The Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru is all set to revamp its designs hoping to shine not just for its tech-powered industry but also for its architecture and accessibility. Following a loss where Bengaluru couldn’t make it to the winner’s spot in a city structure-related competition, now it is the state’s vision to bring Bengaluru back in the race with clear winning strategies.
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) along with World Design Organisation (WDO) signed a MoU in favour of elevating the infrastructural design for the general public of Bangalore city. The MoU is named The Brand Bangalore Development Partnership Agreement and was signed between BBMP Commissioner Tushar Girinath and President of WDO David Kusuma this Monday.
Image source : The Deccan Herald
The agreement was made in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivkumar, who is also the head of the city, at conference hall Vidhan Souda. To facilitate the meeting, BDA president Rakesh Singh was also present along with other authorities involved including those from WDO.
What’s WDO
The World Design Organisation is based in Canada with its dedication towards industrial design. Formerly known as the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), WDO attempts to promote the betterment that industrial designing brings in terms of products, services, systems and experiences. It had recognised Bengaluru with the “World Design Metropolis” award based on a presentation curated by BBMP and Shruti Institute of Art, Design and Technology in the year 2019-20.
The state aims to push Bengaluru’s name in developmentally designed cities, taking its inspiration from the best in the globe. According to officials, the city’s roads, waterways, flyovers and footpaths aren’t fit, neither in terms of purpose fulfilment nor aesthetic brocades. This affects the socio-economic state of the city, casting a bad influence on those who live in it and those who witness it from afar.
What Bengaluru’s Government Wants
In the words of DCM Shivkumar, “The govt. wants to make the city lovable and livable”. He admitted the value of design in any project, and its recognition in the development of Bengaluru and hence further development of the state Karnataka. For the same, WDO is appointed to study and suggest changes in the design and systems constituting the infrastructure of the city.
The project not only covers Bengaluru as a brand but is commissioned to cover Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) along with Bengaluru as well. As per the city’s current plan, big changes aren’t possible thus it is intended that all the possible points where modification is possible will be considered.
The signed MoU entails a sum of Rs. 200 crore dedicated towards the project by the state government in the next 5 years. 79% out of the total, i.e., Rs. 159.50 crore is secured under prototype development for infrastructural additions such as flyovers, skywalks, bus stops and footpaths. The rest of the amount Rs. 40.50 crore is reserved for the secretariat, hosting WDO events and preparing a study in order to assess the impact of this programme.
The state relies on WDO to suggest all the improvements and blueprints for all the design projects for which 200 engineers are expected to visit the place. Reportedly, an online portal was also launched to collect suggestions on the same. Finally, it is also a hope that the reported falling outskirts of the city will also get the fairer part of the deal, building itself on the advantage given.
