$2000 Home: Cocreating in the Bengal Delta

Marina Tabassum

$2000 Home: Cocreating in the Bengal Delta

Fall 2017

Studio Report

Marina Tabassum

$2000 Home: Cocreating in the Bengal Delta

$2000 Home: Cocreating in the Bengal Delta

Studio Instructor Marina Tabassum

The Ganges Delta is defined by the fluidity and chemistry of land and water. As the confluence of the mighty rivers Padma and Jamuna, the fragile soft soil of the delta is in constant flux.

This area is home to the 50 million people of Bangladesh. Their lives are stories of negotiation, adaptation, and appropriation.

Pursuing architecture in such a landscape requires understanding impermanence and embracing informality. The act of architecture becomes a search for innovative and creative ways of defining life with minimal means that goes beyond space and form.

Teaching Fellow Zahra Safaverdi Teaching Assistant Naomi Levine Students William Baumgardner, Jingyi Bi, Christina Hefferan, Naomi Levine, Xinyun Li, Aimilios Davlantis Lo, Changhao Lyu, Michael Matthews, David Solomon, Jungchan Yee, Alex Yuen, Miao Zheng, Xin Zheng Mid-Review Critics Andrew Freear, Elena Barthel, Zhang Ke, Salmaan Craig, Timmy Aziz Final Review Critics Anita Berrizbeitia, Claudia Taborda, James Shen, Kazi Khaleed Ashraf, Nondita Correa, Timmy Aziz, Rahul Mehrotra

11 Preface

Marina Tabassum

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Weavers Village at Modonpur

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Homestead for Aujit and Jamuna Das Jingyi Bi Lyu Changhao

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Homestead for Kina and Sujata Das David Solomon Xinyun Li

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Homestead for Usha Rani and Family Christina Hefferan Miao Zheng Naomi Levine

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The Seed Center William Baumgardner

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Dwelling in the Ganges Delta Marina Tabassum

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Panigram Community Initiative Marina Tabassum

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Humble Hut Alex Yuen Naomi Levine Miao Zheng

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Dream Home Aimilios Davlantis Lo Naomi Levine Alex Yuen

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Visiting Bangladesh

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The Next Phase

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Open Letter to Basil Twist Zahra Safaverdi

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Contributors

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Potters Village at Taherpur

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Homestead for Ananda and Parul Pal Aimilios Davlantis Lo Michael Matthews

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Homestead for Nimai and Shonkori Pal Alex Yuen Xin Zheng

Preparation for $2000 Home

$2000 Home

8 The Ganges Delta, defined by its fluidity and chemistry of land and water.

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$2000 Home

10 A corner inside a home in the Delta.

Marina Tabassum

What can $2000 buy in today’s world? a Gucci handbag a Yohji Yamamoto fall/winter coat a Boston–Dhaka–Boston flight a college course a used car a month’s mortgage . . .

pottery studio where guests from the resort can learn the skill of making pottery—which would add an extra source of income for his family.

Can this be a project for an architect? Is budget a constraint or the beginning of innovation? The studio “$2000 Home” explored these questions. Five families, whose stories are no different from Shumon Pal’s, were chosen as clients for the studio to engage with and design for.

There was one added incentive: if the clients like their ideas, five of these houses will be built on site. The studio of 13 students, all of various nationalities and origins, took a trip to Bangladesh to meet these families and to experience and engage in dialogue about their clients’ aspirational homes.

For Shumon Pal, a resident of the Taherpur village in the Jessore district located in southern Bangladesh, this is the budget for a two-bedroom house with a toilet and kitchen.

Taherpur is one of the 68,000 villages in Bangladesh. Farming provides the primary livelihood for citizens as the alluvial soil of the delta yields three crops a year. Nature still rules these parts of the Bengal Delta. There is wisdom in adapting and negotiating with nature’s will to live in harmony and symbiosis.

Shumon’s household includes his parents, two cows, a two-bedroom mud house, a mud kitchen, and a toilet. He is a son of a potter, but the skill of creating pottery was not handed down to him; earthen pots are not in high demand these days. Not a potter, he wanted to become something else. . . .

His immediate neighbors in Pal Para, the potters community, are his extended family.

Some pursued the craft, while others moved to the cities in search of better lives.

Shumon plans to be married soon after he has a decent house for his bride. He has saved BDT 160,000, equivalent to US$1500, for a two-bedroom house. Panigram Resort, his employer, has offered to lend him $500 to build a

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Preface

Dwelling in the Ganges Delta

Marina Tabassum

Three Weavers and Two Potters: Five Clients, Five Real Project Sites, Five Unique Stories In Modonpur and Taherpur, two villages in the district of Jessore in southern Bangladesh, villagers coexist with nature through a process of adaptation and negotiation. They live on minimal means and their livelihoods are predominantly sourced from nature. The intention of the studio was to explore the spirit of cocreation toward a Previous page: Kapataksha River.

new architecture that integrates the wisdom of the land with the knowledge of formal education.

The studio adapts the idea of cocreation and flexibility to respect and understand the values people hold. The process emerged through acceptance of our limitations as architects and the resulting effort to uncover and understand the values of dwelling in a communal environment. The creative solutions were developed by rethinking material palettes sourced from nature, reinventing the process of construction as a social act, understanding the location, and respectfully reinterpreting the values of dwelling in the delta.

The project budget of US$2000 is a critical benchmark. This small budget is a challenge that compelled the studio to look deeper into the existing morphology and material palette for inspiration. The studio addressed a cocreative process from the very beginning as they met with the clients during site visits and engaged in conversation, learning about their livelihoods, living conditions, and aspirations. During the site visit the students mapped individual households in order to propose reorganizational zoning both collective and private, incorporating water and hygiene, and work space and household activities. Through a hands-on workshop, the studio investigated and researched building materials and construction techniques based on cost, availability, social acceptability, durability, and maintenance, including the process and methods of construction.

Above: Illustration of a homestead in Taherpur.

