Design Challenge
This year, The Drawing Board takes participants to Chikkajala Fort, a historic ruined enclosure near Bengaluru. The site contains remnants of stone walls, pillared pavilions, a temple, and a large water tank, and is believed by many historians to have functioned as a Dharmachatra—a resting place for travellers and animals along an important trade route. Over time, urban development and road widening have eroded portions of the original enclosure, exposing the site to the pressures of the expanding city. The brief begins with a simple yet powerful question: What did the missing wall once protect?
Participants are invited to reimagine the site through a contemporary architectural intervention centred around an enclosure. The proposal must accommodate a Traveller Information Centre for Karnataka, a Cultural Hub, and an Urban Edge that engages with the city beyond. The challenge is not simply to design a wall, but to explore the relationship between past and present, movement and stillness, memory and development. Through architecture and landscape, in the approximate built area of 25,000 sq.ft., participants are encouraged to create a meaningful threshold between the fast-paced city outside and the enduring spirit of the place within.
Timeline
TDB 2026 Launch
Final Submission
Finalist Announcement
Masterclass
