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Reshma Esther Thomas

Reshma is a trained architect, deeply obsessed with the question of 'why build?'. With a Master's in Architectural History and Theory from CEPT University, Ahmedabad, she expands on this question while engaging with many others. She has previously worked with Studio MADe, a space that kindled her interest in architectural research and writing. Reshma is also a freelance design writer, grounding her narratives in theoretical anchors, and teaches architectural history in design schools. As Associate Editor at ArchitectureLive! and Unbuilt Ideas, she continues to straddle practice, pedagogy, and criticism, contributing to how architecture is documented and debated in the Indian context.

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Wall As a Public Space
“To read public space only as a spatial condition, as a matter of square footage, zoning, or physical access, is to miss half the picture.”
—Reshma Esther Thomas

April 29, 2026 No Comments

Reshma Esther Thomas examines how Hyderabad’s flyover pillars, painted with Cheriyal-style murals under the GHMC’s ‘City Art Scape’ initiative, reveal the paradox of managed public space. What appears to be beautification is actually cultural assertion in the wake of the 2014 bifurcation, bureaucratising a surface that once belonged to those without institutional power.

Reshma Esther Thomas

Contributions

Wall As a Public Space “To read public space only as a spatial condition, as a matter of square footage, zoning, or physical access, is to miss half the picture.”—Reshma Esther Thomas

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Wall As a Public Space
“To read public space only as a spatial condition, as a matter of square footage, zoning, or physical access, is to miss half the picture.”
—Reshma Esther Thomas