quiet retired lives. While some of them were not financially dependent on their children, they needed emotional, mental and at times physical support from their adult children.

Nowadays, seniors are looking forward to an active retired life and to indulge in interests and community engagements that they had little time for during their working life. Travel, gardening, community service are high up on their priority list, along with support for their grandchildren upbringing. While some would like to move away from the big cities, others choose to stay back as there is a larger support system in place for their growing needs (such as better healthcare facilities, social engagements, professional opportunities, etc).

Earlier, studies and careers took families to different places. But when it came to retiring, most families choose to come back to their hometowns. Nowadays, with children travelling across the country and globe, home town can be where their friends, children or interests are present.

PAIN POINTS

With those aspirations comes typical pain points senior families face including: • Feeling social loneliness with limited opportunity to increase friend circle • Feeling stressed on how much chores there are to do around the house • Wanting to improve the all-round well-being of aging parent

• Having limited access to pursue fitness activities • Having limited access to pursue hobbies and sports

HIDDEN ASPIRATIONS

From our research and decades of work experience designing residential communities, we’ve identified some hidden aspirations of senior families and have designed solutions that help address their needs appropriately. Typically, senior families require: • Spaces for family to engage and connect with each other, friends (old and new) and neighbours • Stronger community in which to build and develop new friends • Homes that do not require too much housekeeping effort and time • Adequate storage for requirements of the family • Expandable home for visiting families and guests • Options for the whole family to explore and develop skills and interests; and reduced commute times while pursuing those activities.

A report released by the United Nations Population Fund and HelpAge India

LIFESTYLE CHOICES

In addition, we are also seeing an increasing preference for lifestyle choices that include: • Moving towards organic food sources and greater food safety • Developing interest in kitchen gardens and home-grown greens and vegetables • Responsibly managing waste segregation, disposal and recycling • Responsibly consuming energy & water • Craving for homes that are closer to nature and cleaner environment Given the above needs and requirements, we’ve designed the units in 2getherments to be apt homes for senior families; homes that also have multi-tasking spaces; homes that change from time-consuming habitats to time-earning habitats. As we walk through each room design, this larger design intent will become evident from the solutions and provisions that have been included to help address these specific aspirations of such families.

While we’ve designed homes keeping a typical senior family persona in mind, we understand that not all families are the same or all their requirements identical. And so, we are offering customization services (as an add-on service) where our designers will work with you and your family to create a home that meets your specific needs and requirements.

HOME DESIGN - ACTIVE-50s WITH DEPENDENT PARENT The home is designed to empathic to the aesthetic, functional and practical needs of the active seniors family as well as their belongings.

EXTERNAL FOYER - ACTIVE-50s WITH DEPENDENT PARENT Welcoming entrance that response to the functional and cultural needs of home owners.

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Personalised main door designs are available as an add-on option.

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Care has been taken to address specific needs such as elegant door bell, door number and name plate.

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Space for accessories such as potted plants and accent light has been provided.

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Specific cultural requirements such as door threshold decorations and pumpkins, etc can also be incorporated into the main entrance design.

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Power supply provisions have been made for thorans/decorative string lights, etc

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Outdoor clutter can be minimized by using the wall mounted shoe cupboards .

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INTERNAL FOYER - ACTIVE-50s WITH DEPENDENT PARENT

Come home to a space that is both welcoming and functionally responsive, and anointed with sophisticated elegance.

Many practical needs have been accommodated in this space such as option for an elegant console with

drawers for bills, letters, milk card, newspaper cards, etc.

Adequate storage has been designed for newspapers, additional shoes, rainwear, umbrellas and shopping bags. This has been tucked discreetly under the comfortable bench seats.

Full mirror wall expands the space visually and also acts as full height mirror.

Space has been provided for a tall display unit that can house travel mementos, picture frames, etc.

Space has been provided for wall art or large family portrait, which will hide the DB panel.

A fold-away bed provision option is available, if in case the family has a live in assistant or driver.

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LIVING - ACTIVE-50s WITH DEPENDENT PARENT A large space opens up as you enter from the foyer. In the living area, sufficient seating for the whole family has been provided ‌ to enjoy conversations or view the large balcony garden or spend an afternoon watching a movie.

Many practical needs have been accommodated in this space such as The entertainment unit, that has been designed to accommodate a large screen TV, DVD, Set-up box, DVD collections, magazines, display items.

Space for a large sofa with lounger, coffee table, side tables and an armchair.

Space for two additional ottomans has been provided, tucked next to the entertainment unit design, to address additional seating requirement when there are guests.

Ceiling has been elegantly articulated with recessed lighting, spotlights and provision for stylish ceiling fan.

Provision has been made for ceiling to floor curtain.

DINING - ACTIVE-50s WITH DEPENDENT PARENT This is a large dining area can accommodate several lifestyle and functional needs, such as: Formal dining for six Multifunctional storage / display unit has been designed to accommodate several requirements such as travel mementos, home documents, medicine box, first aid box, medical reports, crockery, and cutlery, serveware and disposable dinner ware. There is also space for a tray of pickles and condiment.

Hand wash area elegantly integrated into the design of the multipurpose storage.

Space has been provided for wall arts and family photo display.

Option for a box room to store suitcases and other articles.

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KITCHEN - ACTIVE 50s WITH DEPENDENT PARENT This large closed kitchen has been designed keeping in mind the comfort requirements of the Senior Citizens.

A sliding door closes and provides privacy with in the kitchen. The kitchen has additionally been designed to respond to and accommodate the needs of Indian style of cooking.

Storage provisions for dry goods, cooking utensils, cooking vessels, every day serve ware, every day dinner sets, tiffin boxes, lids, pans and pot wares, spices, pulses, rice, atta, evening snacks, tea coffee beverages, onion, potato and garlic, oil, kitchen towels, kitchen rolls etc.

There is sufficient counter space available for prepping ingredients, kitchen tools such as knife blocks, ladle stand, oil bottles, dicing boards and food containers.

A vegetable sink in the kitchen.

As an upgrade option, provision for a under-counter dishwasher and undercounter baking oven is possible.

Provision has been made for AC if required by home owners Kitchen is lit through a large window and a glass door that allows sunlight.

Provisions are made for a four burner hob and hood.

Provisions have been made for several appliances including refrigerator, counter top micro wave oven, kettle, toaster, electric cooker, mixer and wet grinder.

If required, a hanging rod can be installed for spice racks, mugs, ladles, and scissors.

UTILITY - ACTIVE 50s WITH DEPENDENT PARENT A glass door from the kitchen leads to the large multifunctional utility area and accommodates A double bowel sink with single drain board Provisions for traditional stainless steel dish rack/storage unit that is wall hung above the sink Option for a small hanging shelf can be installed for dish washing liquid and detergent.

Underneath the sink, storage has been allocated for recycling bin and plastic bags.

On the opposite wall, there is an integrated laundry unit. This unit will house washing machine (provision only) cloth dryer laundry cupboard for segregating white and colour as well as a shelf for laundry

liquid and powder.

Next to the laundry unit, there is small provision to hang brooms and mops.

Option for retractable ceiling mounted cloths drying rails to allow for both

shaded drying of large fabrics as well as sun drying of the same.

Along the length of the utility, 2 onefoot-wide ledges has been provided which can be used for drying larger vessels such as pressure cookers, kadais,

etc. This can also be used to keep some small potted herb planters.

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BALCONY - ACTIVE 50s WITH DEPENDENT PARENT

Large external balcony has been provided to create an inviting outdoor living environment. This has been achieved by providing sufficient space for Large planter for fruit/flowering tree Space for relaxed rocking chair

Space for garden table with chairs.

A quaint wash basin to cleanup.

Cabinet underneath the wash basin to store gardening equipment tools and liquids.

Option for cabinet underneath the wash

basin to store gardening equipment tools and cleaning liquids.

Provision has been made for festive/ decorative string lighting.

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POOJA ROOM - ACTIVE 50s WITH DEPENDENT PARENT A comfortably large pooja cupboard has been provided. Pooja cupboard opens on to the flexible dining space so that in event of small family pooja there is sufficient standing and seating for all members of the family.

Traditionally designed doors encase the Pooja cupboard Sufficient space for wall pictures, small statues, pooja articles.

A retractable tray for offerings, A drawer for every day pooja article (Agarbathi, cum-cum, campher etc.

Another drawer for devotional books, etc Another drawer for special occasion/ festival items such as tall lamps, small lamps etc. This drawer will be lockable.

GUEST BEDROOM - ACTIVE 50s WITH DEPENDENT PARENT

A door from the living area leads to this bedroom. This large room has space to accommodate a queen bed, two side table, On the bathroom door, which is next to the dresser, a full length mirror has been provided.

Wall length wardrobe with full height sliding doors providing adequate storage for everyday clothes, special occasion clothes, spare bed linen, extra pillows and blankets, extra hand bags, ties and belts, secured drawers for

valuables and personal documents.

Space for a small study table and chair Care has been taken to optimally locate switches and plug points including wall holder for A/C remote.

Above the head board of the bed, recommendation for hanging wall art, family photos, etc.

A wide standing balcony with potted plants on shelves have been provided to create a green outdoor space.

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CHILDREN’S BEDROOM - ACTIVE 50s WITH DEPENDENT PARENT

This multifunctional room has space to accommodate several needs such as: A pull out bed, which folds away to increase seating area when siblings or families come to visit / spend time with the senior parent.

A long wardrobe provide storage for suit cases, clothess, toiletry, secured drawer for valuables, spare linen, spare towels etc.

CHILDREN’S BATHROOM This bath room is attached to the Senior parent’s room. It has been conveniently located such that both senior parent and any visiting guest have access to this bathroom.

toiletries and towels.

Option for discrete storage with hooks for toilet brush, toilet broom and a small shelf for cleaning liquids.

Elegantly designed fixtures includewash basin on counter top comfortable WC a shower area.

A convenient nook that provides a table space for writing and storage for books, etc Provision for TV screen and entertainment unit

Option for under-sink storage for extra

MASTER BEDROOM - ACTIVE 50s WITH DEPENDENT PARENT A door from the dining area leads to the master bed room. This large room has space to accommodate: a king bed or two single beds, based on end-user preference two side table, a chest of drawers (with a table top mirror) that also functions as a dresser. This dresser can accommodate everyday cosmetics, toiletry, fashion accessories, hair grooming tools and equipment, small garments, towels and extra bathroom toiletry.

On the bathroom door, which is next to the dresser, a full length mirror may be installed.

Wall length wardrobe with full height sliding doors providing adequate storage for everyday clothes, special occasion clothes, spare bed linen, extra pillows and blankets, extra hand bags, ties and belts, secured drawers for valuables and personal documents.

Care has been taken to optimally locate switches and plug points including wall

holder for A/C remote.

Wall art, family photos, etc can be hung above the head board of the bed.

A standing balcony for potted plants on shelves has been provided to create a green outdoor space and bring green living into the private spaces as well.

MASTER BATHROOM This ensuite bathroom is attached to the master bedroom. Elegantly designed fixtures include wash basin on counter top comfortable WC a shower area.

This dry bath room has been designed to reduce water spillover near the wash basin and the WC area. This can be achieved by installing an elegant shower curtain or upgrade to a shower door.

Option for under-sink storage has been provided for extra toiletries and towels.

Option for a discrete storage has been provided with hooks for toilet brush, toilet broom and a small shelf for cleaning liquids.

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STRUCTURE R.C.C. structure designed to withstand wind and seismic loads AAC Blocks of 6'' external and 4'' internal.

2 coats of cement plaster for external and 1 coat for internal walls.

No plastering for ceiling.

SPECIFICATIONS

TELECOM / I-NET / CABLE TV FTTH with Wi-Fi internet, DTH, Telephone & Video door phone and Intercom.

FALSE CEILING False ceiling will be provided in all appropriate areas.

DOORS | WINDOWS | VENTILATOR MAIN DOOR Designer teak wood frame with teak wood door.

PLUMBING Plumbing lines will be with composite pipes as specified by PHE consultants

INTERNAL DOORS Designer teak wood frame with flush shutter fixed with reputed make hardware of SS of, Ozone or equivalent make.

HOME AUTOMATION Gas shutoff valve Society wide communication with telephone Wi-Fi enabled project Automated metering system for water, gas and electricity.

FRENCH DOORS UPVC sliding door with glass to withstand the wind loads, with designer hardware of reputed make.

LIFTS High speed automatic passenger lifts with rescue device with V3F for energy efficiency of reputed make from Toshiba / Mitsubishi or equivalent entrance with granite/marble / vitrified tile cladding among four one is dedicated for goods/ services.

WINDOWS UPVC sliding doors with glass to withstand the wind loads, with designer BATHROOMS WC: Villeroy & Boch Washbasin with vanity: Vitra Bath and shower fittings: Vitra All water supply lines in CPVC pipes and waste water lines in joint less composite pipes.

Hot water is provided to all the bathrooms and kitchen with a centralised heat pump.

DADOING Kitchen: Ceramic tiles dado up to 600mm ht above kitchen platform Toilets: Well designed concept with designer tiles for walls and floor, and dadoing up to lintel height Utility: Glazed ceramic tiles up to 900mm near the wash area.

hardware of reputed make.

VENTILATORS Aluminium ventilator.

PAINTING Internal: Smooth altech putty finish with two coats of premium. Acrylic emulsion paint of ASIAN Paints over a coat of primer.

EXTERNAL Textured finish and two coats of weather proof exterior emulsion paint of ASIAN Paints.

PARKING AREA Textured finish and two coats of weather proof exterior emulsion paint of ASIAN Paints.

areas (5 units of 1.5 ton each) .

FLOORING 800x800 double charged vitrified tiles. In all living areas. (kohinoor or equivalent).

STAIRCASE & CORRIDORS Kota or green marble.

TOILETS Anti-skid tiles.

KITCHEN Utility area polished granite platform with stainless steel sink with backsplash.

