An office tower in Mauritius designed by an architectural and engineering firm in Chennai has won the 2005 Intelligent Building of the Year international award given out by the Intelligent Community Forum, a New York-based think tank.
The 12-story building, Ebene Cyber Tower, designed by C R Narayana Rao Architects and Engineers, is considered one of the most advanced technology buildings in the region and is indicative, according to ICF, of the relationship between commercial real estate and the development of an intelligent community. The building is the only one in Mauritius with fiber optic connectivity directly available to tenants within their offices.
Further, the 38,610 square-foot building caught the eye of the selection committee because it is an integral part of a broader and integrated intelligent community project, known as the Ebene Cyber City, ICF said.
Ebene Cyber Tower reported to ICF that in 2005 tenants included Infosys Technologies (India), Teleforma (USA), Cendris (UK), Theo Finance (Switzerland) and Accenture (France). Business Parks of Mauritius Ltd is the developer of the tower and Cyber Properties Investment Limited of Mauritius, its owner.
The Chennai firm that designed it was established by the late C R Narayana Rao, and it is run by Dr C N Srinivasan and C N Raghavendran, both of whom received their undergraduate degrees from IIT, Kharagpur and graduate degrees from American universities. They are assisted by six associates, all of whom also earned advanced degrees from American universities. The firm, one of the leading ones in southern India, holds a range of projects from industrial and institutional to technology park projects.
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The ICF (www.intelligentcommunity.org) is a special project of World Teleport Association (www.worldteleport.org) that focuses on the uses of broadband and information technology for economic development by communities large and small. ICF conducts research, creates conference content and publishes newsletters, among other things. WTA is a nonprofit association of teleports, Intelligent Communities and their trading partners in 20 nations around the world.
The awards have been established to create awareness for the role that broadband communication and information technology play in economic development, social cohesion and global growth.
The winners were selected from 16 finalists from 15 nations. The awards were presented June 14 at a luncheon ceremony at Polytechnic University of New York in Brooklyn, at the close of ICF's two-day annual conference, called "Building the Broadband Economy."
The conference was produced in association with the Institute for Technology and Enterprise at Polytechnic University and the American Society for Public Administration. At least 18 nations were represented. Keynote speakers included Alok Aggarwal, chairman of Evalueserve, an Indian outsourcing firm.
Executive Chairman C Bhadain accepted the award on behalf of Ebene Cyber Tower. He was accompanied by the architectural team that designed it.
