03 COMMUNITY CENTER FOR THE URBAN POOR

Studio Ix 2018

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Shayer Ghafur, Prof. Dr. S. M. Najmul

Imam, Prof. Dr. Md Ashikur Rahman Joarder

Site: Korail, Dhaka, Bangladesh

A professional and institutional compartmentalization among architecture, planning and engineering discourses makes architecture an aftermath. The idea explores this theoretical posing by taking the both tangible and intangible infrastructures as reference points; but unlike the West, it includes the role of people’s negotiations beyond the ‘disruption-restoration’ closed public response.

The project proposes a multi-nuclei model and develops a single nucleus involving a small area called ‘Kapor Potti’. It tests the idea of a self-sustaining ‘Smart Community Centre’, where infrastructure driven architectural approach could enhance the urban life of the community.

Min. interventions made to retain the of the communal identity and ownership values.

Bangladesh 50

Public realm artwork to commemorate 50 years of Bangladesh independence

Professional 2021

Role: Project architect

Team: Paraa, Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives, National Portrait gallery London

Site: Idea Store, 321 Whitechapel Road, London, UK

Site area: 1200 sft

Built area: 100 sft

‘BANGLADESH 50’ artwork commemorates 1971, the forming of Bangladesh as a new nation, and what happened next for the diverse people that make up Tower Hamlets Bangladeshi community. Made from steel, the large-scale structure stands out on the street but can also provide a more intimate experience walking underneath and looking up at the delicate design.

The structure represents the word Bangla in Bengali script, the language most commonly spoken in Bangladesh and recognisable to many local Bengali residents of Tower Hamlets. The letters sit against the windows of the Idea Store and will be lit to enhance their visibility, especially during evenings.

Covering the letters in saree fabric references the fabric industry which employed many Bengali workers in Tower Hamlets and is still a prominent industry in Bangladesh supplying a large number of UK clothing retailers. Each letter is wrapped in a different colour inspired by Biman Mullick’s design for the first set of stamps representing Bangladesh as a new nation in 1971.

Suspended from the Whitechapel Idea Store (local library), the large scale letters spelling out Bangla are visible from the road covered in brightly coloured saree fabric and LED lights.

Walking underneath the structure you can look up to see embroidered murals revealing some of the research produced by the Citizen Researchers and artist Ruhul Abdin, including the original sketches by Biman Mullick for the first stamps of new nation Bangladesh in 1971. It is a celebration of the identity, people and stories that make up the diverse Bangladeshi community in Tower Hamlets.

Concept

Design and testing

Curating saree fabrics at old Dhaka to reflect the thematic color composition from the historic stamp set

For more details: https://www.npg.org.uk/visit/inspiring-people-across-the-uk/citizen-uk/tower-hamlets/bangladesh-50-years-artwork?fbclid=IwAR2V4OdaDiaKwLRVZISvxTE2wrErfq6-b1ocLQ0ULtgwNu5_WK64Il35DU