Urban & Public Realm Design
Available across Bengaluru
We design public spaces and parks by working with local communities and native plants, focusing on practical upgrades like lawns, plazas, playgrounds, and keeping old trees, so neighborhoods get flexible, nature-led places to gather and relax.
Pricing Guide
Neighborhood Park & Ecological Design
Site Audit & Community Research
- Ecological Mapping: Detailed audit of existing trees, soil conditions, and topography to maximize natural retention.
- Stakeholder Surveys: Conducting workshops with residents or RWAs to define specific functional zones (e.g., segregating play areas from quiet elders' corners).
- Seasonal Planning: Creating "Maidan" diagrams to map space usage changes from summer to monsoon.
Master Planning & Softscapes
- Native Planting Strategy: Selection of drought-tolerant, region-specific species like aromatic shrubs and ornamental grasses to reduce water usage.
- Earthwork Design: Using grading, berms, and grassy mounds to define spaces naturally rather than using expensive boundary walls.
- Water Conservation: Integration of bioswales, rain gardens, and recharge pits for sustainable stormwater management.
Civil & Amenities Detailing
- Permeable Pathways: Layouts for walking and jogging tracks using stabilized mud blocks or curbless concrete to ensure ground recharge.
- Activity Zones: Detailed drawings for sandpits, open lawns, and congregation spaces.
- Hardscape Elements: Designs for vandal-proof cast-in-situ concrete benches and safety lighting layouts.
Urban Plaza & Podium Hardscaping
Technical Configuration
- Geometric Layouts: Establishing grid or radial patterns to organize flow in high-footfall areas like streetscapes and storefronts.
- Podium Coordination: Collaborating with structural engineers on load-bearing capacities, soil depths, and drainage layers for landscapes built over basements.
- Accessibility Design: Planning for barrier-free movement including ramps, tactile paving, and emergency vehicle access.
Materiality & Detailed Design
- Intricate Paving: Shop-drawing level details for complex patterns (Herringbone, Basketweave) using Granite, Sadarahalli, or Kota stone.
- Bespoke Features: Drawings for architectural elements such as pergolas, gazebos, reflective pools, and retaining walls.
- Custom Installations: Integration of landscape sculptures or "follies," potentially utilizing upcycled industrial materials.
Lighting & Atmosphere
- Illumination Plan: Comprehensive layouts for uplighters, path bollards, and ambient lighting to enhance night-time aesthetics.
- Street Furniture: Detailing of fixed elements like amphitheater steps and planter-bench combinations.
- Softscape Buffers: Strategic placement of planter boxes and green buffers to soften hard edges.
About Urban & Public Realm Design
We start every project by literally reading the ground - soaking in the land’s vibe, its history, and the pulse of people living around it. For us, nature isn’t just a backdrop, it’s the boss. We let native plants and old trees lead the way and fill in the story with spaces for folks to gather, play, or just daydream.
Bengaluru: Park City Dream
Walking in a BBMP park during lockdown made me wonder, why not turn Bengaluru into a ‘Park City’? Most green cover here is actually small neighbourhood parks. Our focus is on neighbourhood park revitalization, making these parks real community hangouts. No fancy stuff, just simple changes - more lawns, plazas for festivals, playgrounds, outdoor gyms, and keeping those gorgeous, big trees right where they belong.
Plazas, Streets & Commons
It’s not just parks. We love designing community plaza spaces that borrow from the old maidan style - flexible, open, and ready for anything from markets to cricket matches. Pedestrian-friendly streetscapes matter too. We add benches, shady trees, and soft, wavy grasses so the walk isn’t just safe, it’s actually nice.
Our Way of Working
We design with the community, not just for them. Every space is shaped by local voices and nature’s cues. Native landscaping for urban spaces makes the city feel alive and familiar. If you like parks that grow with the seasons and commons that welcome everyone, you’ll probably vibe with our style.
Meet your Expert
Reading Grounds
29 connects in last 3 months
My Story
We’re Reading Grounds, based in Namma Bengaluru. Our thing? We 'read' the land, its stories, and try to make places where people can slow down, reflect, and gather. Curiosity keeps us moving—like that time we wondered why BBMP parks felt ignored, dug deeper, and ended up reshaping one (award came as a bonus, ha!). We’re big on community, so our 'Reading Series' is all about bringing folks together. Little efforts, big changes. That’s us.
My Work
Landscape & Ecological Design - We do nature-led landscape design, ecological planning, and masterplanning for parks, homes, and retail spaces.
Spaces for People & Community - We shape flexible public spaces where users set the vibe—think classic Indian 'Maidan' style.
Hands-on, Site-Specific Approach - We get into the mud, use local leaves for stepping stones, and let the site guide each project.
Sensory Garden Experience - We design gardens you can see, smell, and feel—crunchy earth, fragrant air, colours everywhere.
