Three million people were ruthlessly killed in Bangladesh in 1971, however, the genocide is still unrecognized globally. The Pakistani militants and their collaborators systematically spirited people away, killed, dumped bodies in either the killing site or separate mass graves. These killing sites, mass graves, and torture cells are scattered across the country. Unfortunately, there was little visual documentation of these atrocities. After independence, only a few major mass graves were conserved, protected, and recognized as historical sites. Through this studio work, the site of Zinzira massacre is re-discovered to create a memorial journey that fosters harmony between the current usage and the history.

Zinzira bazar was one of the most atrocious killing sites in the history of our liberation war. On April 2^nd, The Pakistani military vandalized the Zinzira bazar and killed almost 700 people who took shelter escaping from Dhaka during ‘Operation Searchlight’ took place on 25^th March. The mass killing stretched in Zinzira, Kalindi, and Shubhadya union from Keraniganj. In the project ‘Retrospecting Genocide at Zinzira Bazar’ the task was to tie up this historical phenomenon with the existing functions in a way that no single attribute deluges another one.

The revival of the bazar comes as a part of the total thought process where neighborhood engagement would highly be encouraged. In order to express the rendezvous, it introduces a few new functions and withdraws its boundary to have access from all over the neighborhood, creating various types of facilities not only for the stakeholders of the project but also for the neighborhood and beyond. The additional functions along with the traditional bazar are- mosque, madrasa hostel, library, confectionary-café, movie hall, marketplace, warehouse, wholesale dock and a boat terminal. The experiential journey starts from a -15’ plaza connecting the boat terminal which is also a part of Gallery 1. Gallery 1 is based on the idea of prologue of our Liberation war. Gallery 1 leads to Gallery 2 which is placed under the traditional bazar respectively at -15’ and -25’ level. This one is based solely on the Zinzira massacre. A chair from one of the victims’ houses is placed there as an exhibit including other items.

The third gallery is a block of library and experiential pathway which connects the mosque and café terrace. The journey ends to a Banyan tree plaza that witnessed the Zinzira Genocide in 1971. The third gallery is design to express the story of our liberation war. The boat terminal has been redesigned to replace the existing ‘ghaat’ around the site while remaining operational at the same location. Additionally, passenger waiting area, toilet, docking system are included to enhance the experience.  A part of the terminal building has also been turned into Gallery 1, which houses the curatorial office.

The mosque was relocated and re-designed to make it accessible from the neighborhood. The traditional bazar has been resurrected, along with some new facilities spread over different functional zones. The wholesale setup and warehouse have been relocated to the basement 1 level which also includes a loading unloading dock. The marketplace is designed to house other rentable shops and a movie hall having a rooftop café and a terrace garden. There is also a confectionary, café and a super-shop which is connected to the library block.