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In a democratic environment all humans irrespective of their gender, religious belief, nationality, or socioeconomic condition have the same rights in society. Yet the height of capitalism created an immense disparity of haves and have-nots, propagated further by wars, political conflicts, growing natural disasters, and climate change, pushing a large section of people to dire states of living, where basic needs of human life remain unfulfilled. The beginning of the 21st century needs to mark this disparity, and architects should prepare themselves to contribute meaningfully to reducing the misery of two-thirds of the world’s inhabitants.

Posing as a major crisis in living environments, mass spontaneous migration is a 21st-century phenomenon. Lack of opportunity and demands of life’s basic needs compel people to uproot themselves from their locations, thus increasing placeless urban populations and creating informal settlements in urban areas.

The cities are growing at an unprecedented rate—urban density is increasing while villages are left in desolation.

14 Top: Panigram Resort.

Bottom: Crafting is a way of life at the potters village.

Marina Tabassum

The “$2000 Home� project is an ongoing initiative led by Panigram Resort in Jessore, Bangladesh, funded by the Bishal Foundation and supported by the Platform of Community Actions and Architecture (POCAA) and Community Savings Groups of the villages of Taherpur and Modonpur.

Panigram Resort is a socially and environmentally responsible project designed by Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA) in the Ganges Delta on the bank of the river Kapataksha. The project explores the uniqueness of dwelling in the delta by expressing local languages of architecture through innovative use of materials and construction techniques. The project went beyond its physical boundary by incorporating and engaging local citizens in construction activities, landscaping, and crafting in order to foster a relationship that is mutually beneficial in the long run.

Panigram Community Initiatives was formed by keeping local socio-cultural-economic benefits in mind. The programs include activities such as craft diversification workshops, continued education for girls, awareness and practice of health and hygiene, and planned homesteads with smart toilets and improved kitchens. Encouraging women to collectively save money through savings groups is a key component for materializing different activities to initiate change.

Initiatives of similar nature are being carried out in Jhenaidah, Bangladesh, by POCAA under the leadership of Hasibul Kabir with the project Citywide Community Upgrading. The success story of the $1200 Home in Jhenaidah is the driving force of the community initiatives of better housing for villages surrounding Panigram Resort.

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Panigram Community Initiative

$2000 Home

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Preparation for $2000 Home

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Humble Hut

The studio's first project was a humble hut. Each student was asked to imagine they were the first human being on earth, forget any preconception of dwelling, and design a humble hut for themselves. They were encouraged to site the project according to their own preferences; and based on the geographic location, climate, and availability of resources, they designed a shelter to act as the first human hut.

Previous spread: The dungi boat, unique to the Bengal Delta, is efficient for movement in shallow water during the dry season.

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Alex Yuen

Alex Yuen’s humble hut is nonspecific to location, and designed for movement.

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Humble Hut

Naomi Levine

May 1, 9:00

July 1, 9:00

September 1, 9:00

May 1, 12:00

July 1, 12:00

September 1, 12:00

May 1, 15:00

July 1, 15:00

September 1, 15:00

Naomi Levine’s humble hut is not something built, but rather found somewhere in a cavern that can be inhabited with minimal intervention.

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Miao Zheng

Miao Zheng’s humble hut is built with locally sourced materials.

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Dream Home

What is your aspirational home? Perception of home varies between individuals and can be influenced by place, culture, and generation. To understand and respect human aspiration is a key exercise of this studio. Throughout the design process the students were advised to refer back to the aspirations of their clients; however, prior to those conversations, the students worked on an exercise that delved into their own individual aspirations of a home.

Symbolic representation of homestead on handcrafted kantha (comforter).Â

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Naomi Levine

My ideal home is

Home is the way steam rises from a mug, the vapor rising upward to spread its flavor through the air. Peppermint, green tea—doesn’t matter, it’s the way the warmth spreads from ceramic to skin and down your arms. I smell water and salt, a mix of rain and sea and the creak of worn floorboards beneath padding feet. My socks, the oversized ones I stole from Dad when I left for college, catch on the splintered surface of the porch. It’s quiet, in the way only an ocean can be quiet, I sit in the pre-life dawn and wait.

a sanctuary a battleground a tavern a laboratory a repository a conservatory a pigeon hole an observatory a sanatorium a pandemonium

All in a wooden water tower in Red Hook, New York.

Dream Home

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Aimilios Davlantis Lo

I like to be on the move. My ideal situation is a rotating lifestyle between the ultra-dense megacity, a quieter mid-sized city, and, finally, nature. Each represents a range of densities that I am comfortable in for certain lengths of time, but not indefinitely. In all locations, I would prefer to live in conditions where I could notice gradual change. The metropolis’s verticality allows one to watch the city grow from the vantage of their apartment. The mid-sized city’s pedestrian accessibility allows one to wander and digest the activity of a more manageable urban density. Finally, the remote wilderness allows one to distance themselves from the fussiness of societal expectations and view nature as it exists, relatively, on its own.

Any home I would like to inhabit is ideally adaptable to my own changes and the changes of the environment. Families grow and shrink; health deteriorates and improves. While many look to a home as a source of stability, as the architect of my own habitat I prefer to consider it as a place for adaption after self-reflection, constantly asking how I can further align my habits, interests, and goals of the moment with the environment that I inhabit.

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Alex Yuen

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Visiting Bangladesh

Marina Tabassum

$1200 Homes of Jhenaidah The studio visited two communities in Jhenaidah where POCAA applied the method of cocreation and helped urban and peri-urban communities build 44 houses, which cost $1200 each.

Our common perception of villages needs to change as time moves forward. Villages are the nucleus of settlements that will become the major force of development in the 21st century.

With proper infrastructure and access to the basic needs of health and education, reverse migration to villages can help distribute the population and reduce pressure on cities.

Mud versus Brick Mud houses that were once the way of life have become a symbol of poverty. Everyone aspires for the permanence expressed by houses built out of brick. There were long conversations with the clients about the environmental benefit of mud as a material, which they very well understand—yet the social pressure for permanence is an important scale of economic progress in the villages that ensures a good marriage for the sons and daughters. Mud houses require periodic maintenance, which village women find to be a waste of their time.

