This is not a portfolio in its departure from conventional design exercises which begin with the supposedly complete reading of a context (which can never fully be read), the identification of issues (that can never be perceived in all their complex layerings) and end with the proposal of a design (that claims to be the absolute fix for issues larger than a project, a semester, or sometimes a lifetime).
Instead, it chronicles a lateral reading of urbanity through a diverse set of manifestations- from the almost rural to the synthetic suburb.
This document starts at a dried-up riverbank in Bangladesh, where married women find hope in a new training center, and ends with a housing movement in Brazil, where a university partners with communities facing urban renewal. Along the way, it attempts the reading of landscapes, only to speculate new languages for reading. It identifies issues in order to spotlight them with full acknowledgment that such identification is partial and specific to a time frame. It also puts forth design; almost always as a product of intensive community consultation and reflection of the public voiceundertaken as an initiator of continued discourse .. and not conclusive solutions.
Ehsan Ann Arbor, 2024
thresholds negotiating liminality
dhaka bangladesh
pedagogy design
studio
06 07 09 08 05 04
alleviation vocational center
jhenaidah bangladesh
dhaka bangladesh property an ecology of texas houston, texas united states
miscellaneous impressions dissemination multiple contexts activism peripheral centralities são paulo brazil
01 aspirations graduate thesis
What aspirations inform the development of secondary urban centers of the developing worldat the intersection of geography, governance, power and polity?
The Secondary City
Much like other economically developing nations, Bangladesh has also been racing to drive urbanism away from its major cities- prompting a series of decentralization intiatives. These moves often invite the overlap between urbanity and unique geographic territories- threatening the latter.
One such condition is found in the largest marshy depression of the country where a municipality is fast developing, in spite of its population beginning to plateau.
Singra Municipality is not only contending with the consequences of its concretizing model of urbanism- best encountered in the erratic behavior of its many receding water bodies. Furthermore, it must now determine what models and mechanisms of development it will adopt for its future- in the face of a population soon to decline, and a climate that is fast deteriorating.
Dhaka is Capital of Bengal (1670)
Calcutta is Capital of Bengal (1872)
Dhaka Improvement Trust (1956)
Municipality Ordinance (1977)
Fluidity (and water) manifests in various ways in Bangladesh- from coastal surges and seven hundred rivers forming the backbone of the land, to the vast expanses of marshy depressions that inform sensitive cycles of submersion and subsidence.
This is a study of the largest wetland of Bangladesh
A Fluid Landscape
a semi-permanent coexistence with the land, informed by cyclic transformations in materiality, occupation and ways of life.
Absorbing contextual abundance of water into culture and faith. Using water as a purifying medium as well as a metaphysical contained for renewal.
an imposition of permanence and static demarcations on a fluid landscape of impermanence- inviting negligence, othering and ultimately, killing the water.
Tracing the Public Voice
srikanta acharya trader
“
The Hindu Community of Singra has a long standing tradition of engaging with crafts- particularly terracotta tiles.
These are now cheaper to import from factories than to buy from local artisans.
The craft is all but dead.
name not known councilor (reserved seat)
The children in my ward are faced with daily challenges to cross the river (and canal) to reach school. This is further worsened with seasonal waterlogging which spreads pollutants, deterring school going children.
I have been advocating for a bridge to improve connectivity for our children but..
To no avail.
”
name not known fish trader
“
We say the Beel (Marsh) is our pride, and we market our fish claiming it is from these aquatic landscapes.
In reality, fishery has radically shifted to cultures within ponds in the city and the once famous fish from the Cholon Beel and the Atrai River is all but gone!
You want reform? Start there.
”
An Earthen Collective
Monsoon: Full-scale terracotta production reduces significantly. The craft center becomes a training center for the artform of terracotta.
The co-operative shares its findings on soil quality, pollution and encroachment with communities and the municipality, along with its annual recommendations for safeguarding the landscape.
Late Autumn: As the water recedes quickly from the marsh, craftspersons and fishermen begin collecting nutrient-rich topsoil from the freshly drained land.
Another group of volunteers meticulously document the quality of soil and the state of pollution, sewage accumulation and nutrient quality of the soil.
Spring: The Earthen Commons hosts an annual festival where various terracotta crafts are sold in temporary stalls situated in the receding banks of the river.