Washing machine and dryer provided in the utility area. Hob and hood shall be provided and provision for RO shall be given and overhead cabinets with pullout systems as per design.

ELECTRICAL Power plug for cooking range chimney, refrigerator, microwave ovens, water purifier, mixer / grinders in kitchen, Washing machine and dish washer in utility area 3 phase supply for each unit Miniature circuit breakers (MCB) for each distribution board of reputed make Elegant designer modular electrical switches Concealed conduit wiring with PVC insulated FRLS copper cables in all rooms for light, fan and plug points.

Power points for indoor units of HT Power with transformers with onload tap changer for automatic voltage correction. Sub meters for each apartment and common areas Solar power with capacity suitable for all common areas/ external lights.

AIR CONDITIONING Air conditioning units in entire living

SECURITY, SURVEILLANCE & BMS Solar powered security fence. Access control at main gate with access card reader. Boom Barrier operated with access card readers. Boom Barrier near entry to basements to allow only owners' vehicles. Separate entry barrier for visitors. CC cameras around the campus for surveillance during night.

The complete building shall be provided with building management system.

WTP & STP Water treated to potable water standards centrally. Water meters for each unit. Sewage treatment plant with filtration as per norms, treated sewage water will be used for landscaping and flushing purpose.

GENERATOR 100% D.G set backup with separate metering for each unit with auto mains failure feature.

PARKING Each apartment will have at least two car parks and parking will be at two levels. Electronic monitoring for all basements. Whoever gets Mechanical parking spaces, charges for mechanical unit shall be extra.

FIRE SAFETY Fire hydrant on all floors and basements.

Fire alarm and public address system on all floors and parking areas (basements).

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THE THEORY OF SELF ACTUALIZATION `Self-actualization' represents a concept derived from Humanistic psychological theory and, specifically, from the theory created by Abraham Maslow. Self-actualization, according to Maslow, represents growth of an individual towards fulfillment of the highest needs; those for meaning in life, in particular. Carl Rogers also created a theory implicating a growth potential whose aim was to integrate congruently the real self and the ideal self thereby cultivating the emergence of the fully functioning person. It was Maslow, however, who created a psychological hierarchy of needs, the fulfillment of which theoretically leads to a culmination of fulfillment of being values, or the needs that are on the highest level of this hierarchy, representing meaning.

Maslow's hierarchy reflects a linear pattern of growth depicted in a direct pyramidal order of ascension. Moreover, he states that selfactualizing individuals are able to resolve dichotomies such as that reflected in the ultimate contrary of free-will and determinism.

He also contends that self-actualizers are highly creative, psychologically robust individuals. It is argued herein that a dialectical transcendence of ascension toward self-actualization better describes this type of self-actualization, and even the mentally ill, whose psychopathology correlates with creativity, have the capacity to self-actualize.

Maslow's hierarchy is described as follows: 1. Physiological needs, such as needs for food, sleep and air.

2. Safety, or the needs for security and protection, especially those that emerge from social or political instability.

3. Belonging and love including, the needs of deficiency and selfish taking instead of giving, and unselfish love that is based upon growth rather than deficiency.

4. Needs for self-esteem, self-respect, and healthy, positive feelings derived from admiration.

5. And being needs concerning creative selfgrowth, engendered from fulfillment of potential and meaning in life.

Erikson created a theory of psychosocial dichotomies represented as trust versus mistrust and autonomy versus shame and doubt, as examples. In terms of Erikson's final stage

of development, that of ego integrity versus despair, the successful resolution of this stage corresponds with a sense of life's meaning. It is clear that the self-actualized person might be in danger of dying, but nevertheless may find meaning in life. This means that lower level needs might be unfulfilled even in situations represented by being values, such as a sense of meaning in life. Note, however, that Maslow asserted that one's needs may be only partially fullled at any given moment. Mahatma Gandhi, Viktor Frankl, and Nelson Mandela may serve as examples of people who each personify a reality self-actualization.

At risk of his life, Mahatma Gandhi utilized civil disobedience for purposes of freedom, Viktor Frankl was a holocaust survivor who never relinquished his grasp of life's meaning, and Nelson Mandela maintained an attitude of meaning in life even while he was imprisoned. The safety needs of these individuals may have been threatened in these particular life circumstances, but it may be understood thatmany people whose safety needs are compromised may be cognizant of being values. They may find life to be meaningful explicitly because of situations of danger to their lives, situations represented by the dichotomy of life and death, in particular.

As indicated, Maslow identified self-actualizing people as individuals who are highly creative, who have peak experiences, and who are able to resolve the dichotomies inherent in opposite contraries such as those constituted by freedom and determinism, the conscious and the unconscious, as well as intentionality and a lack of intentionality.Creativity, a hallmark of a self-actualizing person, may be perceived to reside within a dialectical relationship.

While most dichotomies cannot be explicitly understood as resolvable, the above dichotomies can be seen to be resolved through creative activity. Using the one aspect of each of these dichotomies as a thesis, and another as an antithesis, art may represent the synthesis of the dichotomous relationship.

At 2getherments, homes are designed to enable self-actualization for every resident; to rise above worries about mundane needs and to focus on higher pursuits.

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EMPATHY TO SOCIETY

“Resolve to be tender with the young ,compassionate with the aged,sympathetic with the striving and tolerant with the weak and wrong. Sometimes in your life , you will have been all of these’’ - Buddha Many projects and business models are being planned with society in mind and the society is evolving. Despite a lot of growth, there are certain voids and certain discontent that living spaces create for their residents. There are many micro economies which are crucial to the functioning of particular areas and they are proven to be important.

Unfortunately they are not seen as business models. They don't provide

a huge turnover but support large populations. They are not tied to larger economies but create self sufficiency for the areas. Thus an architect needs to empathize with the situation of the people and understand their problems and emotions. Empathy, understanding and compassion can lead to the creation of an economic model which functions in the Indian way. Societal issues should not be looked at with apathy but with

empathy. Then we can understand these problems and find and build solutions for them. For example, culturally beautiful flea markets and market places like Sultan Bazaar in Hyderabad, resonate with individual and family's needs. Such spaces are increasingly giving way to monstrous supermarkets with amazing options and a wide range. We must learn how to organize ourselves better from the

West but in turn shouldn't kill our own culture and economy's function. For example we can learn from Milan how some areas have been converted into complete pathways for pedestrians and no vehicles are allowed. If we're able to learn to get the best from the globe and club them with local sensibilities, we will achieve the purpose of creating a harmony.

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OUR APPROACH TO SOCIAL DESIGN And why we’re different

TYPICAL APARTMENTS

2GETHERMENTS

Clubhouse amenities are distant and separate places to visit and use.

Amenities that are woven into the fabric of the building so as to be easily accessible to all residents at all times.

Typically , all clubhouse amenities are grouped in one location and isolated from the building.

Engaging activities are distributed across all levels and are only a short walk from home.

Conventional planning method where activities are organised based on area availability on site.

Conventional planning method where activities are organised based on area availability on site.

Basements tend to be functional and spartan with little emphasis on environment.

Basements are extensions of 2getherment spaces and designed to increase a sense of safety, brightness and openness.

Elevators tend to be functional and focused more on transition.

Corridors are transition spaces. Quiet and functional with repetitive monotony.

Each floor design and experience is typical and repetitive.

Roof terraces are locked and inaccessible to end users.

Elevators are an integral part of end user’s journey and experience. They are designed so that people inside the lift are visually experiencing the 2getherments areas while travelling and maybe encouraged to engage Corridors are extensions of street activities in 2getherment areas. Corridors are designed to include variations and personalized main doors.

Every floor design in unique is unique and non-repetitive. This creates a variety of dynamic experiences, and this identity, to where the end-user lives vertically.

Roof terraces is an extension of the 2getherment activities and amenities.

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Passive Passive Active Adult Kids Kids

EIGHTH FLOOR

8c

Performance Deck Lower Level

8b

Tuition Room

8a

Conference Room

KEY PLAN

8c

FOR THE PERFORMERS AND SPECTATORS There is a long tradition of storytelling through performing arts on a stage or theatre in India. And it continues through to this day in our cinemas and theatres. Group viewing of movies, sports and performances (be it vocal, instrumental, dance, plays, etc) are part and parcel of our lives.

And now, more and more adults & children learn, practice and perform as serious hobbyists. At 2getherments, we’ve designed an amphitheatre that is communal, congenial and invites

participation to explore and perform various arts. This space will have a large deck for performance stage opposite a stepped viewing gallery.

Besides this deck, space has allocated to be cordoned off for green rooms (if required). A second viewing level gallery can double as a buffet/food area. Apart from viewing, this space may also be used by enthusiasts to participate in or run workshops or watch movies and sports together.

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COLLABORATING TOGETHER Working on a weekend and need to collaborate with a handful of your colleagues? Or perhaps you are running a book club and want your own space to meet? With the convenience of the onsite meeting room, you can host short meetings or even day long workshop for your team.

TUTORING MADE EASY With all the rapid transformative changes in the world, all of us are constantly preparing for a drastically different economy than what we grew up in. Life-long learning and skill development is becoming more and more critical across age groups.

From teaching seniors on using the latest gadgets & apps, skills sharing among home-makers and academic tuitions for children & high schoolers, the list is endless. With access to the on-site tuition room, qualified tutors can be hired to offer tutoring on specific subjects without the hassle of commuting to various academies and classes.

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Passive Adult

NINTH FLOOR

9a

Performance Deck Upper Deck

KEY PLAN

9a

PERFORMANCE DECK For the performers and spectators There is a long tradition of storytelling through performing arts on a stage or theatre in India. And it continues through to this day in our cinemas and theatres. Group viewing of movies, sports and performances (be it vocal, instrumental, dance, plays, etc) are part and parcel of our lives.

And now, more and more adults & children learn, practice and perform as serious hobbyists. At 2getherments, we’ve designed an amphitheatre that

is communal, congenial and invites participation to explore and perform various arts. This space will have a large deck for performance stage opposite a stepped viewing gallery. Besides this deck, space has allocated to be cordoned off for green rooms (if required).

A second viewing level gallery can double as a buffet/food area. Apart from viewing, this space may also be used by enthusiasts to participate in or run workshops or watch movies and sports together.

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How many windows did you break?

“Sorry uncle!!”

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TENTH FLOOR KEY PLAN

Active Kids

10a Racquet Court 10b Table Tennis 10c Gully Cricket

10a

SERVE AND SMASH Badminton is one of most common recreational sport favoured by both adults and children in India. From professional competitive sports training to informal street play (sometime, without a net!), this popular sport accommodates all skill levels and age groups. Did you know that this sport has roots in the Indian city of Pune?

“Most sports historians credit the origin of modern badminton in ‘Poona’, India.

When the British mastered the game in India, they took the equipment back to England during the 1870s. Three years

later, in 1873, the Duke of Beaufort hosted a lawn party in his country place called Badminton”. Thereby, giving the sport its modern name.

Whether it is a fun game with family or a friendly tournament with neighbours, come and play together. Who knows?

Maybe India’s next biggest badminton sensation took first steps here in 2getherments? Not just Badminton, this flexi-court can be used for many net games.

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Table Tennis is seeing exciting times ahead. As one of most popular indoor sports in India, this competitive sport is played across all skill levels and age groups. Now that there is the convenience of an on-site Table Tennis room, why not hire a coach to improve your skills, or call friends for a friendly game?

ONE SHOT AND A BROKEN WINDOW

When was the last time you broke a window during street cricket? Did your sixer land inside someone else’s living room?

Want to introduce your children to the joys of gully cricket minus the broken windows and yelling adults? Come to the gully cricket practice area and relive your childhood while enriching your child’s.

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THE LEGACY

BY A MAHATMA Mahatma Gandhi is the epitome of personal frugality.

His attitude towards his attire, movable and immovable assets, inheritance and what he left behind for his family, demonstrates his faith in frugal way of life. Even his philosophy of Satyagraha (Satya + Agraha) was almost zero cost to win one of the biggest wars in the history of the world. There was no acquisition or usage of any type of violent arsenal. What he ate to how he lived were so simple and made tremendous sense. He proved to the world that India's frugal thinking was a big winner.

Take the case of Russian or French revolution. There was so much violence, resources and extensive warfare as opposed to Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy. If you look at the world in general today, there is a mad race for acquisition and hoarding unnecessarily, because of general avarice that has become a part of people's mentality. Everything has become about what we own and possess, rather than who is important to us. The need of the hour for human race today is frugality. In the context of our country, Make in India has become the biggest advertisement and the biggest campaign of the country which entails involving our resources to manufacture and send it out to the world. This again leads to more depletion of resources to cater to the world. Haven't we produced enough plastic already? Haven't we mined enough already? But then human aspiration knows no bounds. Greed is the root cause for unethical production. This is not necessary to become a world leader.

It is vital for us to become more content and happier as a nation. Frugality is the only way of life that can help us achieve that. What we need to showcase to the world are things like yoga and ahimsa and be a role model for the youth of today. Wanting to own is the biggest problem of today's world. Conserving and sharing are necessary to build the asset of long lasting happiness. Things that cost less with more utility value that can be passed on, reused and recycled are what we need now. Mahatma Gandhi is the personification of frugality. Whenever we need a reminder or a reference to get back to simplicity, there is just one personality we need to refer to. And that happens to be Mahatma Gandhi.

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THE HEALING POWER OF WATER From ancient times, water has been the spine of every civilization and people attach great importance to it. People continue to be aware of the medicinal & therapeutic value of water Ever since the Romans, people around the world have been using the therapeutic qualities of water to cleanse, heal and relax the body. Did you know that raising the temperature stimulates the production of white blood cells which strengthens the immune system?

Hot water also encourages sweating which helps to remove toxins from the body. Cold water is a great recharger, reduces inflammation and helps boost circulation. So take advantage of life's natural essence and wise up to the power of hydrotherapy.

