Bengaluru: Can better design lead to civic improvement in Bengaluru? Architects, designers and artists explored the question at the ‘Living City’ exhibition organised by World Design Protopolis (WDP) Bengaluru here Saturday.They conducted extensive research in three neighbourhoods — Hebbal, RV Road and Veerapillai Street — to address civic challenges through design. In collaboration with the Association of Designers in India, the localities were chosen to represent different urgent pressures faced by fast-growing cities.Designers said each location tested their creativity differently. The RV Road Metro corridor in Jayanagar examined last-mile mobility and how unused space beneath transit infrastructure could be repurposed. Veerapillai Street explored how a street, its shops, signage and informal workers could absorb change without losing its character. At Hebbal, where a lake and a mobility corridor converge, the focus was on ecological repair alongside urban growth.Community space under MetroAt RV Road, a crucial interchange where the Green and Yellow lines meet, designers identified the need for better signage and safety to ensure seamless transit. They also proposed public spaces under the elevated viaduct, where small kiosks could offer commuters refreshments and work facilities. The project highlighted the need to improve last-mile connectivity and address parking issues, while creating community spaces without taking away the area’s greenery.Life under Hebbal’s loopAt Hebbal, designers worked in a complex setting surrounded by flyovers, Metro viaducts, railway tracks and waterbodies. Led by Muralidhar Reddy, director, School of Architecture, CMR University, the project focused on tracing the undiscovered Hebbal beneath its flyovers. “There are two Hebbals: one moves the city while the other makes the city live. Hebbal was actually a village. We discovered so many existing features, structures, cultural artefacts and living ecology, and realised that we want people to be part of Hebbal as well,” Reddy said.He said residents visiting the Shani Eshwara temple, vendors, daily commuters and students sought basic amenities such as streetlights, safer pathways and public toilets. “We want those things to happen by design so that you accommodate them when development happens,” he added.Heritage trails at Veerapillai StVeerapillai Street, located in the central business district (CBD), was studied with a focus on preserving and highlighting its heritage buildings. The team, led by design consultant Abhijit Bansod, made 10 site visits, studying the street from opening to closing hours and mapping its visual texture, from building materials to signage. They also spoke to shopowners, workers, residents, shoppers, BBMP workers, informal waste pickers and local associations.“Our proposal is to create a system that celebrates local culture. With new-age systems, night markets can come together, along with art, craft and heritage programmes, while retaining the commercial aspect,” Bansod said.Japanese Origami meets Tholu Bommalata
The public exhibition ‘Living City: Mapping New Ideas’ was organised at Venkatappa Art Gallery in Bengaluru on Saturday
The exhibition also showcased the fusion of two ancient craft traditions clubbing Indian leather puppetry craft with Japanese balloon origami for the first time. Tholu Bommalata, a form of leather puppetry, is traditionally flat, but Japanese artist Ken Okamuro and Tholu Bommalata artisan Sindhe Siva together reimagined the art, folding leather into a 6ft-tall, three-dimensional horse.
