Whats inside
#UpYourGame A Day in life of a project engineer Through the lens 2ND EDITION | January 2019 Issue
Contemporary Architecture of Bangladesh
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Contents Cover Story: Up Your Game
04.
A Day in life of a project engineer
09.
Through the lens
14.
Make time for the work that matters
18.
Contemporary Architecture of bangladesh
24.
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N THE NEW AGE ECONOMY, DODGING THE BULLET OF EVERINCREASING CHALLENGES AND CHANGES IS A REAL PHENOMENON. RANGS PROPERTIES LTD. FOR THE VERY
FIRST TIME IS ABOUT TO LAUNCH AN EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGN #UPYOURGAME INCLUDING ALL THE LEVELS OF THE HIERARCHY ADDRESSING THE FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO THE ORGANIZATIONAL INEFFICIENCY. THIS CAMPAIGN SHALL PAVE THE WAY FOR UNLOCKING PERSPECTIVES-CHALLENGING UNORTHODOXY AND OVERCOMING FUNCTIONAL FIXEDNESS
# U p Yo u r G a m e w i l l f o c u s into six of its components.
1. Functional Design: >> Practical living space optimizing design innovation, >> Bold and unorthodox architecture>> Living spaces meant to make lives easier >> Fixing a basic layout >> Setting a signature- Must have-common in all project
2. Lean Construction: >> Zero Level of Waste >> 100% completion & handover within deadline >> Reducing on site safety hazards >> Sticking to the pre-fixed design >> Restricting from major changes in the design layout >> Appropriate BOQ calculation influencing expenditure decisions like construction materials, project type >> Break Even & Profit
3. Cost Optimization: >> Economies of Scale >> Cutting cost heads by 10% in departments >> Organization wise cost reduction by 20 % >> Maintaining a positive balance- Inflow Vs Outflow
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4. Service Excellence: >> Top-notch service in different touch points >> Customer care-Pre & Post sales-all external stakeholders (BD, Sales, CX) >> Addressing issues >> Offering better or precise solution
5 . Va l u e F o r M o n e y : >> More utility >> Best Living spaces at the best price >> Catering different segments of the socio-economic class A & B >> Elevate TOMA & Increase NPS rating >> Expand brand equity
6. Winning Structure: >> Unifying organizational vision >> Strategies by the Leaders >> Addressing & Diminishing knowledge Gap >>Individual employee competency
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Newsflash INSPACE ARCHITECTS LTD
I
NSPACE Architects Ltd. -
Avenue, Bashundhara, Dhanmondi and
one of the prime frac-
other thriving locations changing the
tions of Rangs Properties
area’s skyline with fineness. Inspace has
ltd. (RPL), plays a substantial
created an alliance with different business
role in the Real Estate Division
groups such as Edison Group. They have
and Interior & Design Solution
already started work with International
Sector of Bangladesh. Essen-
Chains such as “Domino’s” and is on the
tially, the team has an URGE to
process of signing with “The Coffee Bean
work like international profes-
& Tea Leaf”. An initiative as such is a step
sionals and are in the process of
forward to achieve the audacious goals.
developing capacity of greater magnitude. Inspace, as in house team of RPL, do all the prime building projects in Gulshan
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RANKS FC PROPERTIES LTD DONATE! BECOME THE HERO
O
n the occasion of Victory Day, Ranks FC Properties Ltd conducted a Blood Donation Campaign in col-
laboration with Chittagong Red Crescent Society and Team Chittagong. Voluntary blood donations of the officials began after Mr. Tanvir Shahriar Rimon, CEO, RFPL inaugurated the event by being the first donor. Bangladesh Red Crescent Society collected 30 bags of blood in this daylong campaign.
Ranks FC Shams Handing over Ceremony Ranks FC Properties recently handed over one of its’ Exclusive Residential Project ‘SHAMS’ in Katalgonj R/A, Chattogram. The event was inaugurated by Mr. Mashid Rahman, (Divisional Director, RED, Rancon), while Mr. Tanvir Shahriar Rimon, CEO of the company handed over the replica key to the Owners’ of the association. Mr. Shamsul Islam, Romena Chowdhury, Golam Mamun & Mokhtar Ahmed Chowdhury addressed on behalf of the Shams owner’s association towards the august gathering.