These stalls are not only an invitation to celebrate this ancient craft of the region, but allows greater awareness of the threats posed to it through the pollution and encroachment of water.
monsoon plan 200’
A School Of Life
Monsoon: A Floating Elementary School runs year round with sessions beginning in Monsoon.
Children learn from the national curriculum and gain awareness on hydrology, in floating classrooms on the river. This is complemented by water cleanup activtiies, stewardship roles and awareness campaigns
Late Autumn: As early as October, receding water nudges floating modules deeper into the river. New modules arrive from canals already running dry.
Additional after school programs tutor adolescent learners preparing for National Board Examinations.
Spring: On the emerging banks of the drying river, additional modules host a seasonal vocational school. Programs are intended for married women interested in acquiring new skills in craftmaking, culinary arts, enterpreneurship and other fields in order to find employment.
Daycare and elementary school continues.
A Blue Economy Cooperative
Monsoon: Fishing activities peak. Fishing modules are able to float freely between the river and canals and anchor to the market to sell their daily catch.
Traditional boats complement this process as a group of volunteers observe the volume of fish and water quality for the year.
Late Autumn: The canal begins to dry up but some modules are still able to navigate to the market to sell their daily catch.
The market itself begins selling an additional set of goods, including seasonal vegetables, and other small household goods. Towards winter, some modules opt to dock permanently to the market until the next monsoon.
Spring: All modules present sit on the canal bed with a jetty providing access to the market. Winter vegetables become the primary good sold.
Some modules opt to take on plural roles in this dry season and become platforms for cultural programs and small musical performances as fishermen find rest until the next monsoon begins.
02 proximity graduate
Novi is a prosperous city in Michigan, located at the frontier where Detroit’s suburban sprawl meets yet to concretize agricultural lands to the city’s West. What issues of spatial justice does the city contend with?
With a higher income than the national average, Novi is one of many suburbs of in South East Michigan marked by elaborate single family houses and multiple cars per household.
Proposal urbanization around novi 10 mi
While these are typically markers for a highly prosperous society, Novi also contends with long distances between home and work, increasing reports of mental health issues owing to isolation and sparsity, and portions of the city marked by an abundance of vacant houses.
Can Novi embrace a mechanism of proximity whereby it reimagines the very fabric of its neighborhoods and thereby bring communities closer together as a way to combat loneliness? Can work and home cease to be distant binaries and become entities at overlap? single family housing multi family housing other landuse water agricultural land
creating a densified development frontier + retaining neighboring open spaces
a metric for densification 4 mi
Densification
Potential
Lot Value
Lot Coverage X Lot Vacancy
Lot Coverage
Lot Vacancy =
Lot Value
$ 25M - 75M $ 0.6M - 0.7M $ 01K - 40K
Lots with lower value have an added incentive to densify in order to increase value by attracting more residents, business or other revenue generating pull factors
90 - 100 % 30 - 35 % 01 - 04%
A lower lot coverage allows the physical space needed for expanding structures horizontally as one of the mechanisms of densification. The greater the lot coverage, the more restricted the scope for such an expansion.
Vacant
Vacant lots offer the most prime instances for new developments, particularly when adjacent to lots looking to densify. By including these, the high number of vacant lots can also be reduced.
But how will this densification come about?
Act One Identify
Spatial Protocol
Densification begins by identifying potential sites. Primarily, this involves finding vacant sites as prime opportunities for renovation and additional units. At the same time, factors such as low income neighborhoods are also accounted for.
Act Two Expand
Expansion begins at a horizontal level. This is primarily achieved through the introduction of accessory dwelling units (ADU) wherever permissible. In some cases, it is encouraged that ADU’s extend to form merger between separate households- through acts of mutual understanding.
Act Three Raise + Reclaim
This is further amplified through the introduction of additional units vertically, by introducing extra floors where possible. In addition to this, a portion of the vacant sites are also invitations to take down abandoned structures to introduce communal amenities such as community gardens among other open and accessible spaces.
