SKOPIA, Bengaluru
Architect: studioXS
Citation Note:
A pop-up installation, SKOPIA is a small urban insert – a crossover between street furniture, public installation and civic infrastructure that creates a great impact with a very small footprint. Designed to create a tiny refuge for two who wish to disconnect from the chaos of the street to appreciate the trees, the installation presents an accessible way of designing a public project in contemporary urban situations.
Designed as a curious object, SKOPIA vies for attention of a casual passer-by with its bright colour. The purpose of the installation is not revealed till the viewer enters its protected space. Designed at the eye level, a steel box envelops the secret revealing the same only to the inquisitive citizen.
Bengaluru has a rich heritage of its green cover. With the gardens and the dense foliage of the rain trees, the designers wish people to reconnect with this green heritage by drawing their attention to the canopy. The glass angles inside restrict the views of the built environment and a space for two makes this installation social – a sanctuary for conversation and a quick escape from the city.
In present-day urban situations where there is a great deficit of sensitivity towards natural elements of our cities, this small installation reflects at the need to break away from the attention-seeking urban life and reflect on the more nuanced aspects of the city. It bridges the gap between heavy urban infrastructure and public installation to create engagement at the scale of a subversive insert – a welcome departure from the more obvious objects that make the city.
By playfully making a point, this installation / piece of urban architecture opens us the potential of micro-inserts that can arguably enhance the experience and change the perception of urban life and therefore, SKOPIA by studioXS in Bengaluru is a Citation project in The Merit List.
