CYBER HUB

Architects: M. Paul Friedberg & Partners + Hafeez Contractor

Developer: DLF

Site Area: 10.6 Ha

FAR: 3.75

Built-up Area: 4,00,136 sqm

Ground Coverage: 39,332 sqm

INTRODUCTION

DLF CYBER HUB is a premium socializing zone, part of the corporate park, DLF Cyber City which
is considered one of the largest hubs of IT activity in Delhi-NCR, catering to over 2.5 lakh
employees.

The site is long and linear with multiple entrances and three levels to cater to an average
footfall of 25,000.

Cyber Hub not only caters to the people working in corporate and business hubs in the vicinity
but also to the catchment in and around Gurgaon.

Besides being a food and entertainment area, it also hosts art and cultural shows, media
launches, displays, lifestyle shoots, TV programmes.

Fig: Satellite image of cyber city

SITE CONDITIONS

The site is strategically located on the main artery connecting Gurgaon to Delhi, NH-8. Udyog
Vihar, a densely populated industrial area lies on the opposite side of the highway.

The site is also surrounded by commercial and residential. Cyber Hub is located at a prime
corner of Cyber City.

CLIMATE

 Humid Sub-tropical

 Average temperature ranges from 19-32, depending on the weather

 Summers are hot, winters are quite cold, with most amount of rain during the monsoon

LAND USE

High, medium and low density industrial, residential and public & semi-public uses established
without dear definition or relevant scales between individual buildings.

Buildings contain a vertical mix of uses, often with office on the ground level with car parking
occupying the rest of the plinth. This reduces the public presence and passive surveillance on
the street.

Very few areas of green spaces present in precinct, thus forming no hierarchy in green.
Fig: Land-use Map
CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS

Rapid Metro runs around Cyber City and connects to the Yellow Line Metro. Multiple entries
are available into the site from the stations on this privatized line.

Free shuttle services and auto-rickshaws serve as last mile connectivity for the vicinity.

Access by public bus service is inadequate in comparison to metro, rickshaw and private
vehicles.

Fig: Movement systems, left to right - metro, public bus, private vehicles, pedestrian

Fig: Figure ground of site

BUILDING PROGRAM

The main component of this corporate park are 2,71,400 sq.m. of offices of top IT and Fortune
500 companies.

Cyber Hub allows varied experiences to users through 1,36,150 sq.m. of congregation and
circulation space besides commercial activity of 9770 sq.m.

 F&B with indoor and outdoor seating

 Retail opportunities
 Exhibit area that offers space for design and display of products
 Amphitheatre with digital sound and projection system, air screens and weather-proof
sound
 system
 Open terraces for socializing

These are supported by 2670 sq.m. of services and 14,360 sq.m. of surface parking, besides
generously provided basements.

Fig: Ground Floor Plan

ARCHITECTURAL VISION & IMPLEMENTATION

The design brief was to create a space for entertainment of the employees in order to heighten
the work-life experience. The complex is built on the international idea of dining and
entertainment.

Cyber Hub is India's share of the glamorous corporate life that has been borrowed from the
West.

Fig: Aerial View of Cyber City

CONTEXTUAL RESPONSE

The buildings are intricate steel and glass constructions that seem to exist outside time,
representing a distant future, and have little to do with contemporary gurgaon.

The volumes open and rise up from the highway. The terraces thus seem like a welcoming
gesture to the oncoming traffic.

The hub is ideally located to attract the it crowd in the neighborhood as well as people from
gurgaon.
Facades on the outer edge are blank or covered in advertisements, leading to decreased
pedestrian movement.

Fig: Section through the main street of Cyber Hub

SPATIAL ORGANISATION

There are multiple entrances along the length of the complex. The lower floor is primarily
dedicated to public functions, while the upper floors house offices, thus achieving vertical
zoning.

Definite visual nodes are created for visitor orientation and collection, which at night are
connected by a lighting tapestry.

The excitement of the store fronts lends an organic growth pattern to the site, combining the
rigor of a well-planned night-time urban environment with the flavors of a local souk or bazaar.

The street flanked by F&Bs is vibrant with pedestrian activity which is promoted by the
humanizing scale and appropriate treatment of the walkways with seating available at multiple
intervals.
The open space is organized such that the threshold from open to built is gradual, with semi-
covered area linking the two. Staggered facade keeps the pedestrian interested. However, as
the path ends abruptly, the commercial activity at the end is lesser.