A HOT BATH

A hot bath is one of the most soothing ways to relax on a cold winter's night. Simply soaking in warm water encourages relaxation and also works up a sweat. This helps to clean out toxins and removes impurities from the skin. A herbal bath is especially good for relieving aches and pains.

Try combining lavender, chamomile, hops and burdock root, and add to hot

running water. Then soak for 30 minutes in a candlelit bathroom. Bathing in Epsom salts which is pure magnesium, is both relaxing and an effective detox.

The magnesium draws toxins from the body helping to improve circulation and purification. Need a quick recharge?

Try alternating between hot and cold showers - just grin and bear it - it works wonders on the circulation system.

HYDROTHERAPY BATH

Fitted with strategically placed jets, a hydrotherapy bath is the equivalent to an hour's massage. Although disconcerting at first as bubbles rise up from beneath the buttocks, calves, thighs and neck - you'll soon go with the flow. A hydrotherapy bath is also a good detox as it is often filled with seaweed or mud. This releases minerals which boost circulation and stimulates blood flow.

JET DOUCHING

Otherwise known as blitzing, jet

douching uses the power of water to pummel fatty areas - such as the thighs or buttocks - into submission. A trained therapist targets pockets of cellulite, aiming to stimulate circulation and break down fatty deposits.

The pulsating water helps massage and tone the skin giving the body's lymph glands a healthy kick. This process alternates between hot and cold water and is repeated several times.

You could try douching at home with a handheld shower or water hose. Direct the stream of water at cellulite-ridden areas and alternate between warm and cold jets, keeping the cold bursts to no longer than 20 seconds at a time.

JACUZZI

The Jacuzzi came into its own in the eighties and remains a favourite pastime in gyms around the world. But did you know it's more than just a stress reliever? Pulsating jets aimed at thighs, buttocks, back and arms will stimulate nutrients and oxygen to the blood cells

which helps to renew cell growth. As a heat treatment, it boosts circulation, speeds up the metabolic rate and helps to break down fatty deposits expelling toxins from the body.

FLOTATION TANK

Sounds like a dunking session in a decompression chamber, but the reality is weightless bliss. It involves lying in a soundinsulated tank containing a shallow saline pool kept at body temperature. This enables anyone in a flotation tank to enter into a deep relaxed state and experience feelings of profound serenity. It is claimed, one hour in a flotation tank is the equivalent to four hours' sleep. The main benefit of flotation is stress relief, but it also reduces the secretion of anti-diuretic hormones. This means that water retention is flushed away through urine after a loat. Source: Daily Mail, UK

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ABSENCE OF GREEN COVER Every adverse change in the environment creates a ripple effect, eventually leading to ecological damage, at times, irreversible. From the honey bees to the trees, every single element of nature,is destroyed,which can wreck havoc to our living spaces and environment.

Let’s take a look at the role of green cover in the survival of human race.

Trees are great companions to have as they not only give us the much needed oxygen but also have many more advantages. It is important to have a green cover in urban spaces because, with the right pattern of plantation, they help reduce percolation of nitrates from the soil to our water supplies, thus also keeping phosphorous and other pollutants away from our waterways.

Trees in an urban setup also reduce on-site heat buildup and enhance temperature drops during the night.

Deciduous trees when planted right reduce house temperatures in the summer, allowing air conditioning units to run 2 to 4 percent more efficiently. These trees also allow the sun to warm the house during winter. Other than holding the soil in place, trees

also keep sediments from reaching the lakes, streams, drains and roads thereby reducing flooding. Trees naturally manage storm water better than any of our methods could ever have.

The absence of green cover trees, shrubs and ground covers alike, cannot purify air by removing dust and other pollutants from the air. One tree can remove 12 kgs of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually equaling 17,700 kms of car emissions. A study showed that - one acre of trees has an ability to remove 13 tons of particles and gases annually, 2500 sft of grass absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and releases enough oxygen for a family of 4 to breathe. So, every tree that’s cut off from a city’s ecosystem means that some particulate pollution is still

present when that should have been filtered out.

A big tree removes 60 to 70 times more pollution than a small tree.

Homes shaded with trees reduce attic temperatures by 40 degrees. According to EPA, urban forests reduce urban air temperatures by shading buildings & concrete structures (heat sinks) and returning humidity to the air through evaporative cooling.

Green roofs play an important role in saving energy, reducing the urban heat island effect and adding more green space to a built environment. E.g., Led by cities such as Chicago and Toronto, as well as a number of universities, evidence is mounting that green roofs (i.e. roofs totally or partially covered

with vegetation) cool urban hot spots.

In Atlanta, temperatures have climbed 5 to 8 degrees higher than surrounding countryside where developers bulldozed 380,000 acres between 1973 and 1999, according to NASA. Some of the green space advantages listed in EcoPlanIT Madison: Green Space Goal (UW-Madison Department of Urban and Regional Planning) are: · Helping regulate air quality and climate · Reducing energy consumption by countering the warming effects of paved surfaces · Recharging groundwater supplies · Protecting lakes and streams from polluted runoff. · Reference link: http://projectevergreen.org

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ENERGY- WHERE IS HYDERABAD HEADING? Why Hyderabad suffers water shortages in spite of a large number of lakes and good rainfall?

Our city Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana, is rapidly growing like many other cities in India. High economic growth is evident especially in the sectors of Information Technology, biotechnology and entertainment.

Growth has been most evident in the way the city's environment has changed over the last 15 years. To understand the scale of growth, here are a few things the city has witnessed in the past few years: The majority of Hyderabad's urban energy consumption is used by the building sector (45% of the total), out of which domestic sector uses the maximum (25%), followed by commercial (8%) and industrial sectors (8%). Modern day building design can be blamed for the increasing energy intensity of buildings.

At a Macro scale, 2getherment's project addresses the triple bottom line of social, economic and environmental sustainability through multiple strategies. Environmental strategies are devised to improve overall performance of the building in the areas of energy, water, ecology and waste.

TRADITIONAL/ VERNACULAR DESIGN IN HYDERABAD FOCUSED ON: · Natural cooling and ventilation · Solar shading · Day Lighting

Nowdays evaporative cooling features are not included in a home design.

Unfortunately, this has resulted in a whole set of modern buildings that are energy guzzlers!

2GETHERMENTS - APPROACH TO ENERGY · Light and air are the two keywords driving every design decision.

flow across the building without any incidents of funnelling.

· At an early stage of design, irradiation studies and wind flow analysis were done to evaluate building massing.

Surfaces prone to high amount of heat gain were identified and addressed.

· In design optimisation stage, day light studies & thermal comfort studies were undertaken to identify the optimum size of openings and their location in each apartment to meet daylighting requirements and provide natural ventilation for greater part of the year.

· Space adjacency between each apartment and location & openness of the amenities space across all floors was determined to allow for ideal pressure difference to facilitate wind

· Plants are used as active shading devices to shade the windows on east and west facade which are primary

facades. While employing the passive strategies, it is ensured that a minimum of 150 LUX is maintained within each apartment for 75% of occupied hour. · Active cooling by means of HVAC system is required for only 2 months in a year. · Lighting energy reduction by means of Using LED based lights and effecient building envelope contributes to significant overall reduction in energy consumption when compared to other building of similar size and occupancy.

WHY HYDERABAD SUFFERS WATER SHORTAGES AND OUR APPROACH TO WATER Apart from the obvious fact of increasing population, the reasons are many: · The existing sources of water are diminishing because of inconsiderate development in catchment areas and ineffective catchment management. · Groundwater levels are receding due to increased withdrawals and reduced groundwater recharge due to huge areas of impervious urban sprawl. · Contamination of surface and subsurface water is rampant due to poor sewage network, poor solid waste management. This has led to high incidences of water-borne diseases. · There is huge wastage of water in the form of leakages in public buildings, public water supply points.

· Very few building and landscaping practices address water conservation. ·Rainwater collection and groundwater recharge is practiced, often unsuccessfully. · Recycled water reuse is only 3% of total water treated. · Fresh water withdrawal is very high at 51% compared to countries such as UK or Australia where withdrawals as low as 5%, which shows minimal water recycling and reuse. · We are anticipating future water shortages and are ensuring significant water use reduction. This is achieved by providing options for water flow fixtures within and careful planting selection (comprising of native plants with low

water requirement in landscape). · Sewage Treatment Plant is proposed to recycle grey water generated on site. Dual plumbing is proposed to reuse treated water for flushing and landscaping. · To meet fresh water demand, in addition to borewell and municipal water, rain water harvesting tanks are proposed to capture surface run-off. · Rain water collected would be filtered and reused on site. By combining the three strategies of reduce, re-use and recycle, an overall reduction in water use would be significantly lesser compared to the other projects in this city.

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WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ALL THE WASTE ? · In Hyderabad, GHMC and surrounding municipalities collect and dispose solid waste.

only reduces the possibility to recycle this waste but also contributes to land, water and air pollution.

· While these authorities collect as much as 91% in the old MCH area and 95% in the surrounding municipalities, no segregation is undertaken by them.

· Landfills are not properly designed and constructed. As they are open, animals have free access to the landfills leading to many diseases. No protective lining that stops leakage from seeping into the groundwater table is provided for the landfills, which leads to pollution.

· With no segregation undertaken at the household level, a lot of the recyclable waste gets contaminated reducing its market value. · Because the informal sector would recycle waste that only has high market value, wet waste and products with very little market value as recyclables are rarely treated or formally disposed. · Consequently, only 14% of the 25% of recyclable waste is recycled. · Wet or organic waste that constitutes nearly 40% of the total is not treated at all and ends up in the landfill. · Construction waste is disposed indiscriminately on the roads. This not

· While some energy-generating waste incineration is occurring in few areas, solid waste is often incinerated informally, with few environmental controls for chemical pollution and particulates. Open landfills result in the entry of solid waste into waterways not only pollutes our rivers but also blocks proper storm water drains. · The existing gap between waste generation and door to door collection will remain large and will increase tremendously if the current situation continues.

OUR APPROACH TO WASTE In this project, intent of the waste management is to segregate the waste to maximum extent. All the organic waste is collected and converted into vermicomposting to be used by all the plants in this project. Dry waste is to be segregated and sent out to the approved

recycling agent. Currently, domestic sink crusher is an option proposed in kitchen, so that organic waste can be pulverised and sent to STP plant for treatment. Sludge from STP will be processed and used as fertilizer.

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WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR ECOLOGY AND GEOLOGY? Hyderabad, once known as a city of gardens, is now left with only nine major and about 240 minor parks spread over various localities. The per capita recreational space available in MCH area works out to 0.50 square meters against the national standard of 3.00 square meters With conservation / agriculture area due to reduce by 60% over the next 10 years, open spaces, green belts, water bodies and geological formations in Hyderabad are facing a threat of being encroached upon to cater to the built space demand owing

to urbanisation. Water bodies are being encroached upon despite the NBC regulations and Hyderabad Revised Building Rules of 2006 which ban any development in close proximity to any water body. The regulations mandating the creation of recreational or buffer zones of all construction projects in the vicinity of water bodies are often overridden. In order to maintain the city’s identity, we need to seek solutions to conserve our unique ecology and geological creations while allowing for growth.

OUR APPROACH

extensive metering for both energy and water use is proposed.

· Creating immediate sustainability awareness so that our future generations can also enjoy our great city.

· Smart meters which could relay the information to hand held devices are proposed. The intent is to improve the sensitivity and sensibility of occupants towards various aspects of green design in addition to aiding the facilities team in improving performance and maintenance of each system.

· What is measured is managed.

· To ensure that all the key strategies incorporated during the design stage are not lost during the occupancy stage,

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BALCONY GARDENS Your balcony can soon become your favourite part of the house, a green retreat in the middle of a concrete jungle.

Any house you move into includes a built-up area, a shared corridor, balconies, and other peripheral spaces.

Rather than waste these areas or see them as auxiliary, you can transform the unassuming balcony into a luxurious verdant garden! No matter how small your balcony is, you should make the most of it. Your balcony can soon become your favourite part of the house, a green retreat in the middle of a concrete jungle. Several online retailers now sell contemporary railing planters in a variety of pleasant materials, colours and finishes. Whether you want a terracotta pot, or a painted plastic bucket, you'll find it at an affordable price. Or, put on your creative hat and make your own planter! A wooden crate and hooks can easily be upcycled to hold flowering plants, herbs and other creepers. Everyone invariably has spare plastic bottles lying around these can be used as wall planters. Hanging planters save valuable balcony space. Add some furniture which you find comfortable to relax in! Lightweight cane or wicker chairs and stools are lightweight, easy

to find, and decorative. Or just invest in a good quality hammock to lie back in. Make the space your own with quirky touches, like colourful cushions, decorative wind chimes, or a fancy watering can. The colours of your walls and curtains alone can completely transform the look and feel of your space. Finish the look by adding trendy lighting traditional diyas, Oriental lamps or fairy lights are all easy to get hold of, and add their own unique charm to a space. It's not just about looks you can choose to grow your own herbs. These not only improve the quality of air that you breathe, but are also useful in the kitchen. Basil, coriander, mint and lemongrass is perfect for beginners.

For those who are more adventurous, try exotic herbs like rosemary, oregano and thyme. Their wonderful aromas are sure to brighten your day.

2getherments gives you a head start with our community rooftop kitchen garden. Every floor has green corridors, creating a vertical garden for you to enjoy no matter where you go within the building.

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BIODIVERSITY Biodiversity has become a trending term in our urban cities.

We talk about the importance of preserving it, but what is “it”? Simply put, the variety of life on Earth is referred to as biodiversity. Microorganisms, plants, and animals, as well as the different ecosystems they live in, all come together to form adverse biological planet. Every species, no matter how small, has an important role to play. As human beings, we don’t just get food from plants, they also help regulate the air we breathe, for instance. Similarly, even the smallest of bacteria contributes to our livelihood in its own way. Unfortunately, with metro cities growing at the pace at which they are, the importance of preserving and nurturing biodiversity has taken a backseat.

