A mix of the old and new. That’s what Bangalore offers if you look at the city’s architecture.
Monkey tops, typical of the city, are still to be found in several houses. Today’s builders have built apartment complexes that reflect the architectural styles of Spain, Morocco and California, among others. While most companies like Intel and Reuters have gone for glass and chrome buildings, there are the Wipros and the Infosys’ that are eco-friendly and devote a major portion of space for landscaping, natural lighting, ventilation and epitomise in bringing ‘the outside, inside’.
Many old bungalows and Victorian-styled houses are making way for commercial complexes and apartment blocks. The city’s spaces are an eclectic mix of the old and new. They range from the Windsor Castle replicated in the Bangalore Palace to the Vidhana Soudha with the serene bungalows of different Indian and European styles. If you look around the city, you will find some private bungalows built in the Tudor style, especially the turrets (small towers). Take that to mean, grey sloping roof and the timbering on the exterior of the windows and the walls to emphasise predominance of wood as was used in European architecture. Only recently, a temple has been sculpted in the 750-year-old Hoysala style of architecture characterised by the use of soapstone and square-shaped structures at Swanandashrama in Agara village on Kanakapura Road.
Masterplan 2015 is all for mixed-use neighbourhoods and more floor area ratio. That’s the city growing vertically.
Have a happy stay!