Semester 8, 2026Architectural design studio

Cubbon Park, Bengaluru

Illustrated cutaway axonometric: the pavilion over the kalyani, Kasturba Road above, the park's trees all around.

An old, dried-up kalyani at the edge of Cubbon Park, opened up again as a public space between a busy road and the park.

01The site

Kasturba Road on one side, the park on the other

The site is on the eastern edge of Cubbon Park, along Kasturba Road, opposite the Kanteerava stadiums. There's an old kalyani (a stepwell) hiding in the undergrowth, dry and unused.

The road is loud and fast. The park floor sits 1.8 m below it, shaded and calm. Right now the only thing between the two is a fence, and I wanted to open the kalyani back up as a public space in between.

Fig. 1The park, the road and the stadiums.
02The idea

Every wall points at a tree

Fig. 2Plan: from the kalyani to each crown.

I mapped the trees around the kalyani and drew a line from the water to each canopy. Wherever one of those lines hits the building, the wall gets cut open.

That's why the walls are jagged. Every cut frames a tree, and those views are what sit between the city and the park.

Fig. 3Section: from where people stand and sit, towards the trees and the kalyani.
03Mini game

Turn the walls until you can see every tree and none of the road

04Design development

Seven steps, and the same question every time

Form development, step 1. Centre: the kalyani becomes the centre of the plan.
05Plans

The park keeps going underneath

Ground floor plan: the kalyani at the centre, the park running underneath.
06Exploded axonometric

Four systems, taken apart

Fig. 4Exploded axonometric: four systems.
  1. 01Ground. The kalyani, lawns, picnics and paths. The park carries on underneath.
  2. 02Frame. The red steel frame that lifts the blocks off the park.
  3. 03Building. Rooms, decks, glass and the bridges.
  4. 04Roof. A folded Corten roof over both blocks.
Fig. 5Everyday life under the roof.
Fig. 6Wall section, 1:75.
  1. 1Folded Corten eave
  2. 2Corten standing-seam roof sheet
  3. 3120 mm insulation on waterproof membrane
  4. 4ETFE roof light, 2 m strip
  5. 5Perforated Corten mesh skin, folded in plan
  6. 6Steel brackets to the skin, 1.5 m c/c
  7. 7Double-glazed framing notch, steel frame
  8. 820 mm finish, 50 mm screed
  9. 9130 mm RCC on 60 mm profiled steel deck
  10. 10ISMB 450 edge beam
  11. 1180 mm stone pavers on sand bed and 100 mm PCC
  12. 12RCC pad footing on 100 mm PCC
07Sectional perspectives

From the road down to the water

Fig. 7Section A–A', through the kalyani, looking north to Kasturba Road.
Fig. 8Section B–B', through the kalyani, looking west.
Fig. 9Section C–C', through the east block to Kasturba Road.
Fig. 10Key plan: the roof in colour, with section lines A, B and C.
08Vignettes

Life under the roof

Reconnect: the park and the city meet at the water.
Talk: people gather on the steps around the kalyani.
Gaze: a framed view out to the tree canopy.
Orient: finding your way between the road and the park.

Next site · Barod, Madhya Pradesh

Water Given Back