Walls that move
A Bengaluru-based real estate company is coming up with intelligent homes equipped with collapsible walls to personalise room sizes
Living spaces that grow or shrink in size seems like a concept straight out of the pages of science fiction. However, Bengaluru-based real estate and urban infrastructure company, Karle Infrastructure, is in the process of turning it into reality. The company is setting up a 62acre township in Bengaluru called Karle Town Centre, which will house Vario Homes, a futuristic project with 400 intelligent flats. Depending on one’s needs, the flats can be converted into a workspace in the morning, a children’s play area in the afternoon and a cozy bedroom at night.
The flats will be powered with Flexi Walls, which are L-shaped collapsible walls between the bedroom, living room and dining room. These can be opened or shut to create bigger or smaller spaces to suit one’s needs. “To extend the longevity of an asset, we wanted to map an apartment which could grow with you. We are also trying to investigate ways to attach two apartments for a bigger space for joint families,” says Senoj Alexander V, vice-president and head of design at Karle Infrastructure.
The manually collapsible walls cost anywhere between ~2 and ~3 lakh, which is included in the price of flats.
Sources say that the company is also in the process of developing a sensor-based technology with which the walls can be operated remotely. In the automated version, the wall panels will have a motor and sensors. Commanded by remote control, the flexi walls will move from the stack and their self-aligning magnets will make each pull the other so they can mesh with each other perfectly. The motor also releases two vacuum pads which ensure that there is no bleeding of light once the walls are in place.
The company claims that it is using a patented material inside the aluminium frame of its flexi walls. The material, a polymer styrofoam sourced from a UKbased company, makes the walls thin, and also provides sound attenuation. The 40-mm-thick walls are 50 per cent lighter than their closest competition, the company says.
Alexander says that since the walls are without bottom trails, the room doesn’t seem like a divided space. However, flexible walls work well only if the house is equipped with smart, flexible furniture. “If you have flexible walls but have furniture which is fixated, then you are not really integrating the space. In order to manage the space better, even the furniture needs to be flexible,” says Alexander.
Karle Infra has partnered with Danish brand Boconcept to provide flexi furniture such as flipbeds which can be pushed into walls, tables that can shrink, and TV racks with chairs stacked at the back. But buyers will have to spend an extra ~10 lakh at least to get the interiors done in a flexible and integrated way. The 2BHK and 3BHK flats, with carpet areas between 1,161 and 1,662 square feet, are priced at ~99 lakh onwards. Vario Homes will be ready for occupancy by 2024.
The township itself, which will come with commercial towers, theatres, restaurants and shopping complexes, will be fitted with a plethora of sensors to ensure a better living experience for residents.
Environment tracking sensors will constantly monitor the air and inform residents about the level of pollution in the area. In case of severe pollution, the sensors will send out automated messages so that residents with respiratory disorders can avoid stepping out. There will be sensors to track the number of steps residents take and sensors fitted to water consoles to indicate the quality of the water. Special mapping sensors will indicate car parking capacity and seats available at movie theatres even before you leave your home.
Karle Infra is in talks with several technology vendors to develop apps which will facilitate such experiences.
The company is also coming up with ways and means to encourage people to keep the township clean. For example, when someone throws garbage into a waste bin, it will pipe up and say “thank you”. “Our idea is to make tech non-invasive, so we don’t realise that it is there in the background,” says Alexander.
Karle Infra is not alone in betting big on smart homes. Many real estate firms are coming up with intelligent home projects where tasks such as moving the curtains, switching on lights and opening of doors can be automated. For example, Bengaluru-based Embassy Group, which launched the ~1,200 crore Embassy Springs last year, has partnered with Amazon to offer smart home solutions through the Alexa-enabled Amazon Echo device.
Another real estate player, Puravankara, has tied up with Google for its futuristic Bluenex Life homes. Pre-installed with Google Home devices, these voiceenabled homes will allow residents to control compatible appliances or listen to music on demand with the help of Google assistant. Innovations such as mood sensors, which can gauge your mood and adjust lighting or music accordingly, are also in the works.