An artist?s impression of Technopolis lit up at night

Online CO2 monitoring to avoid ?sick building syndrome? and provide a healthier indoor air quality. Treated fresh air units along with heat recovery wheels to reduce energy consumption. Differential pressure in stairwells for smoke-free evacuation?

Technopolis is not just the first 675,000 sq ft of IT space in the city being delivered in 18 months flat sans escalation. Yes, it?s a new benchmark in timeline by any standards.

The Rs 200-crore project has risen from the Sector V garbage dump, after a bankrupt Phoenix Software ? the ?first IT venture by a Bengali?, the late Amarnath Dutta ? was acquired by The Forum Group, Webel?s dues settled in 48 hours and bank debts cleared in two weeks.

But, what really sets the new-age structure housing 425,000 sq ft of workspace apart, is its guts to go green, pulling out all stops, and its ability to create campus building-specific infrastructure in an IT park scenario.

?Technopolis is India?s first IT infrastructure that conforms to the US Green Building Council?s LEED certification,? stresses Rahul Saraf, managing director of The Forum Group, which pioneered the integrated mall movement in Calcutta with Forum.

The US council was formed in 1993 with the objective of creating a consensus for producing a new generation of buildings that helps deliver high-degree performance inside out. San Jose (Silicon Valley) City Council was among the firsts to recognise the benefits of a green building and adopt the green mandate.

In accordance with the exacting LEED norms, Technopolis promises healthy indoor air quality (IAQ), a 35.5 per cent reduction in energy consumption (30 per cent is the requirement), superior water and waste water management and 100 per cent recycling of waste (zero discharge into sewer).

Technopolis promises ?24X7 fresh, oxygen-rich air? for each of the 5,500-odd people expected to work there. The entire facility is designed according to ASHRAE guidelines of 20 cfm (cubic ft per minute) fresh air per person, another first in the city, according to Saraf. Special fresh air-treatment units and online CO2 monitoring sensors recycle and refresh the air inside, thus optimising the indoor air quality (IAQ).

?For the end-users, better IAQ translates into better employee health, higher productivity, lower attrition and lower operation costs,? stresses Saraf. Technopolis will also be the ?first? IT park in Calcutta connected to two substations of WBSEB in a closed loop and also have a 100 per cent backup to ensure zero interruption.

All motors and pumps in the development ? the ?second largest single IT building in the country? ? are equipped with variable frequency drives and variable speed drives monitored and regulated by an integrated building management system to optimise energy consumption.

?Technopolis, with its total commitment to detailing and creativity, and its green consciousness, has appealed to our top management and our clients,? says Dinesh Jain, general manager of BPO major ICICI OneSource, which is moving into the Sector V IT park, to be ready this June.

Besides its pledge to produce an environment-friendly format, the developers have invested heavily in international-standard security protocols. Apart from exhaustive fire-detection and fire-fighting measures, adequate care has been taken to ensure safer evacuation of people in case of a fire.

Intelligent CCTV cameras (mounted at 57 surveillance points in common areas) along with an intelligent access-control system ensure only authorised people have access to the workspace. The security system is designed to automatically upgrade a notch or two in case of a terrorist alert in the UK or US.

?Calcutta developers have been constantly raising the bar in creating quality IT infrastructure and developments like Technopolis and The Millennium light up this growth path,? observes Sanjay Dutt, executive director, agency services, of Cushman & Wakefield.