Using the same marketing aesthetics as the campaign that sold the single family house as the American Dream, new ground transformations are presented as more inclusive, just and sustainable landscapes. Ground Transformations
professional
03 oneness
Bending herringbone paths trace the entry to a remote village nestled in thick canopy- situated in the middle of nowhere. It is here that the Santal community has built a century-old home for themselves and now aspire to erect a permanent chapel to facilitate worship as well as congregation.
surrounding fabric
neighboring verancular precedent
Context Program
The Santals of Northern Bangladesh are an indigenous community prevalent in the larger region. A century ago, British Colonial rule relocated them to their current habitat; as railway construction labors. Despite growing into village majorities, labels of social inferiority from neighboring communities as well as institutions remain till today.
The need for a community chapel building became an opportunity to support their ongoing struggle for identity and co-existence with their non-indigenous neighbors. At the same time, it presented an invitation to generate circumstances of gathering within the community through the generation of semi-open spaces with plural connotations of use.
Congregation Hall
Preparation Space
Public Toilet
Study Room
Open Community Plinth
first phase design idea
second phase design idea
third phase design idea
Oneness
An Earthen Community Chapel
community balcony
prayer hall
priest’s study
earthen wall
spire
angled roof
depressed hall
04 thresholds undergraduate thesis
Thresholds in Dhaka’s built fabric separate binaries such as private-public and formal-informal actors. This thesis explores thresholds and the life that evolves around them. By examining these boundaries at three scales, notional interventions are suggested to provoke discourse on urban spatial thresholds.
Suggestive, undefined points in a space can create divisions by setting criteria between two seemingly homogeneous areas. In public spaces, this is achieved through urban furniture, fixtures, or natural elements like vegetation.
Linear thresholds, often walls, define clear lines of separation but can also appear as doorways or curbs.
Planar thresholds add a third, liminal space, creating a more gradual transition between two areas compared to linear thresholds.
Volumetric thresholds, commonly found between indoor-outdoor or private-public spaces, add a further layer of transition by introducing intermediate volumes.
Spatial Thresholds in Old Dhaka
water node
water station boundary wall shop front corner recess
Informality
Along Thresholds
Permanent Vendors
Lot Boundary
Sidewalk
Empty Lot
Semi
Permanent Vendors
Lot Boundary
Sidewalk Curb
Semi-Mobile Vendors
Sidewalk Public Place Node Road
Mobile Vendors
Sidewalk Road
Location + Structure stationary at single site + permanent structure temporary at single site + removable structure moving between sites + light mobile structure constant motion + light mobile structure
Thresholds in a Public Place
Thresholds
a walled off cemetery
gateway to a monument separated by a fence breached to create plurality of space
a park in a cemetery
Negotiating Thresholds
site plan
Intervention
The vision of the city authorities to complement the spirit of the monument and retain the sanctity of the cemetery with a museum and library, are in direct conflict with people’s need for recreational spaces. These considerations informed a design intervention that caters to both the intended and actual uses of this space.
Volume as Threshold Site Plan Legend
01. Graveyard (existing)
02. Mosque (existing + expansion)
03. Museum (existing + expansion)
04. Martyred Intellectuals’ Monument (existing)
05. Library (proposed)
06. Nursery (redesigned)
07. Promenade (proposed)
section aa’ 400’ 800’
Library as Remembrance admin
the library of remembrance is an invitation to resume intellectual practices as the backbone of nation building - practices that were deliberately vanquished at this very site at the dawn of the nation’s birth.
section
courtyard
stack area
reading rooms
public courtyard ramp to monument
05 alleviation undergraduate
Alleviation inquires how larger socio-cultural statistics often misrepresent disadvantaged groups and how introduction of new spaces can empower the under-represented.
“our families are not sure what happens here.”
Education Misleading Statistics
Vocation Instead of Schooling A Space That Empowers
Jhenaidah Municipality in Bangladesh has a literacy rate higher than the national average, though female literacy, especially among adult women, remains low due to early marriage and education discontinuation.
Public consultations reveal that most married women with incomplete degrees seek empowerment through vocational skills. By attending hands-on training, they hope to gain skills in crafts and other practical areas, contributing to family income and amplifying their household voice.
To support this, a new space was needed to facilitate vocational training. This training would engage all household members, fostering sustained acceptance and support.
“attending training will lead to neglecting the family”
“a daycare would help look after the children.”
“can their father also engage with this space?”