They prefer to utilize time productively by engaging in crafts and other activities that generate financial gain.

Materials and Construction Processes The studio had the opportunity to explore the local building materials and engaged themselves in hands-on projects with four different materials: burnt brick, sun-dried brick, mud, and bamboo. Four groups explored four different materials. Each group was assisted by skilled craftsmen and volunteers, who helped them with the design and construction of the small projects in different locations at Panigram Resort.

Students visit a $1200 Home project in Jhenaidah, Bangladesh.

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Visiting the sites in Taherpur and Modonpur allowed the students to gain firsthand experience and a comprehensive understanding of place.

The process demanded that students directly communicate with the clients to understand their values by learning their life stories, needs, and aspirations for the future. The prospect of cocreation brings together formal learning and informal undocumented wisdom of living meaningfully with nature. Easy communication and access to information through technology are creating new demands among the villagers and their values are in constant flux of change.

Visiting Bangladesh

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Marina Tabassum Previous page: The hands-on projects at Panigram Resort help students understand local materials.

Above: Students visit Jhenaidah to see $1200 Home projects by POCAA. The community shares their experience of constructing new houses with the students.

Visiting Bangladesh

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Marina Tabassum Previous page: Community visits around Panigram Resort.

Above: Clients engage with students and explain their aspirations for their homes.

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Open Letter to Basil Twist

Zahra Safaverdi

I went to Bangladesh recently and I learned a lesson: there is no resisting the water. The delta washes everything away. No two maps of Bangladesh created more than five years from each other are the same. This perpetual state of flux, this true ephemeral landscape has profoundly affected the Bengali notion of self, land, and time. Bengali spaces are everything but inanimate. The past is passed and behind there is nothing but emptiness. The overpowering nature has given Bengalis a deep understanding of the working of life, thus removing the unnecessary criticality that comes from taking oneself too seriously. In Bangladesh everything is in a dynamic coalition: it’s difficult to draw a clear line between water and land, between human and space, and in between different senses.

There, it is difficult to believe in the sacred nihilism which seems to become ever so powerful in the design realm. The delta has shown me there is not much in being clearheaded—that I only waste away when I’m clearheaded.1

1. Excerpt from Zahra Safaverdi, Zahra Safaverdi to Basil Twist, open letters, issue 56 (November 23, 2017).

Students visiting a $1200 Home project in Jhenaidah, Bangladesh.

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$2000 Home

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Potters Village at Taherpur

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Previous spread: Man working on a pottery wheel at Taherpur.

Following page: Handcrafted miniature sculptures, unique to the Bengal Delta.

Potters Village at Taherpur

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Taherpur is a village on the bank of the river Kapataksha in Jessore, Bangladesh. The communities dwelling in the village are mostly made up of farmers, fishermen, blacksmiths, and potters. The last name of all potters is Pal. The skill of pottery is transferred from one generation to the next, and carrying on the family legacy of skillful crafting was once a source of pride for many potters. Standardized formal education in Bangladesh does not focus on trade and skill of these communities, which results in a disconnect that affects the life choices of the new generation of Pals. School education is making them city-bound to a life of struggle and uncertainty.

The savings initiatives by the communities can prove to be a powerful tool in reversing this trend. Small loans among the community members can help entrepreneurial ventures for small business. The map on pages 38–39 of Taherpur is a great example of collective endeavor: together the community produced a drawn map of their homesteads—which, until 2017, had never been documented.

37 Caption TK.

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Homestead of Ananda and Parul Pal

Map of the potters village at Taherpur.

Homestead of Nimai and Shonkori Pal

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Homestead for Ananda and Parul Pal

Ananda and Parul Pal are both potters. Together they produce different forms of pots and utensils, rings for toilets, and handmolded terracotta toys. Ananda, one the finest craftsmen in the village, comes from a nearby potters community after he left his own village for economic reasons to live near his wife Parul’s family. Living with in-laws often causes social discrimination for him and his family.

Ananda and Parul are parents to four children. After their two elder daughters married, they now live as a family of four with 14-year-old Krishna and 5-year-old Arjun.

Their homestead includes a brick house with two rooms and a veranda, kitchen, brick toilet, cowshed, storage, tube well, and kiln. They also rented adjacent land to accommodate space for drying and storing their work.

41 Illustration of Ananda and Parul Pal’s homestead.

The project primarily aims to relieve the family from the burden of paying rent on the adjacent property by slowly moving all its pottery-making functions into their own 300-square-foot home.

While maintaining their symbiotic connection with nature, the challenge is to maximize working space while preserving comfort with adequate living amenities. Their house is a simple masonry framework that serves as storage for finished and drying pottery. It also provides the structure for a two-story house, and the soft exterior boundary cools the home as the wet pots evaporate. Inside, stretched sarees make up the interior walls, allowing air, ambient light, and color to enter even their most private spaces. The roof is made from a series of arched rings, a commonly produced clay product, which in this case are cut in half and laid as terracotta roof tiles.

The work makes the home, and the home feeds their work. It is the act of making that gives breath to their never-finished dwelling.

Homestead for Anada and Parul Pal

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Aimilios Davlantis Lo

43 Proposed ground-floor plan.

Homestead for Anada and Parul Pal

44 Top: Proposed roof constructed with mud rings.

Bottom: Proposed storage shelves instead of solid wall.

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Aimilios Davlantis Lo Above: Section showing space between their workshop and home.

Following spread: Physical model of the house showing living quarter, working space, shelving, kiln, and storage.

$2000 Home

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Ananda and Parul Pal expressed that their property needs to be better organized to suit the many stages of pottery production. Multiple structures already exist on this lot: a house, separate toilet, kitchen, kiln, pottery wheel and work area, storage, and a central courtyard. However, these buildings did not leave enough open space for pottery work, and it was determined that the house should be replaced with a more condensed two-story house and studio.

During the studio trip to Bangladesh we had the opportunity to interview each other on multiple occasions and we exchanged ideas about how to improve their living conditions.

Their biggest problem turned out to be the lack of space available to dry their pots, and the living spaces were impeding their work, suggesting their work–life balance was not reflected in their home.