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Landowners & valued client of RANGS FC Square Ending 2018 on a good note, Rangs Properties Ltd. sold 10 commercial and residential spaces from October’18 till date and has successfully completed registration of 14 commercial and residential spaces during this time. The biggest achievement for Logistics & Approval department at the beginning of this year has been the challenging conversion of
Landowners & valued client of RANGS Babylonia
the plot of Rangs Properties Ltd., from an industrial to a commercial one. Customer
RANGS PROPERTIES LTD
Experience has handed over two remarkable commercial projects in October and November 2018 respectively - Rangs Babylonia and Rangs FC Square both are designed by prominent architect Mustapha Khalid Palash.
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A Day in the life of a Project Engineer
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engineer’s job is different than that of a construction manager or even a project manager. They’re hands-on, detail-oriented, and well well-informed in their field. These engineers are crucial to construction work because they can provide the necessary management and
We come across remarkable
You may look around a project
engineering ‘know how’ to make a
work of architecture with
site and see a construction
project work.
each passing day but seldom
manager, project manager,
do we wonder about ‘behind
project engineer along with
Construction engineer supervises
the scenes’! How do these
many others and wonder who
work at site from ground breaking
infrastructure get its shape? The
they are and what is it that they
to its finishing stage. Distinctive
endless hours and tenacious
do? These three collaborate
responsibilities include: breakdown of
effort behind constructing
on project schedules and
the work into smaller tasks, planning,
it on time, meticulously and
are in a supervisory role of a
scheduling, directing and finishing
proficiently. Building is an
project. However, a project
artist’s impression - Architects and Interior Designers; it is the craft and talent of these professionals for which each can boast beautiful structures defining their time and age. But rarely do we ponder over the faceless individuals and their role in shaping the concrete jungle around us.
RANGS Marc Residence
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the tasks, quality control of raw materials, labor and finishing work, working with architects and engineers to optimize the final product, supervise the vendors and labors and above all meeting deadlines. They also, simultaneously juggle with client observation and requirement which may vary in nature. A project engineer don’t usually work in office space which means that their work hours are long and not the conventional 9 to 5 schedule. They are often expected to arrive in the wee hours of the day and work
expected to begin immediately. This
until late depending on the
is usually difficult because the raw
demand of the project. When
materials and manpower is not always
excavation is in course the
readily available. The situation can
engineers often spend the night
also be a vice versa where the materials
at sites monitoring the task and
and labor is accessible but the design
maintaining safety and schedule.
decision is pending. This may often
Weekend is short and consists
result in delay and additional overhead
a one day off only. During
expenses.
summer, the site engineer
The construction industry is ever-
encourage to engage workers to
evolving, and construction workers will
complete major task in the early
find themselves having to juggle the
hours of the day so they can
demands of a client and project with
avoid more strenuous activities
long working hours and precarious
if/when the temperature gets too
conditions, as well as following the
hot later in the day.
relevant safety precautions in order
One of the major challenges
to avoid the risk of a serious injury or
that the project engineers face is
illness. The role demands proactive
related to design and availability
approach from the project engineers for
of materials. Once the design
problem solving along with maintaining
is confirmed and drawing
synergy in the team and possess efficient
is provided construction is
communication skills in order to relay the objectives concisely and clearly to the subordinates and vendors.
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While every day is different in construction management, most hours in any given week are spent making projects tick. It is the challenges that lie at the heart of every construction project that make the profession rewarding. We ever so often overpass the tireless and endless efforts of the project and site engineers who in real time are the Unsung Heroes behind any successful project.
Featured Project
RANGS RL SQUARE, BADDA
Thought behind the design Creating a vertically stacked community, such as RL Square, offers such a convenience alongside various other social and economic benefits. It places residential, recreational and commercial spaces within reach of one another. Residents can walk to wherever they need to be. This benefits society as a whole. Life in a mixed-use community of the sort translates to significant monthly savings on fuel and transportation costs for the residents. Similarly, businesses stand to benefit from the increased foot traffic that their stores are bound to see in the development. Credit goes to my team mate Monir Hasan (Dipu) who lead the design process of this project along with my team. -
Wahidur Rahman, Director, IAL.
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Through the Lens
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Elon Reeve Musk is a technology entrepreneur, investor, and engineer. He holds South African, Canadian, and U.S. citizenship and is the founder, CEO, and lead designer of SpaceX; co-founder, CEO, and product architect of Tesla,
The company brand name may persuade the client to consider the product but the reputation, consistent quality and delivery shapes the customer experience and retention.