“if only this was a space for the whole family”
ENVIRONMENT
PROMOTE TECHNICAL EDUCATION
INFANTS
Adult
INFANTS
Adolescent
ADOLESCENTS
A CITY OF HIGHLY INTELLECTUAL AND EMPOWERED INDIVIDUALS
vocational training is required alongside school for empowerment it takes over 30 minutes to walk to school and the route is not suitable for walking site plan
PRIMARY SCHOOL AT
RIVER FRONT cannot attend training with household chores and young children at home
Infant Intervention
Training Center for Married Women
recreation spaces at street level above welcome the entire family into the complex
section aa’ site plan 20’ 40’
workshop spaces blend into the river allowing outdoor activities while ensuring privacy when required
pedagogy
06 expansion of teacher student center
Studio Setup
Project Brief
Department of Architecture, BRAC University
Year Five Level One, Duration: 12 Weeks
Co-Instructors: Prof. Fuad Hassan Mallick, PhD, Ehsan Khan, Mohammad Faruk, Naim Ahmed Kibria, Mohammad Habib Reza
Contributions as Teaching Assistant: Instruction, Review and Project Documentation
The Teacher-Student Center (TSC) of Dhaka University is a cornerstone of student engagement as well as the city of Dhaka. Since its design by Greek architect Doxiadis in 1960, this landmark has since outgrown its capacity and is in need of expansion to house students adequately while offering upgraded facilities.
Students are required to design an architectural expansion to the TSC, addressing a complex set of programs, and integrating existing socio-cultural contexts. Special emphasis is desired on a strong conceptual approach professional-level design quality with corresponding deliverables including detail drawings of construction document quality.
Learning Outcomes
Study and Analyze existing precedents in order to formulate strategies for expansion
Conceptualize and express design ideas
Identify and articulate different design considerations: formal, functional and structural
Formulate design solutions based on both technical and socio-cultural contexts
Generate architectural and technical drawings equivalent to construction working drawings.
Site Student Work Existing TSC complex potential expansion site.
Source: Nakib Shah Alam
Ashfak Ullah Chowdhury > Extension Block Section
Campus Aerial Perspective
section aa’ 100’
pedagogy
06 school of architecture
Studio Setup
Project Brief
Department of Architecture, BRAC University
Year Two Level Two. Duration: 5 Weeks
Co-Instructors: Atiqur Rahman, S M Kaikobad, Gourab Kundu
Contributions as Lecturer: Design Theory Lecture, Demonstration and Review
The Design of an Architecture School is premised around hands-on training and requires a proposal that facilitates architectural pedagogy at the intersection of science and the arts. Through the careful organization of modular learning spaces and supporting functions, students are required to envision a campus that stages an atmosphere of learning and reflection in various modalities.
Special attention is desired towards spaces of informal encounters, congregation, conversation and ultimately, reflection in an educational complex that fosters a deeper appreciation for the built environment.
site plan 250’
Learning Outcomes
Learn about organizing multiple modular functions of a school into a unified whole.
Demonstrate understanding of relationship between space requirements, circulation, basic structural system and site surroundings and develop formal expression of functions.
Develop understanding on how the essence of a program guides to develop uniqueness in design.
Respond to site forces and address the challenges of site constraints through design.
Site Student Work
Nestled in a compact urban setting, the site challenges students to create a sanctuary of learning at the heart of urban congestion and chaos.
Kafil Uddin > Axonometric Site View
Massing + Form Generation
Massing
Zoning
pedagogy
06 design one
Studio Setup
Department of Architecture, BRAC University
Year One Level One. Duration: 1.5 Weeks / Project
Co-Instructors: Zainab Faruqui Ali, Saima Sharmin
Nipa, Doito Bonotulshi, Emmat Ara Khanam
Contributions as Lecturer: Design Theory Lecture, Model Making Tutorial and Design Review
Project
Brief
Learning Outcomes
Introduction to Design is a student’s first exposure to Architecture through a series of design exercises. Students explore compositions with basic elements, such as lines, planes and volumes. The studio starts with a 2D exercise with lines and concludes with a 3D dimensional Abstraction of a Film. In the process, students explore a series of media from graphite to sculpting with found materials. In addition, they are also introduced to precedents in Architecture and asked to analyze and formulate abstractions of them using the fundamental elements of design previously learned.