The scheme uses a practical strategy of minimizing living spaces and maximizing work spaces. Architecturally, this manifested as a two-story house with living spaces lofted and an open pottery studio below. The lofting strategy clears the ground floor for a new pottery studio space, which also serves as a reinterpretation of a traditional Bengali veranda. A flat concrete roof provides a new sun deck for drying pottery.

A dumbwaiter connects this sun deck with the ground-floor studio, allowing for easy transport of pots for drying.

Ananda and Parul insisted that the house be made of brick, citing social and practical reasons.

Brick is not the coolest material, however, as it traps heat during the day. This was solved by

introducing a brick/mud composite wall, where a layer of mud plaster (a common interior finish in Bangladesh) would coat the brick on the lofted living space interiors.

Arches were used because trabeated beams cannot be manufactured onsite, and using concrete was beyond the $2000 project budget.

Arches, all with the same diameter, can use the same formwork and will be less expensive while still providing an open ground floor.

The ground-floor veranda becomes a new hub of the whole site, and allows space for both working and socializing. By combining working and living functions, the family will be able to congregate around the veranda during the day, creating a more efficient use of space while bringing the family together.

Homestead for Anada and Parul Pal

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Michael Matthews

49 Top: Physical model.

Bottom: Existing site and proposed site development.

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Homestead for Anada and Parul Pal

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13 8

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01 Key 1 Pottery dumbwaiter 2 Roof ladder 3 Homework desk 4 Shelving 5 Pottery wheel

Top: Second-floor plan.

6 Veranda 7 Worshop space 8 Future toilet 9 Future washroom 10 Tube well

3

5

10 ft

11 Kitchen

12 Kiln

13 Storage

Bottom: First-floor plan.

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Michael Matthews

Brick/Corrugated Sheet Roof Opening 20 sf $31

Bamboo Rafters 8 pieces $25

4" Concrete Slab Roof 332 sf $664

Bamboo Columns and Stair 10 pieces $31

Mud Walls: Bedroom 440 sf $0

Bamboo Beams 38 pieces $118

Mud Plaster Finish 440 sf $137

Bamboo Floor Decking 158 sf $3

Cost Analysis

5" Burnt Brick Wall 1,006 sf $817

Top: Sectional perspective.

10" Burnt Brick Columns 10 cubic feet $134

5" Burnt Brick Retaining Wall 158 sf $128

Total Material Cost: $2,209 Total Labor Cost: $375 Grand Total: $2,584

Bottom: Material specification and budget.

3-D view of the house.

Homestead for Ananda Pal and Parul Pal

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53

Firstname Lastname

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Homestead for Nimai and Shonkori Pal

Nimai Pal and his wife Shonkori Pal are a young couple from the potter community. They have one-year-old twin daughters and a five-year-old son. Nimai is a skilled potter who learned to craft different kinds of pots and roof tiles, but he prefers to make rings for toilets because it is more profitable. Shonkori makes handcrafted terracotta products that they sell during fairs and festivals. During the rainy season, as it becomes difficult to pursue pottery making, Nimai works as a farmer and grows grains and vegetables.

Nimai and Shonkori have a sleeping quarter, kitchen, toilet, tube well, cow shed, storage space for pots, and kiln. Most of the Pal community in Hindu Para owns brick houses—except Nimai. The Pal community nominated this young family for the $2000 Home project; and, like everyone else, Nimai and Shonkori aspire to build a house of brick for their children to grow in.

55 Illustration of Nimai and Shonkori Pal's homestead.

The project seeks to accomplish two goals: to continue to serve as an informal place for gathering for much of the community while providing privacy for the family, and to channel rainwater away from the house. This is accomplished by creating a clear frontage that reroutes both people and water around the site instead of allowing both flows to cross through it.

This linear arrangement also plays into the architectural motivation of the project by creating a system to clarify the different programs of the homestead. Two flexible spaces are established: a workspace that would house the kiln, a space for working, the cow pen, and the toilet, as well as a domestic space for living and cooking.

The remaining open space is positioned for a publicly accessible open space for drying and crafts, in addition to a more secluded flower and vegetable garden to be used by the family.

Brick is an aspirational material for many of the villagers but not as economical or sustainable as mud, yet the project invests in brick to create the arches that frame the spaces. Ten frames are erected, each costing around $90, which simultaneously organize the programs while providing aesthetic identity for the home. Although the vault is not common to the village, it is a tried and true construction method that combines structural efficiency with formal elegance. The project calls upon the client to participate in the home’s production by using their own pottery skills to supply the tiles for the timbrel roof. This request not only expands the budget of the project but also seeks to provide the family agency in the creation of their own home.

Homestead for Nimai and Shonkori Pal

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Alex Yuen

Well Cow Shed

Bedroom

Brother’s House

Kitchen Living Porch

Kiln

Kitchen Storage

Pigeon Coop Work Space

Toilet

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Existing site arrangement

Existing pedestrian circulation

Desired pedestrian circulation

Existing water flow

Desired water flow

Site considerations.

10’

First-level plan.

Homestead for Nimai and Shonkori Pal

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Mud and Bamboo Mix 3,000 TK

Clay Tiles Provided by Client Bamboo Post-Tensioning 750 TK Concrete Beams 8,000 TK

Alex Yuen

Mud and Bamboo Mix 2,800 TK

Concrete Beams 7,000 TK Bamboo Bracing 7,000 TK

Mud Wall 5,360 TK Clay Tiles Provided by Client

Clay Tiles Provided by Client

Mud Foundation 52,164 TK Brick Foundation 10,000 TK

Construction 10,000 TK Total Cost 142,210 TK $1,777

Material specifications and budget.

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Brick Arches 56,000 TK

Homestead for Nimai and Shonkori Pal

60 The transverse section (top) is architecturally iconic while the longitudinal section (bottom) is programatically adaptive.

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Alex Yuen Physical models.

This proposal makes use of Nimai Pal's skill as a potter by introducing pottery as a building material. He can then participate in the construction of his dream home within the budget constraints.

