Close-up of tall dry grass and leaves in black and white.
Close-up of tall dry grass and leaves in black and white.

Heat Futures at 78°E

South Asian languages Scripts
A textured surface resembling a concrete wall with cracks and irregular patches.

In collaboration with Good Life X
Supported by British Council’s Climate Futures: South Asia Programme.

Program Design
Program Design
Futures
Futures
Workshop Design
Workshop Design
Project Microsite
Project Microsite
Texture of south asian cultural practice of tying threads around tree trunks

The programme was a shared inquiry into how rising heat is re-shaping urban life and the new forms of practice, collaboration and imagination might be needed to respond.

This was anchored across Bengaluru, India and Colombo, Sri Lanka, bringing together interdisciplinary cohorts in each city including researchers, designers, academics, economists and artists. The program experimented with interdisciplinary collaboration and futures methods to explore what new imaginaries it can make possible.

Through a futures-led process, participants worked from intersectional issues of urban heat into speculative exploration, based on Lagori’s South Asian Futures Framework. The focus was not on solutions, but on developing early-stage prototypes and provocations that could hold complexity and open up new ways of thinking about responses. Participants moved through an immersive process that began in present-day conditions and extended into 2035, using worldbuilding, storytelling and making to collectively rehearse possible futures.

Participants in animated discussion during a Heat Futures at 78°E workshop session by Lagori Collective and Good Life X, supported by British Council, exploring urban heat adaptation across Bengaluru and Colombo.
Small group working through futures scenarios using STEEEP framework cards during a Heat Futures at 78°E workshop by Lagori Collective and Good Life X in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Participants presenting a speculative prototype during Heat Futures at 78°E by Lagori Collective and Good Life X, part of a futures process exploring urban heat adaptation in South Asia.
Participant filling in a prototype design card during a Heat Futures at 78°E workshop by Lagori Collective and Good Life X, developing speculative responses to urban heat in South Asia.
Researchers and practitioners in discussion at Lagori Collective's community space in Bengaluru during a Heat Futures at 78°E workshop session with Good Life X and British Council.
Interdisciplinary cohort gathered for a plenary session during Heat Futures at 78°E by Lagori Collective and Good Life X, supported by British Council, with the programme slide visible on screen in Bengaluru.

Following the workshops, one team was awarded a microgrant to continue developing their prototype over three months. The process culminated in a 2D game, Classroom Crashout along with a public exhibition at Lagori Collective, extending the work into wider conversations.

Visitors entering the Heat Futures at 78°E public exhibition at Lagori Collective in Bengaluru, with a Classroom Crashout game poster visible at the entrance, a prototype developed during the programme.
Two participants playing Classroom Crashout, a 2D game prototype on urban heat stress in schools, developed during Heat Futures at 78°E by Lagori Collective and Good Life X with British Council support.
MORE PROJECTS
MORE PROJECTS