Apartments encroach on park areas and green corridors are lost.

Trees get paved down to allow for new roads. With the onset of hybrid foods and more powerful pesticides, small organisms in our food are dying out. These are merely a few examples and the results are clear for all to see. Air pollution is rampant and the organisms that helped absorb it are no longer present. With limited green spaces within the community, the quality of air that we breathe is suffering. Talk of global warming and depletion of the ozone layer are growing more urgent, as their impact is experienced first-hand. Everyone has remarked on the summers in India growing hotter - climate stability is clearly being lost year after year. This is merely the beginning of the damage that we can cause the planet if we continue down this path. The damage isn’t merely to plants or animals - it ultimately affects us. The more biodiverse the planet, the better able it is to prevent (and recover from) natural disasters. The best we can do at this point is to try and reverse the trend. At an individual level, planting trees and maintaining community kitchen gardens or birdhouses is a great start. These are a few of the ways in which 2getherments also hopes to promote biodiversity.

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ACCESS TO WOODS As our cities grow larger, our woods and forests grow smaller. Now is a good time to remember Thoreau’s words, “ I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.�

Do you remember how often you would throw pebbles in the nearby lake and eagerly watch the widening circles in the still water? Yes, those were the days when we were surrounded by nature.

Exploring nearby rocky terrains and wilderness with friends was every child and young adult's pastime during vacations. All these activities helped to develop a sense of adventure and a state of mind to face challenges intrinsically.

In those days life was closer to farms, lakes, forests, mountains and drinking water straight from a river or a lake was harmless.

How interesting was life when you would hang on to the descending roots of a banyan tree and swing from one end to the other. It was an exhilarating experience to go up and down. People often undertook walks to the forest without fearing the wild animals and saw them from a safe distance. Now, when you share your wonderful experiences with the new generation, they gape at you in disbelief. They may listen to your tales with great interest but can't relate to them as all those elements of nature are nonexistent in today's urban areas.

In other words, they are not accessible

to the new generation. No wonder, their attention is hogged by social media, gaming and electronic entertainment.

In those days it was customary to have a forest area near the villages, where people were not allowed to axe the trees but the cattle was allowed to graze in it. There was also a purpose in it like providing fodder for the cattle, gathering fruits or medicinal plants from it. It was the common property of the village and the people used to respect the diktat of the village head.

But with the onset of the British rule, villagers were encouraged to cut forest cover and hunt wild animals.

Gradually, lands near human settlements were brought under cultivation and later converted into residential or commercial properties. Today, we have lost the forest cover and water is scarce due to human greed. We don't have the time or inclination to reconnect with nature. Even the parks in the residential areas are grabbed by land sharks. Our children who bear the brunt of this are totally engrossed in the daily struggle of studies and the remaining time they tinker with their gadgets. Consequently,

their imagination is more virtual than natural. In one sense they are intelligent as they know how to operate modern gadgets with ease. And the fact is, many parents are proud of their children's skills in gaming or IT related electronic gadgets. However, clock has come a full circle and people are yearning for the simplicity of life that has gone by. Most of us are trying to balance the old lifestyle with the modern one.

Outdoor games, indoor games, shing and galli cricket are making a comeback. Physical activity is replacing sedentary life styles. At least, for those of us who live consciously. If all round development for the spirit, soul, and body is the aim, we must return to nature.

So where is the hitch? First of all, the wild cover is lost. Secondly, it is the lifestyle shift that is a huge hindrance.

When we address the first issue, loss of wild cover, we can think about nurturing an ecosystem for the next generation. Or turn to someone who can provide such an ecosystem for our immediate use. Secondly, it is about lifestyle. A big shift has taken place in the avalanche of change. Honestly

speaking, there is no harm in enjoying the comforts and advancements of technology but we need to understand the importance of preserving nature. If nature is available as it was in the past alongside the modern amenities like computers and gadgets, it would have been a plus point for the children to learn from nature and grow with them.

Nature teaches many important things and one important lesson we can learn from nature is empathy.

Nature cares for others. A tree full of fruits does not care if they are picked by men or monkeys. The next important lesson is about humility.

When a mango tree is laden with fruits, it bends communicating to the world that although fruitful, it is still humble. One who observes nature closely can understand the secrets of life. Ultimately, the point of the matter is that we only live once. In our pursuit of success, we should not lose our inner peace. Our children should get all round development for their spirit, soul, and body. We need to reconnect with the nature in its wild form. Let's do that, shall we?

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EDIBLE GARDENS, FLORA AND FAUNA Careful planning and the judicious use of fruits, herbs, and vegetables results in a yard that is flavourful, practical and visually pleasing. As a bonus, it’s a great topic for conversation!

Edible landscaping is the practical integration of food plants within an ornamental or decorative setting.

The same design principles as for ornamental landscapes are used, while substituting edible plants such as lettuces, blueberries, vegetables and fruit trees for some of the otherwise unproductive plant material. Using edibles in landscape design can enhance a garden by providing a unique ornamental component with additional health, aesthetic, and economic benefits. Edible landscaping is a mixture of beauty and utility.

However, edible landscaping doesn’t have to be all edible. In fact, filling the yard with edibles would often produce too much food for most families, not to mention time and work. Instead, careful planning and the judicious use of fruits, herbs, and vegetables results in a yard that is flavourful, practical, visually pleasing. As a bonus, it’s a great topic for conversation! Homeowners in all climates-with small or large yardscan benefit from a trellis of cherry tomatoes cascading over the entryway, a fragrant border of colourful and flavourful basils, or a prolific semidwarf apple tree or two. There are tasty

and ornamental edible plants for just about any garden setting in any climate.

Only the most shady areas and soggy soils are not suitable. The sunniest spots and the areas with the choicest soil are best reserved for most fruit trees and annual vegetables. On the other hand, there are culinary herbs suitable for rocky or poor soils, and a few perennial edibles for wet locations. Theoretically, any edible plant can be used in an ornamental landscape; but practically and aesthetically, some are better suited than others. Edible plants can be combined in many creative ways-with other edibles, or with ornamentals.

For instance: try a cool-season border of lettuces and spinach interplanted with dwarf nasturtiums. All types of pepper are striking when combined with dwarf marigolds or a background of tall red salvias. In shady areas, try a border of alpine strawberries and curly parsley under a hedge of currants. For your dwarf fruit trees try planting them in geometric beds surrounded with a border of culinary herbs; or plant them along the driveway instead of the usual privet or junipers. The most important design elements for an edible landscape are strong, form lines and structure.

With edible plants, the main goal is a diversity of food on your table and not just the look of your yard. However, in a purely aesthetic sense, adding edibles to your design provides a greater mixture of textures, forms, and colors than a typical ornamental landscape. In order to counterbalance this mix of plants, it helps to almost over-emphasize the line and structure of your landscaping elements. A design consideration with edibles is the seasonal nature of the colour-flowers, fruit, and/or foliageand occasional times of reduced drama due to transplanting, harvesting and soil cultivation. Edible landscaping is more than just planting edibles.

Without the backbone of an integrated design, an edible landscape can become just another scraggly vegetable patch.

Small and simple means you can easily maintain what you’ve started. Temper spring enthusiasm with the knowledge that many edible plants not only need maintenance (mulching, watering, weeding, feeding, and pruning), but also take effort in the form of harvesting and cooking- and preserving a large harvest.

“While we try to teach our children all about life, the farm teaches us what life’s all about.”

- Anon

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Passive Adult

ELEVENTH FLOOR

11a Organic Cafe 11b Vertical Farm

KEY PLAN

11a

FARM-TO-FORK FOOD AT YOUR CALL Everyone is taking ownership of what they eat and where their produce comes from. Demand for organic food is growing and the number of organic cafes has been increasing in India. Running late from work and want to have some simple healthy snacks ready for unexpected guests?

Or want some healthy vegetable and

fruit drink after your yoga session? Or want to grab some healthy juices for little ones during their playtime? No more worries. For working families and seniors, having your own organic cafĂŠ in the community from where you can order healthy organic dishes is a big convenience.

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Passive Adult

TWELFTH FLOOR

12a Vertical Farm

KEY PLAN

12a

NURTURING YOUR FOOD Nurturing your food Many of us want to ensure food safety and so be closer to our fruits and vegetables. We’ve also heard/read the impact of raw fruits and vegetables high in fertilizers and pesticides on humans. One way forward to address these concerns is Vertical Farming, the practice of producing food in vertically stacked layers. The

advantages include reduced water consumption, higher yield, sustainable and environmentally friendly method.

With the on-site multi-level vertical farm where you can witness and authenticate the farming methods and produce, you can nurture your inner gardener and your greens & veggies at the same time.

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EMPATHY FOR BIRDS AND ANIMALS In the name of progress, we are in one way or the another, usurping the living space of winged creatures and animals. So now we should accommodate them by maintaining their national living surroundings on creating green conditions.

Evolutionary biology tells us that dinosaurs are the distant ancestors of birds, who existed well before the arrival of human beings in the grand scale of life on Earth. Increasing evidence about the extraordinary behaviour of birds in making tools and social interaction suggests that there is in the natural order a far earlier path to "complex cognition" than that which led to human intelligence: a path that started with dinosaurs. As one author has put it, some birds (e.g., crows and parrots) exhibit "an alien intelligence that links directly back to minds we've long believed to be forever lost to us, like the dinosaurs", but that can also be wounded, under duress, in the same ways our minds can." Why do people spend so much time and emotion attempting to apply their own moral sense to an animal's actions? The answer lies in the human capacity for empathy - one of the qualities that helps us along as a social species. When we are confronted with another person say, someone in pain, our brains respond not just by observing, but by copying the experience. Empathy results in emotion sharing, explains Claus Lamm, a social cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Vienna in Austria. "I don't just know what you are feeling; I create an emotion in myself. This emotion makes connections to situations when I was in that emotional state myself ”.

When participants viewed someone reacting as though they were in pain to a stimulus that wasn't painful for the

viewer, the participants showed activity in the frontal cortex in areas important for distinction between self and other.

We can still sympathize with someone else's pain, even if we don't know what it feels like, Lamm and his colleagues reported in 2010 in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

Siebert describes the ways in which traumatized human beings and parrots bond with one another. In the process, both species experience mutual physical and psychological therapy. As one of the veterans Siebert interviewed remarks, “you can look into their eyes, any of these parrots’ eyes, and I myself see a soul. I see a light in there. And when they look at you, they see right into your soul.” According to Siebert, abundant evidence tells us that parrots possess cognitive capacities and sensibilities remarkably similar to our own. He refers to the classic case of Alex, an African gray parrot whose behaviour was studied by its long time companion, psychologist Dr. Irene Pepperberg. The parrot had cognitive skills that tested as high as those of a 5-year-old child; among others, he mastered more than 100 words, grasped abstract concepts like absence and presence and often gave orders to and toyed with the language of researchers who studied him, purposely giving them the wrong answers to their questions to alleviate his own boredom. Does the similarity to which Siebert points suggest only a difference in degree between the capacities and

sensibilities of parrots and those of human beings? In describing the cognitive capacities of parrots and other animals and attributing to them mastery of words, grasping of concepts, and purposely giving wrong answers to alleviate boredom, we need to be especially careful in the verbs, adverbs, and nouns we predicate across species.

This admonition is true of what we say not only about animals but also about angels and even God. Intelligence, purposeful activity, sensibilities, and emotions seem evident in animal behavior and our initial understanding

of them begins with human experience.

When we speak of these attributes beyond the realm of human affairs, we need to use the language of analogy. A parrot knows and acts in ways consistent with what it means to be a parrot: there is a kind of proportionality between the being or reality of a parrot and the behaviour it manifests. It is an error to think that the difference between human cognitive capacities and those of parrots, for example, is a matter of degree, thus justifying the univocal use of these terms.

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NATURAL VENTILATION “ Clean air & water, a diversity of animal and plant species, soil & mineral resources, and predictable weather are amenities that will pay dividends for as long as the human race survives and may extend our stay on earth.”- A Steffen

At 2getherments, Natural Ventilation is a part of the design process with carefully planned and implemented methodologies. Natural ventilation is the process of supplying and removing air through an indoor space by natural means, meaning without the use of a fan or other mechanical system. It uses outdoor air flow caused by pressure differences between the building and its surrounding to provide ventilation and space cooling.

BENEFITS OF NATURAL VENTILATION

The use of natural ventilation is definitely an advantage with the raising concerns regarding the cost and environmental impact of energy use. Not only does natural ventilation provide ventilation (outdoor air) to ensure safe healthy and comfortable conditions for building occupants without the use of fans, it also provides free cooling without the use of mechanical systems. When carefully designed, natural ventilation can reduce building construction costs and operation costs and reduce the energy consumption for air-conditioning and circulating fans. An additional bonus is that no longer will any noisy fan be of your concern.

TYPES OF NATURAL VENTILATION AND THEIR DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS.

There are basically two types of natural ventilation that can be employed in a building: wind driven ventilation and stack ventilation. Both of which are caused by naturally occurring pressure differences. However, the pressure differences that cause wind driven ventilation uses the natural forces of the wind where as stack ventilation is caused by pressures generated by buoyancy as a result in the differences in temperature and humidity. Hence, there are different strategies in the optimization of the two types of natural ventilation.

WIND DRIVEN VENTILATION

As naturally occurring wind blows across a building, the wind hits the windward wall causing a direct positive pressure. The wind moves around the building and leaves the leeward wall with a negative pressure, also known

as a sucking effect. If there are any openings on the windward and leeward walls of the building, fresh air will rush in the windward wall opening and exit the leeward wall opening to balance and relieve the pressures on the windward and leeward walls. To capture the wind and bring ventilation to the building, the building shape becomes a crucial factor. The building shape can create wind pressures that can effectively drive the air flow through the openings of the building. There are of course many other factors that play into place. Recommendations from design guidelines from various building regulations also suggest the following: Building orientation and location.