The exterior walls of the house are formed by embedding pots into mud, which creates a sense of brick, and the shape of the pots draw air into the rooms, which keeps them ventilated.

Meanwhile, these walls act as product promotion of the client's work.

The use of bricks as structural columns, walls, and frames of the mud walls meets the owner’s desire for a brick house. The second floor is mainly made of bamboo, a light and inexpensive building material in Bangladesh.

The rear of the house forms an independent backyard, distinct from the publicity of their front yard, which has always been a problem for the Pal household.

Homestead for Nimai and Shonkori Pal

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Xin Zheng

63 First-level plan.

Top: Physical model.

Bottom: Section.

Homestead for Nimai and Shonkori Pal

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Tin sheet Amount: 49 Rate: 400 Cost: 19600 tk

Slab Amount: 342 sf Rate: 140/sf Cost: 47880 tk Concrete slope Amount: 5.41 cf Rate: 210/cf Cost: 1136.1 tk

Bamboo structure Amount: 61 Rate: 250 Cost: 15250 tk

Bamboo mat Amount: 412.23 sf Rate: 7/sf Cost: 2885.61 tk

Wood-frame door Amount: 3 Rate: 2750 Cost: 8250 tk

Lintel Amount: 5.21 sf Rate: 180 Cost: 937.5 tk Banboo stair Amount: 3 Rate: 250 Cost: 750 tk

Pot Amount: 218 Rate: 5 Cost: 1090 tk

Mud wall Amount: 8 days Rate: 300/day Cost: 2400 tk

Brick wall Amount: 1847 Rate: 11.81 Cost: 21813 tk

Brick column Amount: 760 Rate: 11.81 Cost: 8975.6 tk

Mud tile Amount: 100 Rate: 5 Cost: 500 tk

Brick foundation Amount: 1454 Rate: 11.81 Cost: 3952.74 tk

CC floor Amount: 112.94 sf Rate: 35/sf Cost: 3952.74 tk

Plinth Amount: 8 days Rate: 300/day Cost: 2400 tk

CC foundation Amount: 29.93 sf Rate: 50/sf Cost: 1496.5 tk

Total cost 157988.86 tk = $1974.86

Material specification and budget.

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Xin Zheng

Bamboo frame Amount: 6 Rate: 250 Cost: 1500 tk

$2000 Home

66 Sectional model of the house.

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$2000 Home

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Weavers Village at Modonpur

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Previous spread: Woman weaving a bamboo basket at Modonpur.

Following page: Bamboo artisans in a craft development workshop.

Weavers Village at Modonpur

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Modonpur is a village situated on the bank of the river Kopotaksha in the Jhenaidah district. The communities are mostly farmers except for the bamboo weavers. They are the most economically vulnerable among all the communities in the village; yet, in terms of planning, they comprise one of the most well organized and structured.

While potters require a larger area to dry their pottery, bamboo weavers need linear arrangements of space in order to work with long bamboo pieces. Like the potters community in Taherpur, the basket weavers also created a physical map of their homesteads.

Basket weavers go by the title “Das.” Many of the children in the village learned the skill of bamboo weaving while in school.

71 Caption TK.

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Homestead of Kina and Sujata Das

Map of the weavers village at Modonpur.

Homestead of Aujit and Jamuna Das

Homestead of Usha Rani and family

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Homestead for Aujit and Jamuna Das

Aujit and Jamuna Das are an elderly couple who share a homestead with their two sons and their families. Aujit works as a bamboo weaver. Because bamboo splitting and weaving require larger elongated space, he uses the street side adjacent to his house as work space. Jamuna works at Panigram Resort as a cleaner. In addition to the living quarters, the homestead includes a temple, storage, cow and goat sheds, pigeon house, parking area for a van, toilet, and tube well. These functions are all arranged around a linear courtyard.

The Das Para community nominated Aujit and Jamuna Das for the research and design of a $2000 Home. The design proposals for a bamboo weaver’s workspace and homestead can be disseminated to those of other bamboo weavers.

75 Illustration of Aujit and Jamuna Das’s homestead.

What can $2000 buy in today’s world? What can a house bring to a family? These questions guided my experience in Bangladesh, as I encountered the nature, the neighborhood, and the humble people of the area.

For Aujit and Jamuna Das, a dream house means a place where they can live happily with their two sons and work together rain or shine.

Aujit has a big family of 11 members. He and his younger son Swapan Das are weavers, while his eldest son Lipon Das is a barber. For his own house, Aujit wanted it designed in a way that would allow him to divide it equally between his two sons after his death. He located his house between both sons’ properties. Not only does this provide Aujit and Jamuna with a living space, it also creates a central hub for this big family, with a kitchen, temple, and weaving spaces. These public spaces will be buffer zones for two small families that soften the hard border.

Homestead for Aujit and Jamuna Das

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Jingyi Bi

77 1

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Key 1 Bedoroom 2 Storage 3 Working and dining space 4 Family temple

First-level plan.

5 Praying area 6 Tulshi (praying plant) 7 Kitchen

Homestead for Aujit and Jamuna Das

78 Top: Section A-A.

Bottom: Section B-B.

Proposal for new house

Two bedrooms

Big roof

Space for future expansion

Communal space

Proposed function planning of the site.

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Jingyi Bi

Existing positions of different functions

Axonometric view.

Homestead for Aujit and Jamuna Das

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Jingyi Bi

3-D images of the house and shared space of the homestead.

Aujit and Jamuna Das were primarily concerned about how to divide their $2000 Home between their two sons. For this reason they sited the house between the two sons’ households. The proposed design respects the existing planning of the homestead. All the living quarters enjoy a south breeze during summer, and the services, such as the kitchen and toilet, are placed across a linear courtyard.

Aujit is a master weaver of the community but he suffers from a lack of workspace. The proposed design has a work area for him on the ground level. The entire household is currently made of a mud structure so the choice of material for the new design is mud as well. The two-story structure has two bedrooms on the upper level.

Homestead for Aujit and Jamuna Das

82

Chenghao Lyu

83 Top: Site plan.

Bottom: Service structure plan and section.