Express different concepts and design ideas in graphical format
Identify the different characteristics of basic design elements such as lines, primary shapes and forms
Apply the aesthetic principles of basic design to create various compositions
Improve analytical and innovative thinking ability
Develop the skills of using different media (digital and others, whenever possible) to show both two and three-dimensional expressions of basic design compositions.
Lines from Nature
Anika Tabassum Biva
Rafiya Nusrat Moushe
Fatema Nusrat Raisa
Abir Hossain
Composition with Shapes Low Relief
Fatema Nusrat Raisa
Faiza Jabin
Yashfia Sadaf
Israt Rahman Sinthee
Shafiqa Anjum Autoshi
Jannatul Ferdouse Sinthya
07 property ecologies research
Property Ecologies traces the evolution of property practices in Houston Texas. The research, illustrated through models and drawings, was exhibited in ‘Big, Hot, Sticky’ hosted by the Architecture Center Houston in June 2024.
Research Lead: Gabriel Cuéllar + Athar Mufreh
The Karankawa People of Galveston Bay moved seasonally to gather food. They practiced resource-sharing without property boundaries. Despite initial cooperation with settlers, conflict over land led to their near extinction by the 1820s, marking the beginning of static property practices in the region.
From 1823, land grants facilitated the settlement of Texas, with ranchers and farmers receiving expansive plots for agriculture. Stephen F. Austin led 300 families. Mexican restrictions on emigration fueled Texas’ eventual annexation in 1845.
As plantations expanded in Texas, slavery grew. Settler estates quickly expanded into vast plantations to form new property fabrics predominantly cultivating sugar and cotton. Earlier laws had granted mineral rights to landowners, later refined to enable leasing and sales of mineralrich estates.
The Law of Relinquishment allowed Texan landowners to separate surface and mineral rights, in response to the rush for mining oil. Earlier laws had granted mineral rights to landowners, later refined to enable leasing and sales of mineral-rich estates.
As the single family home gained mass popularity, subdivisions further introduced new property conventions in Texas. An almost synthetic landscape comprising extensive levees imposed homogeneous housing schemes onto a variety of contexts.
Texas’ 1999 Renewable Portfolio Standard sparked its wind energy industry, making it the U.S. leader by 2006. Recent debates on wind estate severance, akin to mineral rights, culminated in a 2023 court ruling permitting wind rights separation.
Property Ecologies
Phases in the evolution of Houston’s property landscape. From left to right - Karankawa Territory, Land Grants, Plantation, Severance, Subdivision and Wind Rights.
08 public design corps activism
An urban renewal project in the South of São Paulo threatens entire communities facing imminent displacement. As part of the University of Michigan’s Public Design Corps, students collaborated with ongoing efforts of local community partners to complement their struggles and resistances in the face of this forthcoming disruption in the fabric of the city.
Students begin by collecting and unpacking official documents, maps, proposals and laws that help better understand but also illustrate for local stakeholders, the consequences of the PIU Arco Jurubatuba, a 2014 urban renewal proposal in the South of the city.
Once in São Paulo, students verify government data with ground realities to provide local communities with updated maps and statistical data. Scoping, field observation and community consultation further illustrate present conditions as a parallel to the project proposal
Students help local partners organize a community gathering event. Multiple communities come together to share mutual struggles and technical persons and stakeholders provide updates on various actions of resistance. The gathering ends with a co-produced manifesto and students return from São Paulo to create open source platforms for disseminating updated maps and data for all.
lutas_resistencias_no_sul
lutas_resistencias_no_sul
The 4th Meeting of Favelas and Occupations in the Southern Periphery of São Paulo ended with the reading of the manifesto letter and the delivery of certificates to the participants. With great gratitude for the beautiful work and generosity behind the organization -
miscellaneous
09 receding commons
Instruments of Democracy
Guest Lecture
Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan
Course: Politics of Balance, Fall 2024
Instructor: Ana Morcillo Pallares
October 22, 2024
A Alfred Taubman Commons, University of Michigan
Brief
The lecture examines the National Parliament Building of Bangladesh, designed by Architect Louis Kahn. Tracing the historic development of the complex as a parallel to the birth of the nation is followed by an examination of spatial exclusion as a mechanism to hinder democratic practices. Finally, the uprising of Monsoon 2024 and the resultant events that unfolded in the premises of the Jatiyo Shangshad Bhaban also illustrate the futility of such exclusionary practices. The lecture was followed by an engaging discussion further unpacking the intersection of politics and design.
