The Verandah, Under Flyover at Valankulam, Coimbatore. by Oasis Designs Inc.

The Verandah – Valankulam Under-Flyover Cultural Hub: Coimbatore’s Lakeside Revelation

In the bustling city of Coimbatore—often called the Cultural Capital of Tamil Nadu—under the scorching southern sun, a quiet opportunity lay hidden beneath a flyover. For years, this 4.5-acre stretch under the Sungam Bypass Road beside the serene Valankulam Lake was forgotten. Once a dump yard, a space of shadows and misuse, it was seen as a void. But in this void, we saw possibility — a shaded oasis, a breezy passage, a lakeview verandah that the city had overlooked.

Coimbatore’s summers are unforgiving, but this under-flyover stretch had something magical: a north-facing orientation that offered consistent shade, gentle winds, and calming views across Valankulam Lake. The railway line had split the space — both physically and metaphorically — from the public imagination. But we believed this fractured, negative space could become a symbol of connection. Not just spatial connection, but emotional, social, and cultural.

This is where the idea of The Verandah was conceived. A space long considered dead was reimagined as a living, breathing cultural plaza for the city’s youth, artists, families, and dreamers.

The project, undertaken under the Coimbatore Smart City initiative, was never about just beautification. It was a quiet revolution turning an urban scar into a civic jewel. The city lacked open platforms for expression. For its drama groups, dancers, musicians, painters, and photographers, spaces to perform and engage had become rare. With its built-in shade and views, this spot presented a golden opportunity to create Coimbatore’s first Cultural Hub by the Lake.

It wasn’t easy. The challenges were immense. Years of waste and neglect had to be cleared. The lake bund had eroded. The space had no natural footfall or access to the larger lakefront project. But we saw potential in every constraint. We built with care—introducing amphitheatres, flexible performance spaces, food stalls, exhibition nooks, co-working corners, a children’s play zone, and even a skating rink — each component designed to support spontaneity, gathering, and celebration.

We introduced a FLOAT-WALK, Coimbatore’s first of its kind—a pontoon bridge that lets people literally walk on water. It transformed the perception of the lake from a backdrop to a stage, from something to look at to something to walk with. The experience of the lake is now not distant but tactile, immersive.

Each bay under the flyover was treated like a stanza in a poem—unique in rhythm, yet tied together through spatial harmony. The eastern stretch opens up dramatically to the lake and hills—perfect for food stalls and quiet contemplation. The western bay, more intimate and inward-looking, was designed for play and interaction. Between them flows a language of openness, art, and community.

The Verandah is not just architecture — it is emotion made spatial. It draws on the archetype of the Indian verandah, a shaded in-between realm where life unfolds slowly. It offers relief from the sun, but more importantly, relief from urban alienation. This is where people gather — families picnic, children skate, teenagers perform, and elders sit back, watching it all unfold under filtered light and rustling leaves.

Inclusion was central to our vision. Located near the railway station and flanked by modest neighbourhoods, this space had to serve the real Coimbatore — not just its affluent or elite. Today, it does just that. The Verandah has become a public living room — accessible, familiar, beloved. It hosts citywide festivals: laser shows, lantern parades, music evenings that light up the night sky. The once-forgotten space now glows with life.

Crucially, this transformation came with a deep sensitivity to environment and context. We avoided over-design. Instead of concrete overkill, we used softscape, green edges, and materials that reflect Coimbatore’s warmth and humility. We worked with the grain of the land, not against it. In a world obsessed with spectacle, we chose resonance. We worked not to impose, but to reveal what was always there — waiting to be noticed.

We like to think that this project didn’t just transform a space — it transformed the way a city sees itself. From neglect to pride. From passive observation to joyful participation. From being a backdrop to becoming a cultural foreground.

The Verandah at Valankulam is not just a public space; it is a gift of belonging. It restores dignity to place, voice to youth, and joy to the everyday. In its quiet brilliance lies a powerful lesson: that design, at its best, doesn’t shout — It invites. It listens. It heals.

• Other landscape architecture offices involved in the design of the landscape:
Oasis Designs Inc.

• Architecture offices involved in the design:
Oasis Designs Inc.

• Other credits:
Consortium for DEWATS Dissemination Society (CDD) – Consortium Partners
Arthagam Architects – Local Architects
Precision Surveys India Pvt Ltd – Survey Consultants
Jaitly Associates – Structural Consultants
TNS Consultants – Electrical Consultants
Vinayak Plumbing Engineering Private Limited – Plumbing Consultants