academic + professional portfolio 2015 by Amer Habib

academic + professional portfolio | AMER

ABDAL HABIB

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Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center Phoenix Tower Gudaraghat Overpass Gulshan Cafe RANGS 27 WE Foundation School Road at Kankeshwar Hill Development Immediate Landscape Exhibition BYLC Ofď&#x20AC; ce Renovation

Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center

Academic Project Bachelor's Thesis Purbachal, Dhaka Bangladesh is developing into an industrial nation with the production capabilities reaching international standards. More and more investors are looking to Bangladesh as one of the next leading countries of opportunity. Unfortunately, business promotion is still a concept in an infant stage and is lagging behind in its formalization. Numerous expositions take place throughout the year, usually under temporary shelters or in rented spaces such as hotel ballrooms. The Export Promotion Bureau, in collaboration with the Chinese Government, has proposed the construction of a purpose-built space for the promotion of business and trade.

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1. OUTDOOR EXHIBITION / PLAZA AREA 2. COVERED EXHIBITION AREA 3. CAFETERIA 4. CENTRAL COURT 5. ENCLOSED EXHIBITION AREA 6. SERVICE ENTRY 7. STORAGE AREA 8. VEHICULAR ENTRY 9. PUBLIC DROP-OFF

Located in an under-construction satellite city which is primarily a residential area, the Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center has been designed as an inclusive urban space. By breaking up the complex into three distinct zones with overlapping characteristics, the Center has a quality of adaptability, and the ability to host the diversity of programmatic demands. There is no ď&#x20AC; xed requirement as the exhibition typologies can vary from garment/leather manufacturing machineries to furniture fairs and auto shows. The Center is equipped with multiple zones for exhibitions, conference and business center, cafeteria and basement parking for over 230 vehicles. As one progresses deeper into the Center, the typology evolves; from an open urban plaza, to a semi-open covered area to fully-enclosed space. This evolution creates different sections catering to different needs depending upon exhibition type, climatic conditions, etc.

thesis: bangladesh-china friendship center Phoenix Tower Academic Project Year 3 Trimester 3 Tejgaon, Dhaka Situated on the site of the collapsed Phoenix Bicycle factory, in what was once the city's main industrial area, the Phoenix Highrise is a mixed use commercial tower, supported by a structural system of hollow tubular trusses and a central core. The internal space is thus column free, opening up the plan for a variety of uses. The tower inherits its form from the commonly occurring Bangladesh rural brick kiln combined with a beehive structure that symbolizes a corporate culture of efď&#x20AC; ciency. The monolithic form tapers slightly indicating an upward reach towards the sky, serving as both a landmark and inspirational sculpture.

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1. PUBLIC DROP-OFF 2. PEDESTRIAN PLAZA 3. VEHICULAR DROP-OFF 4. MAIN RECEPTION 5. MAIN LOBBY 6. BANK BRANCH 7. LIFT LOBBY 8. SERVICE ENTRY 9. STORAGE AREA 10. BASEMENT PARKING ENTRY

Gudaraghat Overpass

Academic Project Year 3 Trimester 2 Gudaraghat, Dhaka As a major artery, linking Badda and Gulshan, Gudaraghat Road is a site of great urban potential. Used everyday by thousands of pedestrians, the site is often encroached upon by organic growth and overspill from the nearby bazaar. The resulting chaos further adds to the growing trafď&#x20AC; c crisis; free ď&#x20AC;&#x201A;ow is thus impeded. An intervention, by way of an pedestrian overpass, has been proposed in order to provide relief from the chaos of urban life. The bridge is a connector, acting as both a place of gathering, and as a link between two distinct and disparate areas. The pedestrian activities that occur on the roadway will be elevated; a dock will be added for direct connectivity to the water and the two bodies will be connected allowing for boat passage.