(Choosing a location with a lot of wind, building should be oriented so that the windward wall is perpendicular to the summer wind. This is when you want to maximize the ventilation); Building form and dimensions. (Naturally ventilated buildings should not be too deep because it will be more dificult to distribute fresh air to all portions of the building); Window typologies and operations Types, shape and size of openings Construction methods and detailing External elements Urban planning consideration

STACK VENTILATION

Buoyancy ventilation can be induced by temperature (known as stack ventilation) or by humidity (known as cool tower). Most commonly used is the stack driven ventilation. For stack ventilation to work properly there must be a temperature difference. As the warm air (usually given of by the occupants and their computers), which is less dense, in the building rises, the cooler air is sucked from the openings below. Design considerations for stack ventilation inlets should supply air low in the room. Outlets should be located across the room and at high level. The vertical distance between the inlet and exhaust openings should take advantage of the stack effect. Use skylights or ridge vents. The function as fire exits of enclosed staircases should not be compromised if stack ventilation is incorporated into the design. With stack ventilation, it does not rely on the wind. On hot summer days with no wind, the naturally occurring stack effect can take place with relatively stable air flow. Moreover, because it does not rely on the pressure and direction of the wind, there is a greater control

on locating the air intake. However, stack driven ventilation is limited to a lower magnitude than wind driven ventilation. It is also very dependent on the inside and outside temperature differences.

DESIGN STRATEGIES FOR NATURAL VENTILATION

The design for natural ventilation should incorporate maximizing both the wind and stack driven ventilation design concepts as mentioned above. General design considerations include: Increase air supply intake by ensuring no outside obstruction (such as vegetation or site objects) nor inside obstruction (such as furniture and interior partition) obstruct inlet openings; Rooms should have inlet and outlet openings located in opposing pressure zones. This can include openings on the windward and leeward walls or on the windward wall and roof; All occupied spaces should have an inlet and outlet opening in which at least a minimum of one opening should be an operable window to control flow; Inlets should supply air at a location low in the room. Outlets should be located across the room and at a higher level; The long facade of the building and the majority of the openings should be should be

directed so that the windward wall is perpendicular to the summer wind; Use skylights or ridge vents. They are very desirable for night time thermal comfort in houses to vent heated/ warm air that rises, and allow heat to be radiated into the cold. It is also can be a good outlet for wind driven ventilation; At least 3m allowance for the floor to ceiling. Window areas should not be excessive and be protected by exterior shading devices; Design for high thermal capacity and exposed ceilings for night cooling. Reduce the possibility of wall warming by the sun through use of light-coloured building exteriors, trees/shrubs to provide shading and evaporative cooling, grass and other groundcover to keep ground temperatures low, and ponds and fountains to enhance evaporative cooling; and Internal loading should be kept low. Many of the considerations taken above is to either increase the air flow or lower the heat gain so that the natural ventilation can effective cool the spaces in the building. Mechanical cooling and ventilation systems will be used to supplement the natural ventilation. By lowering the heat gains, the less air flow will be required to remove the heat, thus there will be less a need of a mechanical cooling system.

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LET’S NOT WASTE WASTE “ Failure of management to plan for the future & to foresee problems has brought about waste of manpower, of materials, of the machine - time, of all which raise the manufacture’s cost & price that the purchaser must pay.” - W.E Deming

Waste management can be categorized into solid waste management and sewage management. Strategies to effectively handle these wastes will create a better living environment for the residents and reduce operational costs in the future. At 2getherments, the intent of waste management is to design strategies that require low maintenance and which do not pollute the environment.

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Segregating waste at source as dry, wet (organic and inorganic) and e-waste is critical. At 2getherments, it is estimated that wet waste would amount to 217 kg per day and dry waste to 178 kg per day. E-waste (batteries, lamps, etc.) will be collected separately. Dry waste will be collected and handed over to the municipal authority or authorized local recyclers. Wet waste converted

to compost/manure and is used for gardening. Any excess waste is expected to be donated.

SEWAGE TREATMENT

Domestic waste water is normally 99.9% water and contains only 0.1% solids . If the 0.1% solids and other micro-organisms are removed, reusing this water makes perfect sense. To achieve this, Sequential Batch Reactor (SBR) technology is proposed in 2getherments.

Waste water shall be segregated into grey water treatment plant of 80,000 liters per day capacity & black water (STP) treatment plant of 25,000 liters per day capacity with the total treatment plant capacity of 1,05,000 liters per day.

Treated water is used for flushing and landscaping, while the sludge is either used as manure after treatment or handed over to dealers.

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HARVESTING RAIN Rains are a gift from nature. The ripple effect of saving & storing rain water is far-reaching and exponentially beneficial. We are aspiring to save as many rain drops at 2getherment as we can.

Rainwater harvesting is the accumulation and deposition of rainwater for reuse on-site. Harvesting in urban water system provides a substantial benefit for both water supply and wastewater subsystems by reducing the domestic water demand, reducing storm water flow in sewer system, and reducing storm water runoff which causes soil erosion and localized flooding. At 2getherments, rainwater

harvesting system has been designed with the intent of not letting water falling inside the site boundary to flow out of the project. Rainwater from the site is collected as two streams, namely, roof rain water & open spaces. Roof rain water is harvested in the rain water collection sump & reused for domestic purpose with necessary treatment. Rain water from open space is harvested in a recharge sump with percolation

borewell to direct recharge to the ground water aquifer. Potential rain water from the site is expected to be used within the project with an aim towards Zero Discharge. Total rainwater harvesting capacity of the sumps is approximately 1,75,000 liters. This figure was arrived at 1) by identifying the month with peak rainfall (August) and 2) designing the sumps to hold half the total rainfall that month. During times of exceptionally

high rainfall, the excess flow is connected to recharge bore wells/ percolation bore wells which direct the water into underground aquifers.

Rainwater collected in the sumps is sent to raw water pumps and are treated. The treatment is done using Pressure Sand Filters (PSF) and Activated Carbon Filters (ACF) after which it is used for domestic purposes.

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WINDOW SIZES AND VITAMIN D As our buildings grow taller and denser, it is important to remember to bring the outdoors indoor. At 2getherments, we’ve studied & designed homes that have optimum natural light streaming in.

More than 1000 different genes in the human DNA have been identified which are influenced by vitamin D. All these genes are essential for proper functioning of almost all tissues found in the human body. Vitamin D is produced due to sun exposure. But this is just half the story. Melatonin, which is a very powerful detoxifying and rejuvenating agent for the body, is produced at night during sleep. It

was found that melatonin production is directly linked to how much sun exposure happens during the day.

Given the importance of natural light on human, 2getherments has been designed based on rigorous analysis of daylight levels inside each home. In the screenshot from the daylight study shown below, it is evident that the design of shades and louvers is affected

by the amount of daylight received into each room. East facades and west facades receive the most daylight in the year. Therefore, it is imperative to analyze these facades with thermal comfort and daylight in mind.

Based on these studies, window sizes have been determined to maintain consistent light levels. Other than the health benefit, constructing good

day lit spaces helps in lower energy consumption from light fixtures. Good day light design also comes with good thermal performance of the building envelope. This results in reduction of air-conditioning load.

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POWERED BY THE SUN In 1931, Thomas Edison said “ I’d put my money on the sun & solar energy.

What a sourse of power!” And the world has finally caught up to his dream.

REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION

Main step in being energy efficient is to reduce energy consumption as much as possible. At 2getherments, technologies have been put in place to reduce power consumption in common areas: • LED lighting fixtures.

• Lighting wiring for driveways designed to produce 50% or 100% of illumination based on the time of the day.

• Lighting in lobby areas are in two circuits of 50% each and controlled by

a timer. Energy savings can be achieved during off peak hours and night by keeping only 1 circuit on.

• Ballasts proposed are of warm start, electronic type with THD < or =10% to reduce losses in the system and save energy by reducing choke losses.

• 30% solar lights (stand alone) are considered for emergency purpose.

These are located at a few strategic locations based on landscape design requirements.

• Pumps and motors in common areas will be BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) rated high-efficiency.

PRODUCING ENERGY FOR CONSUMPTION

Power for common areas shall be via solar photovoltaic energy and is sized at approximate 80 kW. Excess solar power produced during day is exported to the main grid and, through net metering system, imported back from the grid at night at no additional cost. Battery banks have been avoided. Advantages of this looped design are: • Maintenance of batteries is high and they have to be replaced every 5 years.

Maintenance cost is thereby reduced by

removing batteries.

• We use less resources and making it more environment-friendly.As a backup, diesel generators will also be installed in case the main grid fails at night.

A focused and self-driven Engineer, Rakesh Koti, has a keen interest in sustainability, ecology and developing net-zero built environments. He also holds a Masters Degree in Energy Systems from the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign.

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OUR APPROACH TO ECO SENSITIVITY And why weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re different

TYPICAL APARTMENTS

Building facade is mainly designed for aesthetic expression.

Energy is primarily consumed and rarely generated.

Water conservation is an option to be integrated by end -user.

Green spaces are grown in resultant spaces / area of the project after the building and services are in place.

Ornamental greenery are used with very little productive value. This increases the costs in terms of water consumption and maintenance.

Landscape design and landscaping with no impact or health or well being of end -user, except for a gesture towards nature.

2GETHERMENTS

Building facade is performance engineered to reduce energy demand by passive design. Solar shading louvers, roof top shading using solar panels and window sizing have been optimized for natural light penetration.

Energy is produced and consumed for common areas.

Highly moderated water use with efficient fixtures and high level of grey water recycling for agro based irrigation are two key strategies employed for water conservation .

Additional recommendations to end users for reducing water conservation are also being deliberated upon.

Green spaces are integrated into the fabric of the building.

Each house has an inbuilt micro garden that can serve as a vegetable and herb garden for the family.

Vertical and urban farming are extensively designed sand located across the building. Productive greenery is encouraged for use.

Landscape design and landscaping is productive and pervasive across the project such as organic vegetable gardens , fresh juice bar, herbal garden and square foot gardens.

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MOTHERHOOD FUN At 2getherments, we hope to connect moms to a community that can provide them the support they so greatly deserve. So, dear moms, remember who you were before you had that baby?

Rediscover yourself, and have some fun!

It's exhausting being a mother in the 21st century. You have to perform household chores flawlessly and hold up a successful job, all while bringing up perfect children! It leads to stress, unnecessary competition, and eventual burnout. Our Indian ancestors had a better approach it took a village to raise a child, and they cheerfully provided that village. Whether staying with just their parents or in a larger family, every child in an Indian community would invariably grow up together.

With doors between houses open at all

times, children would run in and out of different homes, spending most of their time outdoors. Outdoors time has been proven to have immense value in improving children's health, immunity, and social awareness. Further, exposure to a group of different people outside of their immediate family no doubt helped children build their confidence. Hearing different languages and view points helped develop their own perspectives.

Perhaps most importantly, allowing a child access to a community of caregivers helped Indian mothers take

a well-deserved break. Motherhood is a tough job and it's easy to get too carried away in the nitty-gritty of daily chores to be able to enjoy it. With the support of a community full of caregivers, it was easier to share parenting concerns and get good advice from others who had reared children. Sometimes, that's what can make the biggest difference meeting other mothers to realize you're not alone with your worries! From sharing each other's proud moments to expressing parenting concerns, just talking to another mom can greatly reduce a

mother's stress. At 2getherments, we hope to connect moms to a community that can provide them the support they so greatly deserve. So, dear moms, remember who you were before you had that baby? Rediscover yourself, and have some fun! Organize a kitty party. Breathe deeply over yoga. Sit in a community garden and smell the herbs. Set up a playdate for your kids.

Make new friends, and laugh a lot! All while knowing your children are being well taken care of. Have fun, with other moms just like you.

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ADAPT LIKE A CHAMELEON Chameleons are amazing creatures. They can adapt to any environment and blend in.

They blend in so well that they become almost invisible. Yet chameleons are also quite colourful.

At 2getherments, homes are also blessed with the ability to change and adapt to any situation, circumstance or environment just like human beings who are very flexible, creative and transformational when they have to be.

If we look back in history, mankind has adapted to incredible challenges and even death defying moments Regardless of the situation or circumstances we are facing, another truth is that we are always growing. We are constantly learning, developing and expanding our knowledge, experience and results.

We may notice that although there are

many things we can change quickly, there is one thing that usually changes slowly, if at all. This is our core principles and values. They are strongly linked to our key belief systems. It takes a major life event or realization to change our core principles and values. Although many core principles are based on truth and natural law, sometimes we have established core principles based on emotional situations and incorrect or unclear perceptions. It is important to discover these and correct them. Since our decisions and choices are all based on our core principles and

values, it is essential that our core principles are in alignment with truth and our highest good. The most important thing in life is the person we continue to become as we actualize our full creative potential. We actually have a divine potential which is part of our divine design or divine plan of our life. This is our highest and greatest potential and possibility.

When translated into technology, it denotes homes that adapt to the needs of its residents. At 2getherments, Chameleon Tech is a way to design homes with empathy for the owners.

Every single aspect is built and designed understanding and relating to the requirements of every single person living in it. From cradle to old age, 2getherments homes are designed to cater to every situation in a family. Right from the entrance spaces are specially designated for different purposes of every individual. From a toddler to a senior citizen, there is everything for all the people. 2getherments are designed to bring a family together, not keep them apart.

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DOUBLE INCOME WORKING COUPLE (DIWC) WITH KIDS At 2getherments, home design is empathic to the needs of working families. Whether it’s having a cuppa together, chatting up with the family while making breakfast during morning rush, reviewing the children’s homework or watching television while working on something else in the evenings, we have visualized possible scenarios and endeavoured to make your home experience enjoyable. Working families are of all varieties.

Typically, they are family units ranging from the sole breadwinner unit to two parents in the workforce unit, not necessarily both working full-time but also with varying working time arrangements. They are growing families with increasingly hectic schedules. Given various schedules and priorities of adults and children, everyday routines tend to be tightly scheduled.

