Neeli Katte b Muskaan Bothra
BSc in Interior Design
Against the peaceful landscape of Jakkur Lake, Neeli Katte by Muskaan Bothra, the winner of the Best Community-Centric Spatial Design Award, is not just a café—thinking retreat intended to drift between tradition and innovation, calm and communication. This floating, sustainable café pays respect to Kerala’s boathouse heritage while addressing the eco-sensitive vulnerability of Bengaluru’s lakes.
Designed to accommodate fluctuating water levels, Neeli Katte resonates with resilience, mirroring the interlocked histories of indigo and coffee cultivation, both labour-intensive arts deeply ingrained in India’s cultural and agrarian past. The design of the café figuratively and substantively mirrors the narrative: an amalgamation of earthy texture, rich blues, and burnished woods greets visitors to a sensory unfolding of coexistant opposites—past and present, earth and water, stillness and motion.
Split between indoors and outdoors, Neeli Katte is a multi-layered experience. With its wood-hued exterior and organic interior spaces, it promotes gathering, reflection, and engaging conversation. Whether a peaceful solo coffee, a community event, or a lakeside chat, each aspect of the space invites guests to linger, not stop, but be more present.
In a city of constant hurry, Neeli Katte is a soft disruption. Sailing not only on water, but on the concept of conscious living, it elevates the humble action of eating to a greater experience of self, society, and the world around.
Split between indoors and outdoors, Neeli Katte is a multi-layered experience. With its wood-hued exterior and organic interior spaces, it promotes gathering, reflection, and engaging conversation. Whether a peaceful solo coffee, a community event, or a lakeside chat, each aspect of the space invites guests to linger, not stop, but be more present.
In a city of constant hurry, Neeli Katte is a soft disruption. Sailing not only on water, but on the concept of conscious living, it elevates the humble action of eating to a greater experience of self, society, and the world around.