T
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he most successful
they close a deal welcoming the
entrepreneurs are great
news of new revenue generation.
salespeople. Have you
Let’s take a moment to ponder
ever seen Steve Jobs, Elon Musk,
over how this money comes in.
or Mark Benioff presenting in front
What are the challenges and
of thousands of people, all eager-
adversities they have to overcome
ly listening and buying into their
to bring the good news? How is it
vision? If Jobs, Musk, or Benioff
that they meet their target? How
weren’t true masters of sales and
can we come together as a team to
fantastic storytellers, there would
help them attain this target?
be no Apple, Tesla or Salesforce.
The nature of sales is dynamic.
Here’s an ironic statistic for
Each customer is unique with
you: after a presentation, 63% of
distinctive wants and every time
attendees remember stories, and
it’s like walking into a blind spot
only 5% remember statistics. The
for the sales team. To adhere to
data only reassures the importance
the many variations the sales
of a role of a sales person in any
force have to be meticulous in
organization.
detail. Needless to say every sales
We cheer and extend our
representative must possess
courtesies to a salesperson when
excellent communication and
UP YOU R
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active listening skills and have thorough
Recently a survey has been carried out targeting all age group to
product knowledge. They must be able
identify the elements that influence employee performance and
to match the customer needs with the
motivation. 54 employee participated in the survey between the
available products. If the match is not
age group of 20 to 45. The statistics received is presented in the
optimistic then an alternative product
following page for reference. The responses received is diverse
must be proposed efficaciously. The
which gives us an idea of what works and what should be worked
process is a continuous never ending
upon. Recognition followed by acknowledgement is the first step
cycle and often encounter several
in improvising and improving any process. An organization must
challenges which may impediment the
consider factors like training and development program befitting
outcome.
employee need, facilities to augment employee services, recognition
The company brand name may
and appreciation of good work and mutual respect and support
persuade the client to consider the
from the teammates and leaders. Often the lack thereof results in
product but it’s the quality and
poor delivery of services and employee demoralization. Every single
consistency which shapes the customer
person in a company is valuable piece of the chain. The action of
experience and garner retention. Let’s
one always affect the others and one must always keep that in mind.
take a moment to consider the daily
A frontline business must function as a customer centric
hurdles of the sales team; to name a
organization for continuous success. Our actions define the outcome
few: Timely delivery of the product,
and each act should focus on improving the customer touch points.
construction quality, maintenance
The salespeople are often faced with difficult situations and time
of unsold apartments, location and
pressures, having to negotiate seemingly arbitrary obstacles armed
size and above all frequent design
with only their wits and their phones. Despite the numerous
modifications. Furthermore, it is
challenges our sales team always deliver remarkable results with
important to consider the factors that
their perseverance and incredible team work.
influence employee motivation and success.
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Make Time for the Work That Matters HOW SMART KNOWLEDGE WORKERS DELEGATE TASKS— OR ELIMINATE THEM ALTOGETHER BY JULIAN BIRKINSHAW AND JORDAN COHEN
M
ore hours in the day. It’s one thing
We believe there’s a way forward, however.
everyone wants, and yet it’s impos-
Knowledge workers can make themselves more
sible to attain. But what if you could
productive by thinking consciously about how they
free up significant time—maybe as much as 20% of
spend their time; deciding which tasks matter most
your workday—to focus on the responsibilities that
to them and their organizations; and dropping
really matter?
or creatively outsourcing the rest. We tried
We’ve spent the past three years studying how
this intervention with 15 executives at different
knowledge workers can become more productive
companies, and they were able to dramatically
and found that the answer is simple: Eliminate
reduce their involvement in low-value tasks: They
or delegate unimportant tasks and replace them
cut desk work by an average of six hours a week and
with value-added ones. Our research indicates
meeting time by an average of two hours a week.
that knowledge workers spend a great deal of their
And the benefits were clear. For example, when
time—an average of 41%—on discretionary activities
Lotta Laitinen, a manager at If, a Scandinavian
that offer little personal satisfaction and could be
insurance company, jettisoned meetings and
handled competently by others. So why do they
administrative tasks in order to spend more time
keep doing them? Because ridding oneself of work
supporting her team, it led to a 5% increase in sales
is easier said than done. We instinctively cling to
by her unit over a three-week period.
tasks that make us feel busy and thus important, while our bosses, constantly striving to do more
While not everyone in our study was quite that
with less, pile on as many responsibilities as we’re
successful, the results still astounded us. By simply
willing to accept.
asking knowledge workers to rethink and shift the balance of their work, we were able to help them
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free up nearly a fifth of their time—an average of
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a cold, lifeless medium.”
one full day a week—and focus on more worthwhile tasks with the hours they saved.
