The definition of a trophy home is changing fast. For the last several decades, luxury could be expressed visually in rare materials and unbelievable views. At this time, as the clinical noise of our city and the stresses of our lives continue to increase, the ultra-wealthy, and particularly the ultra-class of cities like Bengaluru, are changing the way they think about investing; instead of buying a trophy home or office, they are now buying a good health investment- a design for longevity.
These new homes are referred to as “Longevity Vessels” because they function not only as a place to live but also as a living technology and a medical device. An acoustic system is installed to create a space free of sound; a circadian system is installed to create a light experience that mimics the rhythms of the sun; and most importantly, when these elements of design are combined, these homes provide the greatest health benefit that money cannot usually provide – a recalibrated peripheral nervous system for the occupant.
The “Architecture of Silence” is the new symbol of global urban architectural intelligence. For decades, the comfort of silence had been relegated to the lowest level of consideration. As cities have increased in density due to the high population and in the overall sound level (astronomically), silence has gone from a pleasing add-on to the most desired luxury amenity available. With the introduction of new luxury housing developments, the new hook will not be the brand of kitchen, but the decibel-rated guarantee associated with it.
This is a result of numerous projects utilizing landscape-based, perception-based, and/or audio-based architectural design. One example of this is a project designed by Total Environment in Bangalore called “Pursuit of a Radical Rhapsody.” This project has been designed to be an organic acoustic sponge by constructing cantilevered terrace gardens that serve as acoustic barriers to the noise produced by nearby highways. The preliminary research indicates that the dense soil beds and greenery associated with these types of designs also provide oxygen to the environment, but act as an acoustic sponge by absorbing high-frequency traffic noise before reaching the window glass of nearby buildings.
Another example is the “Billionaire’s Tower” at Prestige Kingfisher Towers on Vittal Mallya Road, where sensory voids are created through absolute isolation—the builder has designed each residence to occupy an entire floor (8,321 sq. ft.) and thereby insulating residents from structure-borne noise by providing them with no shared walls with neighbours. This type of home has been designed to have triple-glazed vacuum seals, thus keeping internal sound levels at library-level (25 dB) despite being in the center of one of the busiest urban centers(CBD).
Once the external world is muted, residents then have to turn to the internal world—the concept of an “Intuitive Home” as a biological pacer, recalibrating the neurochemical systems affected by the rigours of living in an urban environment.
Projects such as Phoenix Kessaku in Rajajinagar are representative of this transition with their “Sky and Garden Lounges,” which are oriented specifically for maximum exposure to a certain part of the light spectrum at various times of the day. Sattva Luxuria in Malleshwaram takes this concept even further with fully automated luxury homes that offer the occupant the ability to program their ambient light into what they desire. The use of these systems allows the occupant to have blue light that stimulates increased production of cortisol in the morning and then to transition to amber light that encourages melatonin production at night. When these smart light technologies are combined with the AI-driven air quality system and the absence of any shared wall, the home becomes much more than just a passive shelter; it becomes an active recovery pod that lowers heart rates and improves the depth of sleep being experienced by the community in real-time.
We are moving into a “Flow vs. Show” world. The measure of the esteem of a home is no longer based on the appearance as depicted by a photographic representation. It will now be measured by how it enables the occupant to feel when the next day arrives.
The status symbol of the future home revolution (the “Silent Home”) is the unseeable. When a residence becomes a vessel for long life, it becomes an environment that creates a home that creates health as opposed to merely housing possessions. For the modern-day urbanite, the best luxury in their life will not be the view from the rooftop of the Bangalore Docks; it will be the ability to hear and feel their own breath!
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