Many of us would prefer less rushed mornings and more relaxed evenings. Work life balance is something most families strive for.

Advantages of being a double income family (whether full-time or part-time) are many.

For instance, many working families have a comparably better standard of living and lesser financial strain. They also feel like they are making a significant contribution to the family and work. And they tend to have friends and social life outside of home and immediate family.

PAIN POINTS

With those advantages come typical pain points working families face including: • Feeling like the amount of quality time spent with children or spouse is not enough.

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Feeling stressed on how much chores there are to do around the house.

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Being too tired or busy to enjoy an active and engaging social life.

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Having little time to pursue fitness activities.

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Having little time to pursue hobbies and sports

HIDDEN ASPIRATIONS

From our research and decades of work experience designing residential communities, we’ve identified some hidden aspirations of working families and have designed solutions that help address their needs appropriately.

Typically, working families require:

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Spaces for family to engage and connect with each other, friends (old and new) and neighbours.

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Stronger community in which to nurture the children.

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Homes that do not require too much housekeeping effort and time

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Adequate storage for growing requirements of the children and family.

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Expandable home for visiting families and guests.

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Options for the whole family to explore and develop skills and interests; and reduced commute times while pursuing those activities.

LIFESTYLE CHOICES

Increasing preference for lifestyle that include:

choices

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Moving towards organic food sources and greater food safety.

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Developing interest in kitchen gardens and home-grown greens and vegetables.

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Responsibly managing waste segregation, disposal and recycling.

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Responsibly consuming energy & water.

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Craving for homes that are closer to nature and cleaner environment.

Given the above needs and requirements, we’ve designed the units in 2getherments to be apt homes for working families with kids; homes that also have multi-tasking spaces; homes that change from time-consuming habitats to time-earning habitats. As we walk through each room design, this larger design intent will become evident from the solutions and provisions that have been included to help address these specific aspirations of the working families. While we’ve designed homes keeping a typical working family persona in mind, we understand that not all families are the same or all their requirements identical.

And so, we are offering customization services (as an add-on service) where our designers will work with you and your family to create a home that meets your specific needs and requirements.

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HOME DESIGN - DIWC WITH KIDS

A large comfortable home designed specifically for a working couple with a growing family, keeping in mind their practical needs and fast-paced lifestyle. This home has a welcoming foyer, an impressive living area, a flexible dining area, a quiet master bedroom, a childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bedroom with transformative spaces, a guest bedroom that duals as study room or gaming room, comfortable bathrooms, active balconies, an efficient kitchen and utility, and adequate and more storage for the needs of a growing family.

The main design intention of this unit type is help create more openness and

EXTERNAL FOYER - DIWC WITH KIDS

Welcoming entrance that respond to the functional and cultural needs of homeowners.

Personalised main door designs are available as an add-on options.

Care has been taken while designing for specific requirements such as elegant doorbell, door number and name plate.

Space for accessories such as potted plants and accent light has been provided.

Specific cultural requirements such as door threshold decorations and pumpkins, etc can also be incorporated into the main entrance design.

Power supply provisions have been made for decorative string lights, etc Outdoor clutter can be minimized by using the wall mounted shoe cupboards.

connectedness within the home. The heart of this home is in the large open room which accommodates living area, dining area and open kitchen.

The kitchen is no longer back-of-house and brought to the fore-front of living experience. Enticing outdoor balcony and two standing balconies with vegetable gardens narrows the distance between food source and home. Large open floor areas have been provided to encourage floor activities for children and parents.

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INTERNAL FOYER - DIWC WITH KIDS

Come home to a space that is both welcoming and functionally responsive, and anointed with sophisticated elegance.

Many practical needs have been accommodated in this space such as

option for an elegant console with drawers for bills, letters, milk card, newspaper cards, etc.

Adequate storage has been designed for newspapers, additional shoes, rainwear, umbrellas and shopping bags. This

has been tucked discreetly under the comfortable bench seats.

Full mirror wall expands the space visually and also acts as full height mirror.

Space has been provided for wall art or large family portrait, which will hide the DB panel.

Space has been provided for a tall display unit that can house travel mementos, picture frames, etc.

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LIVING - DIWC WITH KIDS A large space opens up as you enter from the foyer. In the living area, sufficient seating for the whole family has been providedâ&#x20AC;Śto enjoy conversations or view the large balcony garden or spend an afternoon watching a movie.

Many practical needs have been accommodated in this space such as The entertainment unit, that can accommodate a large screen TV, DVD, Set-up box, DVD collections, magazines, display items.

Space for a large sofa with lounger, coffee table, side table with book shelves and two chairs (that can also be used as dining chairs).

Space for two additional ottomans has been provided, tucked next to the entertainment unit design, to address additional seating requirement when there are guests.

Ceiling has been elegantly articulated with recessed lighting, spotlights and provision for stylish ceiling fan.

Provision has been made for ceiling to floor curtain.

DINING - DIWC WITH KIDS This is a large room that dual as dining area as well as play area for the family. In line with the needs of a connected working family, provisions have been made in the dining area to accommodate several lifestyle and functional needs, such as: Formal dining for five Option for a slide-away dining table (under the kitchen breakfast bar) to provide large open space for the kid floor play area.

Option for a multifunctional storage / display unit has been designed to accommodate several requirements such as travel mementos, home documents, medicine box, first aid box, medical reports, crockery, cutlery, serve ware and disposable dinner ware. There is also space for a tray of pickles and condiment.

Space has been provided for wall arts and family photo display.

Space for bar counter has been provided.

Bar space can be converted into box room as an upgrade option.

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KITCHEN - DIWC WITH KIDS Given how rushed the mornings and evenings are, it was important to provide a comfortable working environment. Air-conditioned open kitchen has been designed keeping in mind that both partners in the working couple may access the space during rushed morning and evening. The kitchen has additionally been designed to respond to and accommodate the needs of Indian style of cooking.

Storage provisions for dry goods, cooking utensils, every day serve ware, every day dinner sets, tiffin boxes, lids, pans and pot wares, spices, pulses, rice, atta, evening snacks, tea coffee beverages, onion, potato and garlic, oil, kitchen towels, kitchen rolls etc.

Provisions are made for a four burner hob and hood.

Provisions have been made for several appliances including left-hand refrigerator, counter top micro wave oven, kettle, toaster, electric cooker, mixer and wet grinder.

UTILITY - DIWC WITH KIDS A glass door from the kitchen leads to the large multifunctional utility area and accommodates: A double bowel sink with single drain board Provisions for traditional stainless steel dish rack/storage unit that is wall hung above the sink.

Option for a small hanging shelf can be installed for dish washing liquid and detergent.

Underneath the sink, storage has been allocated for recycling bin and plastic bags.

On the opposite wall, there is an integrated laundry unit. This unit will house washing machine (provision only) cloth dryer laundry cupboard for segregating white and colour as well as a shelf for laundry liquid and powder.

Next to the laundry unit, there is small provision to hang brooms and mops.

Option for retractable ceiling mounted cloths drying rails to allow for both

shaded drying of large fabrics as well as sun drying of the same.

Along the length of the utility, 2 onefoot-wide ledges has been provided which can be used for drying larger

vessels such as pressure cookers, kadais, etc. This can also be used to keep some small potted herb planters.

If required, a hanging rod can be installed for spice racks, mugs, ladles, and scissors.

There is sufficient counter space available for prepping ingredients, kitchen tools such as knife blocks, ladle stand, oil bottles, dicing boards and food containers.

A vegetable sink in the kitchen could also double as hand wash for the dining.

As an upgrade option, provision for a under-counter dishwasher and undercounter baking oven is possible.

Kitchen is lit through a large window and a glass door that allows sunlight.

Space for one dining chair that gives seating space within the kitchen.

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BALCONY - DIWC WITH KIDS

Large external balcony has been provided to create an inviting outdoor living environment. This has been achieved by providing sufficient space for 16 Sq.ft of vegetable planters for fruit/vegetable plants Large planter for fruit/flowering tree Option for relaxed low seating for four. This can be used

for quick dining or out-door activities (eg. creative experiments using clay or crafts or glue). There is also space for a bench for additional seating.

A compact wash basin to wash up after crafts or gardening. Option for cabinet underneath the wash basin to

store gardening equipment tools and cleaning liquids.

Provision has been made for festive/ decorative string lighting.

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POOJA ROOM - DIWC WITH KIDS An optimally designed Pooja cupboard has been provided. Pooja cupboard opens on to the flexible dining space so that, in event of small family, pooja there is sufficient standing and seating for all members of the family.

Traditionally designed doors encase the Pooja cupboard Sufficient space for wall pictures, small statues, pooja articles.

A retractable tray for offerings A drawer for every day pooja article (Agarbathi, cum-cum, campher etc) Another drawer for devotional books, etc Another drawer for special occasion/ festival items such as tall lamps, small lamps etc. This drawer will be lockable.

GUEST BEDROOM - DIWC WITH KIDS

This flexible & multifunctional room accommodates several needs such as: A home office: With a convenient nook that provides a table space for laptop, printer, papers, documents and stationeries.

Space for a chair that slides under the table top. Provision for phone and mobile devise charging station has been located here. Additional storage has been provided for home files and documents. Sufficient power supply

points have also been provided here.

A gaming room: For children and adults with provision TV screen and for gaming console & associated equipment. Provision for a sound bar for sufficient sound system.

A transformative sofa/bed system (optional). Sofa can be used while gaming.

A guest room: For visiting family and friends.

A pull out bed offers sleep area for guests. A long wardrobe provide storage for guest’s suit cases guest cloths, toiletry, secured drawer for valuables, spare linen, spare towels etc,.

Additionally, items such as extra gifts, unused gadgets and cables.

This bathroom is adjacent to the guest room. It has been conveniently located such that both visiting guests and overnight guest have access to this bathroom. Elegantly designed fixtures include wash basin on counter top comfortable WC and a shower area.

Second child’s room: This room can also become the second children’s room for older ones, who prefer their own private room.

Option for under-sink storage for extra toiletries and towels.

Option for discrete storage with hooks for toilet brush, toilet broom and a small shelf for cleaning liquids.

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CHILDREN’S BEDROOM - DIWC WITH KIDS

This delightful room has been designed to accommodate one child or two young children. This transformational room can respond to the special requirements of growing children.

At night, the hidden beds(optional) pop out of the wall and provide sleeping spaces for two.

During day, the hidden beds fold away and provide floor space for play and activity.

Option for an integrated desk with chair.

A large wardrobe can accommodate every day cloths, special occasion cloths, books, toys and stationery.

A sufficiently deep open storage has hooks for schoolbags, ID cards, medals etc. Option for under-sink storage for extra toiletries and towels. Option for discrete storage with hooks for toilet brush, toilet broom and a small shelf for cleaning liquids.

CHILDREN’S BATHROOM

This ensuite bath room is attached to the children’s bedroom. Elegantly designed fixtures include wash basin on counter top comfortable WC and a shower area.

This dry bath room has been designed to reduce water spillover near the wash basin and the WC area.

shower door.

Option for under-sink storage for extra toiletries and towels.

Option for discrete storage with hooks for toilet brush, toilet broom and a small shelf for cleaning liquids.

This can be achieved by installing an elegant shower curtain or upgrade to a

MASTER BEDROOM - DIWC WITH KIDS A door from the dining area leads to the master bedroom. This large room has space to accommodate: a king sized bed, and two side table chest of drawers (with a table top mirror) that also functions as a dresser. This dresser can accommodate everyday cosmetics, toiletry, fashion accessories, hair grooming tools and equipment, small garments, towels and extra bathroom toiletry.

On the bathroom door, which is next to the dresser, a full length mirror may be installed.

Wall length wardrobe with full height sliding doors providing adequate storage for everyday clothes, special occasion clothes, spare bed linen, extra pillows and blankets, extra hand bags, ties and belts, secured drawers for valuables and personal documents.

Care has been taken to optimally locate switches and plug points including wall holder for A/C remote. Wall art, family

photos, etc can be hung above the head board of the bed.

A standing balcony for potted plants on shelves has been provided to create a green outdoor space and bring green living into the private spaces as well.

MASTER BATHROOM

This ensuite bath room is attached to the master bed room. Elegantly designed fixtures include wash basin on counter top comfortable WC a shower area.

This dry bath room has been designed to reduce water spillover near the wash basin and the WC area. This can be achieved by installing an elegant shower curtain or upgrade to a shower door.

Option for under-sink storage has been provided for extra toiletries and towels.

Option for a discrete storage has been provided with hooks for toilet brush, toilet broom and a small shelf for cleaning liquids.

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WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH A HOME? When it comes to matters of love and intimacy, most people tend to think that all they need to do is identify, meet, and choose the right person. Decide on the specific criteria (typically based on fantasy) required and seek someone who closely conforms to that wish list. Just look at the wild popularity of various online dating sites promoting this consumerist approach to procuring a romantic partner. Sort of like going out and purchasing shoes, jeans or a new suit. Or maybe a home. This "shopping for love" approach can be effective, but only when one is truly psychologically ready for a relationship.

Again, it's like looking for a new home: The more properties one sees, the more realistic and clearer the idea of what's most important to us. And when the "perfect" place suddenly presents itself, we are prepared to make the purchase.

But only if we're ready to make that commitment and investment. ‘Real love’ consists also of a deep capacity for concern, constancy, stability, respect, empathy, warmth and compassion and that's exactly what a ‘Real Home should provide as well. A haven for its residents which shields them, protects them and cares for them. In the initial days, human beings began putting up huts to shelter them from the vagaries

of the weather and protect them from inconsistencies of nature. As time passed, their needs began getting refined and narrowed down to the requirements of each person who lived in it. As things stand today, homes have turned into statements. For some personal statements of security and for the elite, an expression of their status.