WHY IT’S SO HARD Knowledge workers present a real challenge to managers. The work they do is difficult to observe (since a lot of it happens inside their heads), and the quality of it is frequently subjective. A manager may suspect that an employee is spending her time inefficiently but be hard-pressed to diagnose the problem, let alone come up with a solution. We interviewed 45 knowledge workers in 39 companies across eight industries in the United States and Europe to see how they spent their days. We found that even the most dedicated and impressive performers devoted large amounts of time to tedious, non-value-added activities such as desk work and “managing across” the organization (for example, meetings with people in other departments). These are tasks that the knowledge workers themselves rated as offering little personal utility and low value to the company. There are many reasons why this happens. Most of us feel entangled in a web of commitments from which it can be painful to extricate ourselves: We worry that we’re letting our colleagues or employers down if we stop doing certain tasks. “I want to appear busy and productive—the company values team players,” one participant observed. Also, those less important items on our to-do lists are not entirely without benefit. Making progress on any task—even an inessential one—increases our feelings of engagement and satisfaction, research has shown. And although meetings are widely derided as a waste of time, they offer opportunities to socialize and connect with coworkers. “I actually quite look forward to face-to-face meetings,” one
Organizations share some of the blame for lessthan-optimal productivity. Cost-cutting has been prevalent over the past decade, and knowledge workers, like most employees, have had to take on some low-value tasks—such as making travel arrangements—that distract them from more important work. Even though business confidence is rebounding, many companies are hesitant to add back resources, particularly administrative ones. What’s more, increasingly complicated regulatory environments and tighter control systems in many industries have contributed to risk-averse corporate cultures that discourage senior people from ceding work to less seasoned colleagues. The consequences are predictable: “My team is understaffed and underskilled, so my calendar is a nightmare and I get pulled into many more meetings than I should,” one study subject reported. Another commented, “I face the constraint of the working capacity of the people I delegate to.” Some companies do try to help their knowledge workers focus on the value-added parts of their job. For example, one of us (Jordan Cohen) helped Pfizer create a service called pfizerWorks, which allows employees to outsource less important tasks. We’ve also seen corporate initiatives that ban e-mail on Fridays, put time limits on meetings, and forbid internal PowerPoint presentations. But it’s very difficult to change institutional norms, and when knowledge workers don’t buy in to such top-down directives, they find creative ways to resist or game the system, which only makes matters worse. We propose a sensible middle ground: judicious, selfdirected interventions supported by management that help knowledge workers help themselves.
respondent told us. “A call is more efficient, but it’s
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THE WORK THAT KNOWLEDGE WORKERS DO
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WHAT WORKERS CAN DO
was too involved in project planning details, while
Our process, a variant of the classic Start/Stop/
Vincent Bryant, a manager at GDF SUEZ Energy
Continue exercise, is designed to help you make
Services, was surprised to see how much time he
small but significant changes to your day-to-day
was wasting in sorting documents.
work schedule. We facilitated this exercise with the 15 executives mentioned above, and they achieved
DECIDE WHETHER TO DROP, DELEGATE,
some remarkable results.
OR REDESIGN. Sort the low-value tasks into three categories:
IDENTIFY LOW-VALUE TASKS.
quick kills (things you can stop doing now with no
Using this self-assessment, look at all your daily
negative effects), off-load opportunities (tasks that
activities and decide which ones are (a) not that
can be delegated with minimal effort), and long-
important to either you or your firm and (b)
term redesign (work that needs to be restructured
relatively easy to drop, delegate, or outsource.
or overhauled). Our study participants found that
Our research suggests that at least one-quarter
this step forced them to reflect carefully on their
of a typical knowledge worker’s activities fall into
real contributions to their respective organizations.
both categories, so you should aim to find up to
“I took a step back and asked myself, ‘Should I be
10 hours of time per week. The participants in
doing this in the first place? Can my subordinate
our study pinpointed a range of expendable tasks.
do it? Is he up to it?’” recalls Johann Barchechath,
Lotta Laitinen, the manager at If, quickly identified
a manager at BNP Paribas. “This helped me figure
several meetings and routine administrative tasks
out what was valuable for the bank versus what was
she could dispense with. Shantanu Kumar, CEO of
valuable for me—and what we simply shouldn’t
a small technology company in London, realized he
have been doing at all.” Another participant noted,
“I realized that the big change I should make is to say no up-front to low-value tasks and not commit myself in the first place.”
