The Health Center Noor in JP Nagar, Bangalore, was initiated by Project Smile Trust to address the urgent lack of dignified, stable, and inclusive infrastructure for individuals experiencing homelessness and marginalized populations. For years, this community has lived in the street and in temporary shelters, excluded from formal housing, social services, and recognition in the eyes of society.

Repeatedly displaced by civic infrastructure works and stigmatized, they face instability, police harassment, and health risks. Often overlooked by planning, their presence remains invisible, their needs unmet, and rights unacknowledged. Women suffer most from the lack of safe public amenities, sanitation, and healthcare, compounding their vulnerability and limiting opportunities for autonomy and healing.

The project emerged from sustained engagement between Project Smile Trust, architects, and the local community in JP Nagar—a historically working-class neighborhood once shaped by stone quarrying—now densely built, lacking public infrastructure, biodiversity, and safe spaces for women. Rapid urban growth has replaced greenery with heat, pollution, and construction waste, deepening exclusion.

The area’s transformation erased both its ecological memory and its capacity to support communal life. These layered absences gave birth to an initiative named Noor, a community health center rooted in care, equity, and ecological repair, offering long-overdue dignity and safety.

The Health Center Noor contributes to long-term community development by establishing a permanent, inclusive infrastructure developed through a participation process with and for individuals experiencing homelessness and marginalization in Bangalore.

Qualitatively, Noor strengthens social capacity through a two-phase participative process. Community members shaped the design, requesting safe public spaces, sports areas, a women-run cafeteria, and spaces for gathering, rest, and mental health support. The cafeteria now serves as both an income source and safe space for women, while the green amphitheater offers a vehicle-free space for events and play. These functions were directly shaped by workshops and implemented through ongoing collaboration. Local artisans from Pottery Town contributed their skills to the roof made of traditional Guna pots, celebrating local craft and improving thermal comfort, while also supporting livelihoods. The center is supported by community-led governance and continuous participation. 

Quantitatively, the center has a 40-bed capacity for short- and long-term care. In addition to in-house patients, the Health Center is open to all and will serve over 1,000 people annually, offering medical care, hygiene access, mental health support, and community programs. Income-generating activities—including a pharmacy, restaurant, market, and open gym—support long-term financial viability. Built from recycled materials using a rational, low-cost system, Noor offers a replicable model for socially and ecologically responsible urban intervention. 

The Health Center Noor was conceived as a long-term solution, not just another shelter. It was born from collaboration between friends from Bangalore's NGO network and their partners, united by the vision of creating a sustainable, inclusive space. This cross-sector collaboration demonstrates the impact of collective efforts in building resilient communities.

Project Smile Trust, led by Yashaswini Sudheendrachar, Mohammed Ummer, and Maqsook Khan, is financing the construction of Noor and will take over its operation once completed. Since 2014, the Trust has been vital in addressing hunger, poverty, and disaster relief for Bangalore’s most vulnerable. In response to COVID-19, it expanded its mission to restore dignity to the city’s homeless population and operates a smaller homeless center in JP Nagar, which will be expanded with the new Health Center Noor to meet the growing need for support.

The Agami Project, led by Avinash Ankalge and Chloé Zimmermann, brought expertise in sustainable architecture and community empowerment, focusing on traditional craftsmanship, biodiversity, and recycling. This collective, based in India and Austria, champions participatory design, ensuring local communities shape the spaces they inhabit, making them responsive to their needs.

The participatory process was led by The Agami Project in collaboration with the JP Nagar Nook, run by Project DEFY and Project Smile Trust. Abhijit Sinha, founder of Project DEFY, emphasized the importance of empowering individuals to design their futures and participate in the transformation of their community.