Sensory gardens, state architecture focus at design festival

Although architects think about waterfalls and gravel to provide some texture in gardens, agri-scientist and landscape architect Prabhakar suggests substituting indigenous plants to create a sensory garden.

Addressing young architects and designers on Thursday at the DesignUru 3.0 organised by the Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IID), Prabhakar pointed to how people are drawn to experiences, not just visual appeal.

“We live in an age where experience is premium. People don’t pay for things that look good. They do it because it gives them an experience. We need to rethink landscape architectural design as a transition from aesthetics to experiential,” he said.

Sensory gardens engage all five senses with different plant varieties. “Plants like Abrus precatorius and Cassia fistula provide hearing experiences while aloe vera, Plantago major and such plants provide textures to touch,” he said. He added how many native plants have a distinct fragrance whereas some are edible too.

He mentioned the medicinal value of native plants that are known for several centuries. “We have a rich repository to dip into that can dramatically change the value of the garden. These indigenous plants are hardy and highly adapted to climatic conditions,” he said.

Design colleges across Karnataka such as Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, BMS College of Architecture and IDeA World Design College have come together to organise ‘DesignUru 3.0’, a seven-day design event at the Rangoli Metro Art Centre on MG Road.

Vocal for local

This year, the annual event is focused on going ‘vocal for local’ with multiple stalls for local artisans and independent businesses. The event kicked off on Thursday, promising to highlight one aspect a day like design in ecology, urban scale and culminate in a “save the artisan craftsmanship”.

The installations, workshops and pop-up stalls for the day will reflect the theme of the day.

On Day 1, the event cast the spotlight on the theme ‘Design and the Ecology’, showcasing the history of Karnataka through architecture and detailing how old forts were restored by a high school in Chamrajapet, besides depicting rural healthcare infrastructure.

Adorned with multiple art installations and pop-up shops, the venue offers a breath-taking walking experience besides being the perfect weekend shopping destination.

Actor and Ranga Shankara founder Arundathi Nag, who was present at the event, said: “Nice to see the city coming alive. Every Bengalurean should visit this place once.”

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