Corrugated Tin Sheet Roof 56 p * 400 tk/p = 22,400 tk

Bamboo Structure & Bamboo Facade 3” Diameter Bamboo: 89.5 p* 250 tk/p = 22375 tk 2” Diameter Bamboo: 32.5 p * 175 tk/p = 5687.5 tk Weaved Bamboo Mat: 35 tk/rft = 1225 tk

6” Concrete slab

5” Brick Walls 1060 p * 13 tk/p= 13780 tk

10” * 15” Brick Columns 1104p * 12 tk/p= 13248 tk

3” Concrete Slab with Bamboo Footing Concrete Slab: 358.15 sf* 50 tk/cf= 17907.5 tk Bamboo Footing: 8.33 cf * 210 tk/cf= 1749.3 tk

10” Brick Retaining Walls Filled with Earth 1420 p * 12 tk/p= 17040 tk

Brick Foundation 1328 p * 12 tk/p= 15936 tk Total Cost = 157338.3 tk = 1889.633 USD

Proposed axonometric and material specification.

Homestead for Aujit and Jamuna Das

84

113 cf* 230 tk/cf= 25990 tk

Coconut Fiber Rope Hardwood Pin

Concrete Slab Mortar

Bamboo Columns Metal Strip

85

Chenghao Lyu

Concrete Footing

Top: Drawing of roof structure.

Bottom: Detailed model of roof structure.

Front elevation of the house.

Homestead for Aujit and Jamuna Das

86

Models.

87

Changhao Lyu

88

Homestead for Kina and Sujata Das

Kina and Sujata Das are residents of Das Para. Kina was a bamboo weaver and occasional rickshaw puller before he suffered an infection in his leg, which resulted in amputation. Since the amputation, he has been unable to engage in any activities that generate income. He lives with his wife Sujata, their son Tipu Das, and their daughter-in-law.

The Das Para weavers community selected this family as a vulnerable member of the community, whose need for an appropriate housing unit exceeds that of others. The design proposal for this household can demonstrate innovative ideas for Kina and Sujata’s homestead and workspace with universal accessibility. The design ideas developed for this household can be disseminated to the other families of elderly people with limited mobility.

89 Illustration of Kina and Sujata Das’s homestead.

Because Kina Das’s disability often causes him too much pain to manage physically taxing activity, he has been unable to continue his weaving practice. Given the challenges, one of the principal goals of the project was to provide Kina and Sujata with a source of income through the design of their new compound.

Other main concerns that drove the project include Kina’s restricted mobility, Sujata’s desire for increased proximity to the road as a means to socialize with passersby, increased privacy for their son and daughter-in-law, a kitchen garden for Sujata, an improved toilet and kitchen, and a greater sense of ownership over their portion of the property.

The siting and general layout was driven

by Kina and Sujata’s desires to expand their courtyard and move the house toward the road.

Taking advantage of this position, the kitchen and cowshed were positioned opposite the house to create a formal entrance to the site, demarcating it as their property. Further, the house’s location will allow them to remain in their current house during construction and give them room for an additional house in the future.

Behind the street-facing room is a shop on a lower plinth. The shop faces the road with a small veranda that wraps around the house along the road, giving the project a public-facing social space and source of income for the family.

The lower level of the shop frees up space above for a small room that could be used for guests.

Homestead for Kina and Sujata Das

90

David Solomon

91 Additional space for son and daughter-in-law

Bathroom

Bedroom 1

Bedroom 2 Shop and tea stall

Potential site for sale

Site plan.

First-level plan.

Homestead for Kina and Sujata Das

92

93

David Solomon From top to bottom: North elevation, south elevation, and west elevation.

Roof Thatch <5,000 tk

Bamboo Framing and Slab 133 25-foot pieces 33,250 tk

Bamboo Mat, Bamboo Rope, Jute, Small Bamboo 55 pieces 3,660 tk

Mud Brick Wall 304 cubic feet 36,480 tk

Brick Foundation + 3" Concrete Slab 1650 bricks + 417 sf slab 45,850 tk

Axonometric view with material specification and costs.

Mud Plaster (price included in mud wall construction)

Brick Footings and Columns 1688 bricks 20,256 tk

Homestead for Kina and Sujata Das

94

Corrugated Tin Roof 1050 sf 38,325 tk

95

David Solomon Top: Sectional perspective.

Bottom: Physical model of the house showing its relationship with courtyard and services.

Because of Kina DasÂ&#x2019;s compromised physical condition, the most important factor in this proposal was the convenience of mobility. Kina and Sujata want a house made of brick for durability and social reasons. Their original bedroom faces east which makes it hot in summer, so they want to change the direction of their new house to a south-facing orientation. This design proposes passive energy-saving techniques to offer them a more comfortable environment to live in. In addition, I tried to retain the vernacular scale of buildings and traditional layout of their courtyard.

Due to his disabilityÂ&#x201A; Kina is trying to adapt to the changed circumstances. He cannot shower in the river like others. This house proposes a bathroom in their courtyard close to the tube well. In addition, a shop is added to the house to enable Kina to make a living. Large veranda spaces allow the family to continue spending time outdoors.

Homestead for Kina and Sujata Das

96

Xinyun Li

97 First-floor plan.

Homestead for Kina and Sujata Das

98 Top: Section 1-1.

Bottom: Section 2-2.

99

Xinyun Li Diagram shows design considerations for a comfortable environment allowing ease of movement for physical disability.

Cement sheet

Bamboo

Brick

Mud

Bamboo screen

Brick and mud

Axonometric view with material specification.

Homestead for Kina and Sujata Das

100

Concrete

101

Xinyun Li Top: Physical model of the shop.

Bottom: Physical model of the overall homestead.

102

Homestead for Usha Rani and Family

Usha Rani is a widow from Das Para. She lost her only son Hari Das three years ago. Hari, who was one of the finest bamboo weavers in the community, is survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter, all of whom live with Usha Rani. Not having an adult male member in the family is an economic drawback and makes it challenging for the family’s livelihood. Members of Usha’s family sometimes work for other weavers for very minimal pay just to survive. Usha’s 18-year-old grandson Bikash works in a shop, while 11-year-old Akash goes to school. Usha herself works in Panigram Resort as a part-time cleaner.

