Bengaluru’s White House in the Sky

Look up at Kingfisher Towers and the skyline seems to break its own rules. Above the glass and concrete stands a white villa with columns, a broad terrace and a lawn. It has the proportions of a house built for an estate, except that the estate begins at the top of a high-rise. The penthouse was planned for Vijay Mallya, then chairman of United Breweries Holdings. In 2016, Mint reported a mansion of about 40,000 square feet within a development whose other residences were themselves unusually large. The contrast is visible from outside. The apartments repeat vertically while the rooftop residence spreads horizontally, with a façade reminiscent of the White House in Washington. Putting a house and garden at that height changes what the roof has to do. A conventional roof finishes the structure and keeps weather out. This one also acts as ground for a separate architectural composition. The view from above makes the distinction particularly clear: the lawn becomes a frame around the white house, and the edge of the tower takes the place of a property boundary. The address is part of central Bengaluru’s UB City district. The map point marks Kingfisher Towers, which includes residences beyond the penthouse. The building’s distinctive silhouette is visible evidence of the rooftop project. The villa’s occupancy and interior completion are harder to establish from an exterior view.