With the aim of reviving the social functions of waterbodies in the city and re-establishing the connection between lakes and citizens, students of Srishti School of Art Design and Technology have embarked on a project called ‘Lake of change’. Around 15 students have set up an open-island using discarded plastic bottles at the Jakkur kalyani for public use.
The initiative is a collaboration with a collective of artists and designers from Germany, Makers4humanity, who have been working on various community-based sustainable solutions across the world.
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To create the floating island, students worked with plastic recycling units in the city. “They collected and sorted through over a tonne of plastic bottles. In the end, we got around 500 kg of bottles to create the base of the island,” said Kamya Ramachandran, faculty member at Srishti School.
The bottles have been secured inside fishing nets to form the base.
“After selecting the bottles, we removed the labels and cleaned them. We used three fishing nets, each 3 m long. They were secured together with thick ropes. Then a steel frame was placed and secured on top,” said Rashika Goyal, information design student who worked on the project. To reach the island, a ramp has been installed connecting the kalyani to the staircase. “The structure is very stable. We will be having a cultural performance on the island,” Ms. Goyal added.
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The island need not be restricted to being a performing space. “It can act as a multifunctional platform for social entrepreneurship, culture, sports or leisure activities,” said Joy Lohmann, German artist from Makers4humanity, which has created similar islands in Varanasi, Ahmedabad, and Goa.
Jalaposhan, the local group that takes care if the Jakkur lake, has also been involved in the project. “The community can decide what use they want to put the island to,” said Ms. Ramachandran.
Students want to replicate this design in other lakes of the city in the coming days.