However, what everybody looks for is a home to go back to, a place they can call their own, where one can relax, rest and rejuvenate. But the purpose gets defeated if one is constantly plagued by some issue or the other.

That's the primary premise on which 2getherments homes are based. A detailed survey and research based on individual interactions, these homes were pre-customized to provide apt solutions for the common issues faced by home owners. Strengthened by talented architects, 2getherments are built after reading the residents minds.

Optimum use of space coupled with chameleon technology, 2getherments can accomodate everything one looks for in a complete home. From the youngest member of the family to the senior most, every one's needs are taken into consideration and features have been designed with empathy.

GOAL DIRECTED DESIGN "Goal Directed Design" is a conceptual framework coined by Alan Cooper and widely used in the field of digital and User Interface (UI) design. This method focuses on behavioural design, which puts users at the centre of the design process and places huge emphasis on understanding the needs and goals of those users and then translating those goals into tasks and activities and ultimately into a more usable end product.

one which doesn't consider the user or the context in which they are living and using their spaces. In general the method to organise spaces in residential units has been based on a series of acceptable room measurements and dimensions. Bedrooms shall be 10’x12’; Living room shall be 12'x18' and so on. The usability of that space and the utility value for the user are generally considered less important as long as the sizes are within those metrics.

potential users is collected through field studies and interviews. When finished we are left with a set of scenarios which describe how the spaces could be used.

Here is something to think about: When was the last time you walked into a house and wondered where to place your bag or leave your keys? Or walked into a bedroom and wished the wardrobe shelf would be bit taller to hang a longer kurta without it getting crushed at its bottom, or struggled to find an appropriate space for your mixer inside the kitchen cabinet?

More often than not these generalized solutions don't meet the goals and lifestyle of the person who will actually use the space. This is where goal directed design process makes a deep impact in orienting the design towards the user from the start. The whole process of goal directed design can be broken down into 5 steps.

In this stage, we focus on context scenarios to help define the day in the life of a person. The context scenarios which really make a big impact to the way you think and help generate a ton of ideas you might not have considered before.

The main reason for these niggles is the sheer lack of design process or

1. RESEARCH

In this stage qualitative data about the

2. MODELLING

In the modelling stage, we define the user model through the use of personas or key archetypes which represent identifiable groups of users.

3. REQUIREMENTS

4. FRAMEWORK

During the framework definition stage, you create the overall product concept and define the behaviour and visual

design of the product prototype.

5. REFINEMENT

No matter how clear the vision is, things can and do change during development, budgetary and timeline concerns can affect which features get taken away or which new ones get added but it's critical that the overall design quality does not get compromised.

The lifestyle requirements have changed dramatically in the past 20 years.

Design for comfortable living is not about the amount of sft or carpet area and it shouldn't be approached in the same way. If we are designing a home for a specific user, doesn't it just make it meaningful to understand what their need is in the first place? We think that ultimately the success of any space can be defined by the amount of happy users it has and the best way to ensure these users are happy is to find out what motivates them and what their goals are.

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DOUBLE INCOME WORKING COUPLE ( DIWC ) +KIDS + DEPENDENT PARENT Working families are of all varieties. Typically, they are family units ranging from the sole breadwinner unit to two parents in the workforce unit. They are growing families with increasingly hectic schedules. Given various schedules and priorities of adults and children, everyday routines tend to be tightly scheduled. Work life balance is something most families strive for.

“Recently released government data reveals that more people in cities are choosing to live in extended families. Between 2001 and 2011, joint families in urban India grew 29%. Because of migration, support needs for the elderly and for children, and the need to share resources, urban families are stretching, joining and evolving ” as per the Times of India article.

Advantages of being a double income family (whether full-time or part-time) are many. For instance, many working families have a comparably better standard of living and lesser financial strain. They also feel like they are making a significant contribution to the family and work. And they tend to have friends and social life outside of home and immediate family. There is also the comfort of knowing that aging parents and growing children are in a safe and secure relationship setup.

With those advantages come typical pain points working families face including: • Feeling like the amount of quality time spent with children or spouse is not enough.

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Stronger community in which to nurture the children.

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Homes that do not require too much housekeeping effort and time

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Adequate storage for growing requirements of the children and family.

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Expandable home for visiting families and guests.

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Options for the whole family to explore and develop skills and interests; and reduced commute times while pursuing those activities.

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Options for engaging activities for improving the social, mental, and physical health of aging parents.

In addition, we are also seeing an increasing preference for lifestyle choices that include: •

Moving towards organic food sources and greater food safety.

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Developing interest in kitchen gardens and homegrown greens and vegetables.

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Responsibly managing waste segregation, disposal and recycling

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Responsibly consuming energy & water.

Craving for homes that are closer to nature and cleaner environment.

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Feeling stressed on how much chores there are to do around the house.

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Constant concern for the well-being and social life of aging parents.

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Being too tired or busy to enjoy an active and engaging social life.

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Having little time to pursue fitness activities.

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Having little time to pursue hobbies and sports.

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From our research and decades of work experience designing residential communities, we’ve identified some hidden aspirations of working families and have designed solutions that help address their needs appropriately. Typically, working families require

Given the above needs and requirements, we’ve designed the units in 2getherments to be apt homes for working families with kids and dependent parents; homes that also have multi-tasking spaces; homes that change from time-consuming habitats to time-earning habitats. As we walk through each room design, this larger design intent will become evident from the solutions and provisions that have been included to help address these specific aspirations of the working families.

•

Spaces for family to engage and connect with each other, friends (old and new) and neighbours.

While we’ve designed homes keeping a typical working family persona in mind, we understand that not all families are the same or all their requirements identical. And so, we are offering customization services (as an add-on service) where our designers will work with you and your family to create a home that meets your specific needs and requirements.

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HOME DESIGN - DIWC + KIDS + DEPENDENT PARENT

A large comfortable home designed specifically for a working couple with a growing family, keeping in mind their practical needs and fast-paced lifestyle. This home has a welcoming foyer, an impressive living area, a flexible dining area, a quiet master bedroom, a childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bedroom with transformative spaces, a guest bedroom that duals as study room or gaming room, comfortable bathrooms, active balconies, an efficient kitchen and utility, and adequate and more storage for the needs of a growing family.

connectedness within the home. The heart of this home is in the large open room which accommodates living area, dining area and open kitchen.

The kitchen is no longer back-of-house and brought to the fore-front of living experience. Enticing outdoor balcony and two standing balconies with vegetable gardens narrows the distance between food source and home. Large open floor areas have been provided to encourage floor activities for children and parents.

The main design intention of this unit type is help create more openness and

EXTERNAL FOYER - DIWC + KIDS + DEPENDENT PARENT Welcoming entrance that respond to the functional and cultural needs of homeowners.

Personalised main door designs are available as an add-on options. Care has been taken while designing for specific requirements such as elegant doorbell, door number and name plate.

Space for accessories such as potted plants and accent light has been provided.

Specific cultural requirements such as door threshold decorations and pumpkins, etc can also be incorporated into the main entrance design.

Power supply provisions have been made for decorative string lights, etc Outdoor clutter can be minimized by using the wall mounted shoe cupboards.

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INTERNAL FOYER - DIWC + KIDS + DEPENDENT PARENT

Come home to a space that is both welcoming and functionally responsive, and anointed with sophisticated elegance.

Many practical needs have been accommodated in this space such as

option for an elegant console with drawers for bills, letters, milk card, newspaper cards, etc.

Adequate storage has been designed for newspapers, additional shoes, rainwear, umbrellas and shopping bags. This

has been tucked discreetly under the comfortable bench seats.

Full mirror wall expands the space visually and also acts as full height mirror.

Space has been provided for wall art or large family portrait, which will hide the DB panel.

Space has been provided for a tall display unit that can house travel mementos, picture frames, etc.

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LIVING - DIWC + KIDS + DEPENDENT PARENT A large space opens up as you enter from the foyer. In the living area, sufficient seating for the whole family has been providedâ&#x20AC;Śto enjoy conversations or view the large balcony garden or spend an afternoon watching a movie.

Many practical needs have been accommodated in this space such as The entertainment unit, that can accommodate a large screen TV, DVD, Set-up box, DVD collections, magazines, display items.

Space for a large sofa with lounger, coffee table, side table with book shelves and two chairs (that can also be used as dining chairs).

Space for two additional ottomans has been provided, tucked next to the entertainment unit design, to address additional seating requirement when there are guests.

Ceiling has been elegantly articulated with recessed lighting, spotlights and provision for stylish ceiling fan.

Provision has been made for ceiling to floor curtain.

DINING - DIWC + KIDS + DEPENDENT PARENT This is a large room that dual as dining area as well as play area for the family. In line with the needs of a connected working family, provisions have been made in the dining area to accommodate several lifestyle and functional needs, such as: Formal dining for five Option for a slide-away dining table (under the kitchen breakfast bar) to provide large open space for the kid floor play area.

Option for a multifunctional storage / display unit has been designed to accommodate several requirements such as travel mementos, home documents, medicine box, first aid box, medical reports, crockery, cutlery, serve ware and disposable dinner ware. There is also space for a tray of pickles and condiment.

Space has been provided for wall arts and family photo display.

Space for bar counter has been provided.

Bar space can be converted into box room as an upgrade option.

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KITCHEN - DIWC + KIDS + DEPENDENT PARENT Given how rushed the mornings and evenings are, it was important to provide a comfortable working environment. Air-conditioned open kitchen has been designed keeping in mind that both partners in the working couple may access the space during rushed morning and evening. The kitchen has additionally been designed to respond to and accommodate the needs of Indian style of cooking.

There is sufficient counter space available for prepping ingredients, kitchen tools such as knife blocks, ladle stand, oil bottles, dicing boards and food containers.

Storage provisions for dry goods, cooking utensils, every day serve ware, every day dinner sets, tiffin boxes, lids, pans and pot wares, spices, pulses, rice, atta, evening snacks, tea coffee beverages, onion, potato and garlic, oil, kitchen towels, kitchen rolls etc.

Provisions are made for a four burner hob and hood.

Kitchen is lit through a large window and a glass door that allows sunlight.

A vegetable sink in the kitchen could also double as hand wash for the dining.

As an upgrade option, provision for a under-counter dishwasher and undercounter baking oven is possible.

Space for one dining chair that gives seating space within the kitchen.

Provisions have been made for several appliances including left-hand refrigerator, counter top micro wave oven, kettle, toaster, electric cooker, mixer and wet grinder.

If required, a hanging rod can installed for spice racks, mugs, ladles, and scissors.

UTILITY - DIWC + KIDS + DEPENDENT PARENT A glass door from the kitchen leads to the large multifunctional utility area and accommodates: A double bowel sink with single drain board Provisions for traditional stainless steel dish rack/storage unit that is wall hung above the sink Option for a small hanging shelf can be installed for dish washing liquid and detergent.

Underneath the sink, storage has been allocated for recycling bin and plastic bags.

On the opposite wall, there is an integrated laundry unit. This unit will house washing machine (provision only) cloth dryer laundry cupboard for segregating white and colour as well as a shelf for laundry

liquid and powder.

Next to the laundry unit, there is small provision to hang brooms and mops.

Option for retractable ceiling mounted cloths drying rails to allow for both

shaded drying of large fabrics as well as sun drying of the same.

Along the length of the utility, 2 onefoot-wide ledges has been provided which can be used for drying larger vessels such as pressure cookers, kadais,

etc. This can also be used to keep some small potted herb planters.

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BALCONY - DIWC + KIDS + DEPENDENT PARENT

Large external balcony has been provided to create an inviting outdoor living environment. This has been achieved by providing sufficient space for

also space for a bench for additional seating

16 Sq.ft of vegetable planters for fruit/ vegetable plants

Option for cabinet underneath the wash basin to store gardening equipment tools and cleaning liquids.

Large planter for fruit/flowering tree Option for relaxed low seating for four.

This can be used for quick dining or outdoor activities (eg. creative experiments using clay or crafts or glue). There is

A compact wash basin to wash up after crafts or gardening

Provision has been made for festive/ decorative string lighting.

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POOJA ROOM - DIWC + KIDS + DEPENDENT PARENT An optimally designed Pooja cupboard has been provided. Pooja cupboard opens on to the flexible dining space so that, in event of small family, pooja there is sufficient standing and seating for all members of the family.

Traditionally designed doors encase the Pooja cupboard Sufficient space for wall pictures, small statues, pooja articles.

A retractable tray for offerings A drawer for every day pooja article (Agarbathi, cum-cum, campher etc) Another drawer for devotional books, etc Another drawer for special occasion/ festival items such as tall lamps, small lamps etc. This drawer will be lockable.

GUEST BEDROOM - DIWC + KIDS + DEPENDENT PARENT

This flexible & multifunctional room accommodates several needs such as: A home office: With a convenient nook that provides a table space for laptop, printer, papers, documents and stationeries. Space for a chair that slides under the table top.

Provision for phone and mobile devise charging station has been located here.

Additional storage has been provided for home files and documents.

Sufficient power supply points have also been provided here.

A gaming room: For children and adults with provision TV screen and for gaming console & associated equipment. Provision for a sound bar for sufficient sound system.

A transformative sofa/bed system (optional). Sofa can be used while gaming.

A guest room: For visiting family and friends.

A pull out bed offers sleep area for guests. A long wardrobe provide storage for guest’s suit cases guest cloths,

toiletry, secured drawer for valuables, spare linen, spare towels etc,.

Additionally, items such as extra gifts, unused gadgets and cables. Second child’s room: This room can also become the second children’s room for older ones, who prefer their own private room.

This bathroom is adjacent to the guest room. It has been conveniently located such that both visiting guests and overnight guest have access to this

bathroom. Elegantly designed fixtures include wash basin on counter top comfortable WC a shower area.

Option for under-sink storage for extra toiletries and towels.

Option for discrete storage with hooks for toilet brush, toilet broom and a small shelf for cleaning liquids.