Thresholds
Original Design 1960
Parliament
Original
miscellaneous
^ Volume
Ahmedabad, India (2019)
Staging > Dhaka, Bangladesh (2019)
Maria
Portrait Photography 2024, São Paulo
Chin-Chieh
Portrait Photography 2024, Ann Arbor
Ashraf
Digital Painting
2018, Dhaka
10 acknowledgment project
Master of Urban Design, University of Michigan
Graduate Thesis. Duration: 16 Weeks
In Singra, Bangladesh.
Advisors: María Arquero de Alarcón,
Jessica Fayne, PhD
Gratitude: Huraera Jabeen, PhD, Singra
Municipality, Binayak Chakraborty, Srikanta Acharya, Tarannum Mahmud
Master of Urban Design, University of Michigan
Urban Design Studio. Duration: 16 Weeks
In Novi, Michigan, United States
Instructors: Gabriel Cuellar, Salam Rida
Collaborator: Srilaxmi Melkundi
Associate Consultant, Urban CoRe
In Dinajpur, Bangladesh. Duration: 9 Weeks
Design Team: Huraera Jabeen (Principal Architect)
Commission: St. Francis of Assisi + Fr. Michel Tigga
Contribution: Scoping and User Consultation,
Material Research, Program + Design Development
Status: Awaiting Construction
Bachelor of Architecture, BRAC University
Year Four Level One. Duration: 12 Weeks
In Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Instructors: Prof. Fuad Hassan Mallick, Iftekhar
Ahmed, PhD, Khondaker Hasibul Kabir, Abul Fazal
Mahmudun Nabi, Mohammad Zillur Rahman
Gratitude: Huraera Jabeen, PhD, Rahul Mehrotra
Alleviation
Bachelor of Architecture, BRAC University
Year Four Level One. Duration: 12 Weeks
In Jhenaidah, Bangladesh.
Instructors: Huraera Jabeen, PhD, Khondaker
Hasibul Kabir, Tasfin Aziz, Mohammad Zillur Rahman
Study Collaborators: Tanvir Islam, Sabrina Ritu
Master of Urban Design, University of Michigan Public Design Corps. Duration: 6 Weeks
In São Paulo, Brazil
Instructor: María Arquero de Alarcón
Local Partners: UNIÃO, Centro Gaspar Garcia de Direitos Humanos, Defensoria Pública do Estado de São Paulo, Peabiru Trabalhos Comunitários e Ambientais, Articulação Vila Andrade, Comunidade Pantanal
Contribution: Public Consultation, Research, Graphic Production, Photography, Documentation, Website Design.
10 references research
Property Ecologies 2024 research
Bibliography
Research Assistant, University of Michigan
Exhibition: Big, Hot, Sticky by Maggie Tsang /Rice
Architecture
Organizer: Architecture Center Houston
Research Team: Gabriel Cuellar, Athar Mufreh, Saylor Allen
Contributions: Literature Review, Exhibition Text, Illustration, Model Making
Alexander, Alan. “The Texas Wind Estate: Wind as a Natural Resource and a Severable Property Interest.” University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, no. 44.2, University of Michigan Law Library, 2011, pp. 429-, doi:10.36646/mjlr.44.2.texas.
Cantrell, Gregg. Stephen F. Austin, Empresario of Texas. Yale University Press, 1999.
Ricklis, Robert A. The Karankawa Indians of Texas an Ecological Study of Cultural Tradition and Change. 1st ed., University of Texas Press, 1996.
Wilkinson, Alfred Ernest and Richardson, Julian Andrew. Law of Oil and Natural Gas; a Hand Book of the Statutes of Texas and the Decisions of Its Courts Relating to Oil and Natural Gas, the Organization and Operation of Oil and Gas Companies, and the Ownership and Transfer of Mineral Rights. E. L. Steck, 1915
Discourse 2023
Kafil Uddin
And finally, a note of gratitude to my studentswho remain my greatest source of both learning and inspiration..