Gulshan Cafe

Academic Project Year 2 Trimester 3 Gulshan, Dhaka Conceived as a fair-faced concrete structure, the cafe is a post-modern inversion drawing inspiration from the Buddhist terracotta stupa at Mainamati, Comilla. A narrow passage leads to its subterranean placement which strives to evoke a sense of calm and cool from the earth itself. Symmetrical, playfully multi-leveled and tiered, the seating arrangement encourages visual interaction with pockets of privacy for couple-seating. Each level seats a speciď&#x20AC; c cluster of people, ranging from 2, 4, 8-10, and a communal court. Representative of an ancient ruin, there are planter boxes at every level designated for overgrowth giving a feeling of time. At the very center, stands a sculptural tree surrounded by a courtyard and bench seating. Overhead, centered above the tree in the tensile roof structure, is an oculus. This opening allows for the courtyard tree to be bathed in natural light as well as rain during the monsoon season.

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RANGS 27

Professional Project March 2015 Dhanmondi, Dhaka Working with RANGS Properties, a real-estate developing company, the highrise design proposal is for a 14 storey building on a 7,531 sft plot with a mere 65 feet road face. The front facade has been designed accordingly to accentuate this slenderness and to serve as a simple functional monolithic urban sculpture on a very busy road. Each niche within the screen-like facade is a planter, allowing for hanging vinetype plants to cascade down, bringing both vibrancy and life to the monolith. A narrow plot, the main core is has been placed at the front, thereby not only reducing valuable space to circulation but also make way for an exposed glass lift. As user's travel up and down the building they will have a vista experience of the surrounding areas.

WE Foundation School

Professional Project 2014 - Ongoing Gazipur, Dhaka As an NGO, WE Foundation works to provide quality free education to children from underprivileged backgrounds. Of their four locations around the country, two are located in Dhaka. The Gazipur location will soon be shifted to a purposebuilt school. Taking into consideration the clients limited budget, the design called for locally sourced materials, and an incremental construction process as ď&#x20AC; nancial stability improves. The school will have an exposed brick ď&#x20AC; nish with a bamboo screen envelope on all four sides. Despite the small plot area, an emphasis has been placed on open play area. The playground will integrate seamlessly with the central courtyard by way of a multipurpose space. All classrooms recieve maximum natural light via large windows, and cross-ventilation will occur through a system of sub-sill ventilators, terraces and open-staircases.

Road at Kankeshwar Hill Development

Academic Internship January - April 2013 Kankeshwar Hill, Maharashtra Located a few hours outside of Mumbai, Kankeshwar Hill is a real estate development undertaken by Studio Mumbai Architects. The process involved working at site, conducting surveys, line-outs and overseeing the construction of mock-ups. A traditional yet complex stone reinforcement and slope protection system was used to tackle the monsoon's torrential rainfall. An extremely complex terrain, the road typology was designed to adapt and integrate to the topographical conditions to avoid minimal cut and ď&#x20AC; ll.

Immediate Landscape Exhibition

Academic Internship January - April 2013 Alibaug, Maharashtra Beginning with a process of travel and observation, an exhibition of India's expansive culture and adaptability is presented by a series of mockups and material studies; whereas structures and objects are recreated and reinterpreted as a means of exploring the vast diversity of India's immediate landscape. The idea of demolition and impermanence was presented through various mediums. Realized under the palm trees of the studio grounds, materials ranging from soap to tar to marble were utilized in order to construct illustrative works, highlighting a large assortment of religions, lifestyles, and traditions that inď&#x20AC;&#x201A;uence India's built environment. Originally organized for a showing at Hangar Bicocca, Milan, the exhibition was completed at the workshop, disassembled, and displayed at galleries located in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Ahmedabad.

Professional Project May 2015 Baridhara, Dhaka

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CONFERENCE ROOM

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BYLC Ofce Renovation

Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) is the most recognized youth leadership training organization of the country. Their existing ofce, however, lacked a youthful environment and as they began to double their team size, they noticed a lack of space allocation. As a not-for-prot organization, funded primarily by foreign donations, their budget was limited and called for a costeffective design approach. Old cabinetry was repurposed, some internal walls demolished, and after working closely with their existing team, an overall shufing of spatial structure was introduced to create a more efcient use of space.

An open-ofď&#x20AC; ce philosophy was introduced, combined with an emphasis on natural lighting and the use of indoor plants. Furniture was custom designed modular and built from scratch as a means of easy dismantling if necessary. Electrical outlets and laptop charger trays are integrated for easy access and ease of use.

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