Their household includes a 12-year-old mud house for sleeping, and an abandoned 30-year-old mud house in dilapidated condition susceptable to the threat of snakes. The homestead includes a kitchen, animal shed, toilet, and tube well.

Usha’s family was nominated by the community as one of the first recipients of a $2000 Home for their social and economic vulnerability.

103 Illustration of Usha Rani and family's homestead.

The house should offer a dichotomy of programs that foster community and privacy, fluidity and security, prestige and prudence. This project introduces highly flexible living conditions arranged strategically on the site that can evolve with the family. The proposal arranges three modular rooms to produce a fourth inhabitable space. The strategy is both a cost-effective means of providing the family with a larger occupiable footprint as well as a means of introducing a diversified interior environment. The family uses the modular, enclosed rooms for sleeping and the resultant open space as a public storefront and garment shop to generate a new source of income for the family.

The homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ground floor is largely constructed of brick. This material is a source of pride throughout the village, as it signifies permanence. The brick has strategically been placed at eye level, ensuring a sense of engagement and recognition as family and visitors make their way around the compound. To break the uniformity of the rooms and foster a sense of engagement with the courtyard below, a modular bamboo seating and shelving system is integrated into the wall design. Consequently, though the two upper bedrooms are essentially uniform, their orientation and environment appear to be quite different.

Homestead for Usha Rani and Family

104

Christina Hefferan

A

1

2

3

4

5

14'-6"

3'-6"

4'-0"

3'-3"

3'-9"

A

3’-6” 3'-6"

B

B

3’-6” 3'-6" C

21’-11” 21'-11"

105

4’-3” 4'-3" D

3’-6” 3'-6" E C 3’-8” 3'-8" F

3’-6” 3'-6" G

Second-floor plan. The central stairway leads to two modular bedrooms above. Though identical in footprint, the interior spaces are differentiated by the orientation of a bamboo bookshelf and seating system. Both rooms have views of verandas below.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

21 -11" 21'-11" 3'-6"

1

4'-3" -3

2

3'-6" -6" -6

3

3'-8" 3 -8

4

3'-6" 3 -6

5

14'-6" 14''-6 14 -6"" 3'-6" 3 '-6 -6""

4'-0" 4'-0 -0""

Top: Section through bedrooms and public storefront. Bamboo is used as an infill for brick construction on the lower floor and as a multipurpose programmatic element on the upper floor.

3'-3" 3'-3 -3""

3'-9" 3'-9 -9""

Bottom: Section through veranda, displaying the visual and physical connectivity between interior and exterior spaces.

Homestead for Usha Rani and Family

106

3'-6"

107

Christina Hefferan A new home for Usha Rani and family.

4’-2”

3’-8”

4’-2”

4’-6”

4’-6”

108

12’-0” 4’-5”

6’-6”

6’-6” 2’-0”

2’-0”

Top: A modularized, cost-efficient bamboo panel wall system is implemented to construct the second-floor bedrooms. Two distinct wall modules can be infilled with bookshelves to customize each room. Brick pavers are used to enhance the atmosphere of the room.

Bottom: Detailed fragments of bamboo joinery. Partitions can be left bare (left) or fitted with shelving (middle). A detail of section of the bamboo assembly is also shown (right).

Homestead for Usha Rani and Family

8’-10” 4’-5”

109

Christina Hefferan Top: Physical model of the overall site.

Bottom: Physical model of the house.

The design idea for Usha Rani’s home is not only intended to fulfill the family’s aspiration for a new house, but also seeks new ways they can live. With the construction of a new linear veranda and two new bedrooms, two grandsons would have their own rooms, which is essential property for their eventual marriages, as well as space where they can begin to work as bamboo weavers. The addition of the tea house provides Shefali, Usha Rani's daughter-in-law, and Shapna, her granddaughter, a place to work on their own businesses at home instead of providing daily labor in the fields. As Das Para is only a five-minute of walk from the Panigram Resort, Usha’s tea house, the only tea house in the community, would also be a local shop for handcrafted bamboo products that tourists can buy as souvenirs.

Homestead for Usha Rani and Family

110

Miao Zheng

111 First-level plan.

Material specification and budget.

Homestead for Usha Rani and Family

112

113

Miao Zheng Top: View of the house and courtyard.

Bottom: Sections.

Model.

Homestead for Ananda Pal and Parul Pal

114

115

Firstname Lastname

The house is designed for a family of five; the matriarch, Usha Rani; her daughter-in-law, Shefali, and Shefali’s three children, Shopna, Bikash, and Rakesh. The design is intended to maintain the social lifestyle of the women, and be flexible enough to accommodate Bikash and Rakesh’s future families. The house is comprised of four primary areas—the veranda, two bedrooms, and a transitional space that can serve as a third bedroom, a shop, or an exterior-facing veranda, or it can be used to enlarge the two bedrooms on either side. In the future the two bedrooms will be for the sons’ families, and the two older women will sleep in the transition space; they currently sleep on the veranda.

Two brick volumes are pulled apart, and a platform inserted between them—this allows for the creation of a third room without increasing the amount of brick used. This third volume is defined by removable screens; they can be selectively removed to create a shop open to the main road, to enlarge one of the two brick rooms, or be left up to create a third, private sleeping space. One volume is elevated above the other—this provides space for the cattle and goats, freeing the rest of the site for other use.

Homestead for Usha Rani and Family

116

Naomi Levine

117 First-level plan.

Sections.

Homestead for Usha Rani and Family

118

Model.

119

Naomi Levine

$2000 Home

120 Top: Sum, tem est, odi repereiciam re commoditia sus aut ut id evelesImage Top: autestrum ofatthe quatiur model re vent qui doleni reres.

Presentation final review.

121

$2000 Home

122 A grocery shop, as a place for community gathering.

123

124

The Seed Center

The villages of Modonpur and Taherpur rely on traditional farming methods to sustain the majority of the food they consume. The area receives over 1600 millimeters of rainfall per year, with the most rain during the month of July, and a median temperature of almost 26°C. Each village currently operates a community-based, micro-savings program where families contribute any funds to a communal pot, and participating families can take out loans to finance home improvements or other needs.