“ I realized that the big change I should make is to say no up-front to lowvalue tasks and not commit myself i n t h e f i r s t p l a c e .” OFF-LOAD TASKS.
Most participants eventually overcame those
We heard from many participants that delegation
stumbling blocks. They delegated from 2% to 20%
was initially the most challenging part—but
of their work with no decline in their productivity
ultimately very rewarding. One participant said
or their team’s. “I overestimated my subordinate’s
he couldn’t stop worrying about the tasks he
capability at first, but it got easier after a while,
had reassigned, while another told us he had
and even having a partially done piece of work
trouble remembering “to push, prod, and chase.”
created energy for me,” Barchechath said. A bonus
Barchechath observed, “I learned about the
was that junior employees benefited from getting
importance of timing in delegating something—it is
more involved. “[She] told me several times that
possible to delegate too early.”
she really appreciated it,” he added. Vincent Bryant
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decided to off-load tasks to a virtual personal assistant and says that
significantly boost productivity
although he was concerned about getting up to speed with the service,
among knowledge workers. Such
“it was seamless.”
shifts are not always easy, of course. “It’s hard to make these
ALLOCATE FREED-UP TIME.
changes without the discipline
The goal, of course, is to be not just efficient but effective. So the
of someone standing over you,”
next step is to determine how to best make use of the time you’ve
one of our study participants
saved. Write down two or three things you should be doing but aren’t,
remarked. But all agreed that
and then keep a log to assess whether you’re using your time more
the exercise was a useful “forcing
effectively. Some of our study participants were able to go home a bit
mechanism” to help them
earlier to enjoy their families (which probably made them happier and
become more efficient, effective,
more productive the next day). Some unfortunately reported that their
and engaged employees and
time was immediately swallowed up by unforeseen events: “I cleared
managers. To do the same, you
my in-box and found myself firefighting.”
don’t have to redesign any parts of an organization, reengineer
But more than half reclaimed the extra hours to do better work. “For
a work process, or transform a
me the most useful part was identifying the important things I don’t
business model. All you have to
get time for usually,” Kumar said. “I stopped spending time with my
do is ask the right questions and
project planning tool and instead focused on strategic activities, such
act on the answers. After all, if
as the product road map.” Laitinen used her freed-up schedule to listen
you’re a knowledge worker, isn’t
in on client calls, observe her top salespeople, and coach her employees
using your judgment what you
one-on-one. The result was that stunning three-week sales jump of
were hired for?.”
5%, with the biggest increases coming from below-average performers. A questionnaire showed that employee responses to the experiment were positive, and Laitinen found that she missed nothing by dropping some of her work. “The first week was really stressful, because I had to do so much planning, but by the middle of the test period, I was more relaxed, and I was satisfied when I went home every day COMMIT TO YOUR PLAN.. Although this process is entirely self-directed, it’s crucial to share your plan with a boss, colleague, or mentor. Explain which activities you are getting out of and why. And agree to discuss what you’ve achieved in a few weeks’ time. Without this step, it’s all too easy
Julian Birkinshaw is a
to slide back into bad habits. Many of our participants found that
professor of strategy and
their managers were helpful and supportive. Laitinen’s boss, Sven
entrepreneurship at London
Kärnekull suggested people to whom she could delegate her work.
Business School
Other participants discovered that simply voicing the commitment to another person helped them follow through.With relatively little effort and no management directive, the small intervention we propose can
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Contemporary Architecture in Bangladesh
CONCEPT Concept of space evoked on three main grounds; to create a hymn of solitary through a more contemporary yet quirky design approach with a time worthy construction period. The space was considered as the simplest of its expression. Neither form dominated nor space, a perfect mingling and cohesion to generate ooze sophistication. To create a subtle experience of one’s being and non-being at the same moment, the project adorns emptiness with grace. Space here is not stagnant; it’s allowed to flow with its highest ardencies, form is only the resonance of space.
