RAVEN A+U has been hired as an urban design consultant from 2010-2011 to conduct a sustainable satellite cities project in the Kolkata (Calcutta) Metropolitan Area funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), under the auspices of the Government of West Bengal. RAVEN A+U worked in collaboration with a team of Indian urban infrastructure experts from Louis Berger Group-India to develop approaches, methods and tools to configure sustainable regional satellite settlements in the West Bengal region surrounding Kolkata.
Project tasks included on-site evaluations of prospective locations for new satellite settlements throughout the Kolkata Metropolitan Area, meetings with stakeholders and public forums to present key findings.
In Kolkata’s surrounding West Bengal region, an important challenge was configuring a compact development pattern to respond simultaneously to strong winds, flood risks and high temperature and humidity. These energy-efficient urban design challenges require knowledge of climate-resilient urban design, drawing from fields such as energy, climate science and sustainable design. RAVEN A+U developed prescriptive measures and performance standards for a climate-resilient public realm, including urban ventilation, green infrastructure, and solar design.
