Bridge schools are designed to reflect the needs, ideas, and aspirations of children living in coastal villages of Bangladesh. Two types of floor plans (L-Shape & Linear Shape) are designed to fit the schools into the available sites and practical needs. Because the schools are in cyclone-prone areas, the structural system is designed with RCC and steel components to provide the required rigidity. The windows are designed to provide ample natural light and ventilation in the classrooms while still being conveniently closed during cyclones. The wooden panels are painted in bright colors chosen by the children, making these schools highly vibrant, lively, and intriguing.
The project was conceived in response to Cyclone Amphan in 2020, which wreaked havoc in the disaster-prone Satkhira district of Bangladesh. It is the only facility and an important interaction space for local children aged 5 to 8 years old. Due to a lack of funds, it was not possible to restore the facility to its original state. The children. therefore. had to pursue their studies in the open air in a chaotic situation. The Ankur Foundation, accompanied by two young architects, volunteered to help build a new school and give hope to the local children.
In the context of continuing transformation of rural vicinities into semi-urban areas, rural homes have received renewed attention by the architect community and become a subject of experimentation and innovation. This award-winning project demonstrates how a rural home, situated in a subdivided piece of narrow land, can be recreated into a new form to embrace change. The project won the 'Berger Young Architects Award' in 2015 cycle.
The school is a bamboo-built structure on a raised timber platform and closely geared to the site and surrounding views of water and farmlands. The work is strongly archetypal, with the rectilinear plan metaphorically centred on a ‘hearth’ in the foyer. In that sense, the constructions of ‘Indigeneity’ are both formal and spatial. The building constructs an ‘Indigenous’ space and imagery which connects with the local spirit. It is a site of cultural production, an archetypal quest for an architecture that is sensitive to the local context and indigenous building tradition. - Editor
The display center offers a platform for the Rohingya women to create, showcase and sell handmade products to the visitors. The process of the making of the center was focused more on the participation of the users and the artisans than the usual top-down method.
For more than two years, the Bangladeshi host community has been sharing its resources with the Rohingya refugees in the world's largest camp in Kutupalong. The recent spike in violence in Myanmar's Rakhine State has become the new source of tension in the camp. With support from humanitarian organizations, this community centre is designed to relieve tension and build trust between the majority and minority groups in the camp.
The harrowing experience of conflict, displacement and associated stresses have disproportionately affected the Rohingya women and girls, who need urgent supports. Safe Space for Women and Girls, serving as a platform, allows Rohingya women and girls to advocate for basic services. The facility also plays a key role in providing women’s access to community support networks while strengthening social relationship.
This multi-purpose women center in the Rohingya refugee camp at Cox's Bazar is designed to empower vulnerable women using architecture as an ethical tool.
This new science building, located in a remote village of Dumuria, Khulna, has created equitable opportunities by providing access to science education for the disadvantages. Hence, the merit of this project should not be assessed in terms of its architectural outcome only, rather by its contribution to empower the society -Editor.
From inception, design, and hands-on involvement in the construction, this project is an exhibition of architects' response to culture, climate, and available resources while having concerns for societal needs and inequities that are often ignored.