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ARCHITECTURE
metal boxes were befitted in
The location is mostly secluded of settlements at
between the infrastructure. For
present and therefore remains little less noise.
ultimate makeovers of containers
The serene place is a perfect hide out from every
and to make them livable, necessary
day hustle-bustle of busy urban life.
cut, holes and adjoining for faรงade
The steel frame skeleton is finely embellished
treatment have been done after the
with four pieces of shipping containers. The
accurate placement in desired level
longest one is adjoined with two, forming
to avoid the fragility.
the bed rooms. The rustic romanticism those
The hefty look of those containers
containers evokes, are taken delightfully by the
has become dramatically airier
architect to recreate a place that just impeccably
with some skillful ensemble of
out of the world, surreal.
architectural details. The floated
Triple height atrium with green foliage of
platforms of the house, intertwining
almond tree is indeed a solemn beauty for
stairs and diverse direction of
anyone who steps inside. The soft screening
container placement have made the
of vines in the top will soon be a veil of green
project more visually eye-catching.
velvet. The embedded greenery on container top acts as buffers to lessen the heat penetration.
MATERIALS The off track material was container
PROJECT TECHNOLOGY
itself. The significance also lied
Extruded steel structure embraced the container
beneath for its consideration of
gracefully. The whole frame was erected part
reuse, thus initiating a sustainable
by part as an independent system where those
approach in design. Major inventory of materials are of reused version.
Escape Den by River & Rain Architects : Kazi Fida Islam, Md. Abdul Awyal, Sumaiya Shameem, Mousumi Kabir, Irtefa Iradat, Abid Khan. Location : Dhaka, Bangladesh Area : 134.0 m2
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Friendship Centre, Gaibandha A rural training centre inspired by one of the country’s oldest urban archaeological sites. The Centre was created to train staff of an NGO working with people inhabiting nearby chars, or riverine islands. Offices, a library, meeting rooms, and prayer and tea rooms are included in pavilion-like buildings surrounded by courts and pools. The Centre is also rented out for meetings, training, and conferences for income generation. The local hand-made brick construction has been inspired by
the monastic aesthetic of the 3rd century BC ruins of Mahasthangahr, the earliest urban archaeological site yet found in Bangladesh. Structural elements are of reinforced concrete and finishes also include timber and stone. The naturally ventilated structures have green roofs. The Centre is located in an agricultural area susceptible to flooding and earthquakes, and whose low-bearing soil has a low bearing capacity. As a result, an embankment has been constructed with a
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water run-off pumping
divided into two sections,
facility. Constructed
the outer Ka block for
and finished primarily
the offices, library and
of one material - local
training classrooms and
hand-made bricks - the
the inner Kha block for
spaces are woven out of
the residential section.
pavilions, courtyards,
At a time, 80 people can
pools and greens,
be trained here in four
corridors and shadows.
separate classrooms.
The Friendship Centre is
Simplicity is the intent,
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An extensive program with a very limited fund meant that raising the structures above flood level (a height of eight feet) was not an option: nearly the entire available fund would be lost below grade. Being in an earthquake zone and the low bearing capacity of the silty soil added further complications. The third and final design relies on a surrounding embankment for flood protection while building directly on existing soil, in load bearing masonry. Rainwater and surface Architects Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury/URBANA Location Gaibandha, Bangladesh Team Anup Kumar Basak, Sharif Jahir Hossain, Motiur Rahman, Amrul Hasan Area 2897.0 sqm Project Year 2011 Photographs Eric Chenal, Anup Basak, Kashef Chowdhury
run-off are collected in internal pools and the excess is pumped to an excavated pond, also to be used for fishery. The design relies on natural ventilation and cooling, being facilitated by courtyards and pools and the earth covering on roofs. An extensive network of septic tanks and soak wells ensure the sewage does not mix with flood water.
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Dipshikha/ METI School
This village school adapts the traditional materials of earth and bamboo to make them more durable. In terms of the earth construction, the most important technical advances were introducing a dampproof course, adding a brick foundation and mixing straw into the loam. The potential of bamboo construction is demonstrated by the ceiling (a layering of bamboo sticks, bamboo boards and earth) and the firstfloor walls and roof (a frame construction consisting of beams - four layers of joined bamboo sticks - and vertical and diagonal poles). The project
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was hand-built by local craftsmen, pupils and teachers working in collaboration with European volunteers. Three layers of bamboo post are bound together for the floor beams and anchored at both ends into the mud wall with a one metre by one metre mud mass as a balustrade. The infills to the lightweight bamboo frames are window frames with slats that allow light and air to penetrate.
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