Description
Built on a 3.4-acre land, the idea of the project was to create a place of learning, rest, and play. The design of the complex approached to be functionally and aesthetically minimalist but embedded into the natural settings of the site. The built sheds are positioned to create a free-flowing space transiting from the court of learning to the court of play & leisure. The dorms are around the inner court with the Girls’ dormitory segregated by the pond at the south to have its privacy. The existing trees are embroidered with the built masses to blend into each other in cohesion of natural bonding. The water retention ponds at the south and north are to safeguard the site from flush flooding besides acting as the pool of retained water in the dry season when the canals become dry.
Like the common rural settings of built forms in Bangladesh, the northern courtyard or ‘Uthan’ at the beginning of the north facilitates an ‘administration block’ at the east with a health center, multipurpose room and a kitchen that connects with pathways leading to the dining room and the two-storied teachers’ quarter at the south. The other ‘academic block’ at the west with vocational training facilities is parallel to the administration building creating the conglomeration space for daily parades and formal gatherings.
The northern transit by a shift of axis into the southern courtyard contained two single-story boys’ dormitory blocks & their adjacent toilet extensions. The two-storied girl’s dormitory block in the north with its common toilet is segregated from this court by a water pond in the south to create a cooler ambiance for the living space.
The cluster design gives one a sense of the village homesteads bounded by the natural landscape. The accommodation for the teachers is at a transit towards the dormitories to keep the compound under surveillance and governance by the educators. It creates a sense of safety and security without a physical barrier in place for segregation. The complex accommodates a stage for open-air performances with the amphitheater which during leisure time is used as a play area too.
The whole facility is based on pure natural ventilation. The glare-free lights are used for internal lighting with the window openings carefully protected from private wing and direct sun glare. The cross ventilation above the ceiling and under the roof takes away hot air and cools the environment down through convection.