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CHILDREN’S BEDROOM - DIWC + KIDS + DEPENDENT PARENT

CHILDREN’S BATHROOM This delightful room has been designed to accommodate one child or two young children. This transformational room can respond to the special requirements of growing children.

At night, the hidden beds(optional) pop out of the wall and provide sleeping spaces for two. During day, the hidden beds fold away and provide floor space for play and activity. Option for an integrated desk with chair. A large

wardrobe can accommodate every day cloths, special occasion cloths, books, toys and stationery.

A sufficiently deep open storage has hooks for schoolbags, ID cards, medals etc. Option for under-sink storage for extra toiletries and towels.

Option for discrete storage with hooks for toilet brush, toilet broom and a small shelf for cleaning liquids.

This ensuite bath room is attached to the children’s bedroom. Elegantly designed fixtures include wash basin on counter top comfortable WC and a shower area.

This dry bath room has been designed to reduce water spillover near the wash basin and the WC area.

Option for under-sink storage for extra toiletries and towels.

Option for discrete storage with hooks for toilet brush, toilet broom and a small shelf for cleaning liquids.

This can be achieved by installing an elegant shower curtain or upgrade to a shower door.

MASTER BEDROOM - DIWC + KIDS + DEPENDENT PARENT A door from the dining area leads to the master bedroom. This large room has space to accommodate: a king sized bed and two side table chest of drawers (with a table top mirror) that also functions as a dresser. This dresser can accommodate everyday cosmetics, toiletry, fashion accessories, hair grooming tools and equipment, small garments, towels and extra bathroom toiletry.

above the head board of the bed.

A standing balcony for potted plants on shelves has been provided to create a green outdoor space and bring green living into the private spaces as well.

On the bathroom door, which is next to the dresser, a full length mirror may be installed. Wall length wardrobe with full height sliding doors providing adequate storage for everyday clothes, special occasion clothes, spare bed linen, extra pillows and blankets, extra hand bags, ties and belts, secured drawers for valuables and personal documents.

Care has been taken to optimally locate switches and plug points including wall holder for A/C remote.

This dry bath room has been designed to reduce water spillover near the wash basin and the WC area. This can be achieved by installing an elegant shower curtain or upgrade to a shower door.

Wall art, family photos, etc can be hung

MASTER BATHROOM

This ensuite bath room is attached to the master bed room. Elegantly designed fixtures include wash basin on counter top comfortable WC a shower area.

Option for under-sink storage has been provided for extra toiletries and towels.

Option for a discrete storage has been provided with hooks for toilet brush, toilet broom and a small shelf for cleaning liquids.

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OUR APPROACH TO HOME DESIGN And why we’re different

TYPICAL APARTMENTS

Apartments are based on number of ‘Bedrooms’ in BHK and carpet area of unit.

Space design and interior design are though in a mutually exclusive way.

Home and furniture -a misfit love affair! Furniture many not fit into the home. Home cannot accommodate additional storage.

Multiple small balconies that are not fully functional or adequately usable.

Utility area is an empty balcony with tap connections, where the end user and their homekeepres have to squeeze fit their needs.

2GETHERMENTS

Homes are centered on the needs and requirements of end-user to create a healthy Indian Lifestyle.

Pre customised space design and interior planning are fully informed needs and requirement.

Transformative furniture that adapts to the space needs of the end- users. homes design accommodates typical furniture needed for families. Storage needs are specifically recommended.

Large usable balcony to use as an extended outdoor living space for the whole familybe it for craft projects with kids to a moonlight family dinner.

Utility area is designed in detail noting the needs, frequency and intensity of use as well as practical consideration of an active family and their housekeeping staff.

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THIRTEENTH FLOOR

Passive Adult

Active Adult

KEY PLAN

13a Outdoor Gym 13c Gym - Cadio 13b Vertical Farm

13b

OPEN COURTYARD WITH SITOUT Commit to be fit Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve found your tribe: a family to cherish, neighbors to socialize with, friends to play with, fellow gardeners to raise greens with.

And now it is time to make time for you and your fitness. After hours sitting in front of the laptop, nothing compares to 30-45 minutes workout. Are you into strength training or cardio? Prefer

calisthenics or core building? With the on-site two-level gym, you can focus on your preferred form of exercise and tailor your work out. Why not hire a personal trainer to tutor you? Or get your buddies together for group training? Now you have no excuse to get going and to get fit.

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123 ARE YOU HEALTH CONSCIOUS? How often do you walk that extra mile to reach your gym even if it is within your community? Too much time & effort after a hard dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work right?

We know. Two levels for cardio, weights, calisthenics and yoga within your community. Now you have no excuse to get going.

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FOURTEENTH FLOOR

Passive Active Adult Adult

KEY PLAN

14c Gym - Weightlifting 14b Vertical Farm

14c

COMMIT TO BE FIT Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve found your tribe: a family to cherish, neighbors to socialize with, friends to play with, fellow gardeners to raise greens with. And now it is time to make time for you and your fitness.

After hours sitting in front of the laptop, nothing compares to 30-45 minutes workout. Are you into strength training or cardio? Prefer calisthenics or core

building? With the on-site two-level gym, you can focus on your preferred form of exercise and tailor your work out. Why not hire a personal trainer to tutor you? Or get your buddies together for group training? Now you have no excuse to get going and to get fit.

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IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL FITNESS As the years have rolled by, our culture, society and lifestyle has undergone a gradual but drastic change. Technology has made our lives easier and more comfortable. At the same time it has also made us lazier and more lethargic.

Fitness has become a central concern in our lives, and unfortunately, the lack of it is something that we are constantly grappling with. When we sit and look back at how we led our life as a child in a small town nestled somewhere deep in the heart of our place, we realize that ourgrandparents were far more active as compared to many city-parents today.We are living an urban life where most of us end up traveling over 30 km a day. In this rushed life, who has time for fitness?

Since childhood we have heard our elders saying that ‘health is wealth’.

However, only a few of us have actually realized the importance of physical fitness and made it part of our lifestyle.

Good health does not only mean to have a body free from diseases but it refers to complete mental, physical, spiritual, and social well-being of a person.

Walking, running, cycling, playing, swimming, gardening, skipping, weight-lifting and yoga are some of the important activities which help us maintain fit and healthy lifestyle. A

person who is fit both physically and mentally is strong enough to face the ups and downs of life, and is not affected by drastic changes in the circumstances.

STRETCHING

We hear it all the time: “why stretch? It’s just another thing to fit in to my already busy routine. We never stretch and we seem to be fine.”

We may think of stretching as something performed only by runners or gymnasts. But we all need to stretch in order to improve our mobility and independence. “A lot of people don’t understand that stretching has to happen on a regular basis. It should be daily,” –David Nolan, fitness expert.

YOGA

Yoga is an art which connects our soul, mind, and body together. We usually never think of meditation, yoga and studies together in the same sentence but it is worth noting that they all are interrelated. There is no doubt that meditation is fantastic for young people and students. But through yoga, one can become more aware of one’s emotional, mental and physical health. Yoga techniques date back to the 5th century and through research, it has been proved that its benefits for students and

youngsters are outstanding. Teenage is that part of life in which lots of things change. This leads to a lot of stress.

Yoga may serve as a supportive role in improving mental health.

CARDIO VASCULAR EXERCISE

Putting it in simpler words, you need your heart to race and beat faster to make it exercise. For those who just can’t drag themselves off that couch, a range of cardio activities can not only help you take a step towards better health but can also engage and interest you to take up something more challenging.

Most fitness experts are of the opinion that cardio sessions should always go hand-in-hand with some weight or strength training to achieve best result, but to begin with just a twenty minute brisk walk or light jogging will pave way for building stamina, prepping you for high intensity training.

CALLISTHENICS

Callisthenic exercises teaches to master your own body. They teach coordination, balance, proprioception and self-awareness. Unlike resistance machines that guides movements, performing bodyweight exercises effectively means we must control our limbs and maintain proper body

position. The floor is always inviting!

With calisthenics, one is not limited to the confinements of local gym or household, as the workouts we do require little to minimal equipment.

Furthermore, for potentially dangerous exercises such as bench pressing or heavy squatting, a spotter or power rack is not necessary as the movement does not usually come with many risks, saving the space and privacy. Thus, one can easily perform a myriad of calisthenics and see muscle strength that equate to one who endlessly pumps iron in a spacious gym.

STRENGTH TRAINING

Strength training helps boost your metabolism but weight or resistance training can help boosting up calorie burn during and after workout, too.

Also benefits the balance, coordination, and posture of the body. One study showed that in older people who are at higher risk of falling (and causing a lot of damage) because of worse physical functioning, strength training reduced risk of falling by 40 percent compared with individuals who did not do strength-training exercise. Get started now with a complete workout program that includes strength training at the 2getherments gym.

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CONCRETE JUNGLES In 2016, over 50% of the global population were urban dwellers. In India alone, 5 million people move from villages to towns and cities every year. Needless to say, cities aren't equipped to deal with the pressure of the sudden and increasing population increase. Metros in India have become concrete jungles and unlike real jungles where animals thrive, human beings in urban settings have become entrenched in a trap of their own making. As they say, mega cities bring mega issues.

While the number of people in the

city has increased, the roads haven't widened. Houses sit on top of each other in charmless buildings and spill onto the road. There are more vehicles on the streets, leading to greater air and noise pollution. There is enormous stress on cities already badly planned infrastructure. Improper waste management, open drains, and, subsequently, an increase in diseases, are common occurrences. While the Indian society used to thrive on farming at one point, today, we are uncertain about what goes into the food we eat,

and how safe it is to consume. The environment in which we live, work, eat and rest determines our health. At this point, it isn't looking good. The unplanned rapid evolution of urban landscapes is clearly going to be one of the biggest environmental changes the Earth will face, and we human beings have brought it on ourselves.

Unfortunately, there is no precedent that can guide us to how to "fix" the problems we have brought upon ourselves. However, it is clear that we can make a start towards solving these

issues at an individual level. Research shows that community kitchen gardens increase physical activity and promote social connectivity, mental wellbeing, and local food production.

This seemingly simple start could not only make a tangible change in the greenery around you, but also increase the happiness of your community as a whole all while providing the people around you with clean air and a healthy diet. At 2getherments, this is one of the many ways in which we seek to counter the rise of the concrete jungles.

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TERRACE

Active Adult

KEY PLAN

15a Dhaba

Passive Adult

15b Square Foot Garden

15a

LOUNGE WITH A VIEW

15c Organic Restaurant 15d Semi Covered Deck 15e Water Body 15e Yoga Deck

Love to host dinners but dislike the cleaning-up at the end of the night?

Want to host a ladies-only afternoon tea but can’t accommodate at home?

How about using the roof-top lounge? Offering panoramic views of Hyderabad’s skyline, open-air roof-top lounge will have a welcoming vibe and a desi-style vibrant atmosphere. Beyond

the inviting space and design, it’s great place to unwind, invite neighbours & friends over for pot-lucks & dinners and catch up on conversations, many that are sure to lead everyone long into the evening. Enjoy your time without disturbing your family at home and without the hassle of cleaning up after.

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128 INTRODUCING EDIBLE FLORA AND FAUNA Isn’t it so much fun to grow gardens that can also be plucked and eaten?

Edible gardens strive to offer the freshest vegetables and herbs grown naturally. “Living” produce is the freshest way to eat, allowing you to serve your family a more nutritious product you can feel good about.

GARDENING TOGETHER Square foot gardening is a simple method of creating small, orderly, and highly productive kitchen gardens. It was invented by backyard gardener Mel Bartholomew. Gardening together & growing up together often brings people together. With 150 beds, this roof-top garden will be a haven for families to raise their favorite vegetables and herbs and nurture their health.

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YOGA ON A DECK

SOLAR SHADING

Breathe in. Breathe out. Let the street sounds fade away into insignificance as you get engrossed in the practice of yoga as you watch the spellbinding sunrise over the horizon of Hyderabad.

Yoga is known to have significant positive impact on physical, mental and emotional well being. With an onsite roof-top yoga deck, you can now join friends and family in group yoga sessions and build consistency, strength along with relationships.

Apart from generating power for the common areas, the solar panels covering the roof provide shade for the activities on the roof deck such as gardening (where required), lounge, dhaba, etc. Solar shading reduces direct radiation and heat on the roof deck.

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INFINITY AND BEYOND

ROOF-TOP ORGANIC DHABA

An infinity-edged oasis 150 feet above ground with a mind-blowing view of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skyline, this active pool deck is designed for relaxing, swimming and playing. Cool off with pool parties in the summer, or indulge in star-gazing get-togethers in the winter.

Want to grab a meal before work?

How about a healthy snack in the evening for your children and parents?

Unexpected guests and no snacks at home? No worries. With the on-site open-air Organic Dhaba, you have the convenience of having healthy dishes to choose from and have them served at your home or at the in-house the Dhaba. Choice is yours.

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RETURNING HOME

Of course we all yearn for the warmth of home and hearth Of course we all love the scent of happy childhood and carefree memories.

Of course we treasure the values of yore, the stories we heard on grandmomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lap, The meals we shared with one another, the games we played together.

Of course we know much time has passed us by since then Of course life happened and distance did too But we also know that we can find a way back, Back home, to playful afternoons and lively evenings.

Of course we can. Of course we will We can re-live and savour once more the same delight, the same undiluted joy.

Make a better tomorrow, a more beautiful tomorrow.

By being together today. By connecting with one another today.

Of course we will share better, laugh louder, and live longer Because we know we have each other in the best possible way The 2getherments ways!

Come home, where you belong. Come home, where you belong.

- Mallika

DISCLAIMER: Information provided is truthful and based on true facts. There is no exaggeration or misinterpretation which may create a biased impression in the minds of the buyers of the property. This is not an offer, an invitation to offer and/or commitment of any nature. All sizes, features, specifications, furnishing, materials, dimensions, and drawings of the flat shall be as per the final agreement between the parties.

www.2getherments.com

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