The Evolving Role of Control Rooms in Modern Cities
Under India’s Smart Cities Mission—launched on June 25, 2015—all 100 designated cities now operate fully functional Integrated Command & Control Centres (ICCCs), serving as the operational backbone for city services, emergency response, and governance. With approximately 94% of the 8,067 mission projects completed and ₹1.64 lakh crore deployed, these control centres demonstrate how even Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities—like Dholera (Gujarat) and Agartala (Tripura)—now possess state-of-the-art facilities comparable to major urban hubs.
As Sourish Dey, Director at Trisim Global Solutions Pvt. Ltd., notes:
“Control rooms are no longer just about traffic feeds or policing dashboards—they are the first line of coordinated response in any emergency, whether it’s a fire, flood, or security threat.”
Technical Redesign of Control Room Infrastructure
1. Raised & Tiered Flooring
- Facilitates concealed routing of power, data, HVAC ducts, and fire-suppression lines.
- Ensures clear sightlines across rows, improving operator visibility and reducing cognitive load.
- Allows for future upgrades and ease of maintenance without major disturbance to operations.
2. Architectural Design Integration
- Architect-led planning ensures ergonomic placement of operator stations, correct slope gradients for tiered levels, and reinforced structural capacity.
- Critical for long-term scalability, thermal zoning, and compliance with building-loading and egress codes.
3. High-Performance & Curved Video Walls
- Providers such as Barco deliver industrial-grade, cyber-secure, curved video wall arrays suitable for 24×24 operation, optimised for operator viewing angles.
- Curvature and modular segmentation eliminate visual dead zones, minimize neck rotation, and make effective use of irregular room geometries.
4. Precision HVAC with Redundancy
- Precision cooling systems with N+1 redundancy, zoned climate control, and humidity regulation are implemented based on heat load analysis.
- Hot/cold airflow containment, differential pressure zones, and UPS/DG-backed backup ensure uninterrupted operation.
5. Structured Cabling & Patch-Management
- Deployment of CAT6A shielded or fiber optics, with labelled patch panels and dedicated trays, ensures high bandwidth, signal integrity, and ease of troubleshooting.
6. Illumination and Lux Engineering
- Lighting levels at operator desks and video walls are designed per ISO 11064-6, to reduce glare and eye fatigue.
- Dimmable, flickerfree LEDs with daylight simulation adjust lighting according to shift patterns and ambient daylight.
7. Ergonomic Consoles
- Vendor-led consoles (e.g. from Pyrotech Workspace) are integrated with adjustable monitor mounts, sit-stand capabilities, embedded power/data channels, and airflow provisions to support continuous duty.
8. Acoustic Control
- Use of acoustic ceiling baffles, wall panels, and low-noise flooring reduces ambient sound levels and creates a focused decision-making environment.
9. Secure Access & Zone Segmentation
- Access control via multi-factor authentication (biometrics/RFID), surveillance-integrated entry logs, and separation of high-security zones with mantrap or airlock design.
10. Situational Planning & War Room Zones
- Adjacent rooms designed for inter-agency coordination are fitted with live data displays, AV conferencing infrastructure, and sound isolation from the main control area.
11. Integrated Fire Safety Systems
- Must include:
- VESDA early smoke detection
- Clean agent gas suppression (e.g. FK-5-1-12 / Novec 1230)
- Integrated voice evacuation alarms
- Fire-rated walls, cables, and panels
12. Standards-Based Compliance
- Infrastructure must adhere to:
- ISO 11064 series (ergonomics and room design)
- NFPA 75/76 (equipment fire protection)
- National Building Code (NBC) and relevant IS codes for electrical safety, load calculations, fire rating, and emergency egress requirements
As part of the broader digital governance framework, modern ICCCs enable centralised control over city-wide utilities, safety systems, mobility, and disaster response. Their success is not only a function of software and systems integration but of meticulous infrastructure engineering rooted in compliance, resilience, and operator efficiency.