The project aims to construct a seed center that the villages could potentially invest in, construct, and operate as a means to remain resilient while climate change continues to influence their landscape.

The Seed Center in each community would be sited in village centers on community-owned land. The seating allows for smaller gathering spaces both day and night and could host meetings, educational seminars, and other events. Surrounding the seed center would be a community garden space that the children in the community could design, plant, and manage.

This space allows for children to play an active role in their community and provides an area in the village center with flowering plants that the children like and wish for.

As the main program of the center, the space will operate seed banking practices to benefit the community. Over 37 plants are grown and consumed in the villages, most of which have wild local varieties available.

The plants will allow the villagers to use and cultivate those species that are adapted to

William Baumgardner

local conditions and also stay off government assistance or GMO varieties. The center would operate by women in the local communities.

These women would go around to participating families and take a small portion of seeds to the bank where other families could take to diversify their own crop fields. After each growing season, seed would be given back to keep the levels of seeds constant. The center could operate both short- and long-term seed resiliency practices.

First would be short-term, where seeds are disseminated at each growth cycle to ensure the full potential of crop production and keep the villagersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; income stable. Second would be longterm. Here, seeds would be stored safely and then only given out in times of major disaster or failure. The stored seeds would then replenish lost crops and provide the villages with a diverse plant platette to cultivate.

Lush landscape of the Ganges Delta.

125

William Baumgardner

SEED CENTER PRICING OPTION 1: MUD BRICK

OPTION 2: FIRED BRICK Thatch roof $187.24

Thatch roof $187.24

Bamboo supports (6) $18.21

Bamboo supports (6) $18.21

Mud brick & plaster $449.59

Fired brick wall $626.55

Fired brick insert $23.12

3" Concrete footing $203.95

Mud brick wall $336.93

Fired brick wall $456.10

Fired brick seating $304.59

Fired brick seating $304.59

Fired brick foundation $255.32

Fired brick foundation $255.32

126

3" Concrete footing $203.95

TOTALS

$1778.95 + $97 (labor) = $1875.95

Existing Temple (Hindu)

$2075.08 + $97 (labor) = $2172.08

Village Center

Rotating Agricultural fields

Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis) Seed Bank

Security House Existing Homestead

Existing Homestead

Arterial Road (Unpaved) Existing Homestead

Top: Material specification and budget.

Bottom: “The Seed Center” is situated around the temple to provide new community space.

The Seed Center

Fired brick insert $23.12

26'-8"

1'

127

William Baumgardner

2'-1"

14'-6"

Top: Plan.

Bottom: Section.

SYSTEM OPERATIONS Not to Scale Key Employed Household Temple Existing Agricultural Field Proposed Dedicated Seed Bank Fields Detention Ponds Women Employed Agricultural Plots for Constant Seed Banking Seed Relief

128

$2000 Home

Beneficiary Families

Participating families can withdraw seed to improve or restore crop fields.

A proportionate amount of seed must be returned back to the bank after the season

Local women in the village are employed to manage and oversee the operation of the seed center.

Improved crop yields and local food security efforts provide a stable food supply. In times of surplus, the crops could be sold or stored. Local food security reduces dependence on government assistance and GMOs Improved crop yields and local food security efforts provide a stable food supply. In times of surplus, the crops could be sold or stored. Local food security reduces dependance on government assistance and GMOs

Participating families can withdraw seeds to improve or restore crop fields.

A proportionate amount of seeds must be returned back to the bank after the season.

Local farmers ensure that healthy staple crops are sown and stored each season. This maintains genetic strength of crops over time.

Local farmers ensure that healthy staple crops are sown and stored each season.

This maintains genetic strength of crops over time.

System Operations Not to Scale Key Employed Households Temple Existing Agricultural Fields Proposed Dedicated Seed Bank Fields Detention Ponds Women Employed Agricultural Plots for Constant Seed Banking Seed Relief Beneficiary Families

The system would equip each village with the ability to remain resilient in times of disaster or crop failure.

Seed Center

Seed Center

The seed center becomes a community cornerstone, operating as both a security tool and a social and community program that extends the functionality of the temples and Banyan tree.

Center and Temple Village Village Center and Temple

The seed center becomes a community cornerstone, operating as both a security tool and a social and community program that extends the functionality of the temples and Banyan tree.

Local women in the village are employed to manage and oversee the operation of the seed center.

OPERATIONAL SCENARIOS

REQUIRED LABOR

LENDING PROCESS

Scenario 01: Short-Term Storage

Scenario 02: Long-Term Storage

Management and Inventory

Family Participation

1.

Women collect seeds from wild plants to preserve genetic biodiversity of crops. These plants will be those that the community deem to be the strongest found in the area with largest fruit, most seeds, etc.

1.

Women collect seeds from wild plants to preserve genetic biodiversity of crops. These plants will be those that the community deem to be the strongest found in the area with largest fruit, most seeds, etc.

The seed center can be run by women in the community. These women would be in charge of sourcing and collecting seeds, storing and inventorying seeds in the center, and managing the operations of withdrawl and deposit.

Participating families can contribute seeds to the seed center which allows them to withdraw seeds in times of need. Families are then required to return a portion of the harvest at the end of the growing season to maintain key reserves.

2.

Farmers designate certain fields to cultivate strong staple crops. These staples will ensure a basis of the community diet is consistently farmed and stored in case of emergencies.

2.

Farmers designate certain fields to cultivate strong staple crops. These staples will ensure a basis of the community diet is consistently farmed and stored in case of emergencies.

Staple Crop Cultivation

Landless Community Members

Exsiting farmers would be tasked with growing staple crops for the community like rice and lentils. Using existing land, the farmers can portion off certain areas that are reserved for the communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s benefit.

For those that do not have land available for cultivation, the members can still collect seeds from wild plants and help to maintain overall storage and functionality of the seed center. Agricultural education can be taught at the center by the Ministry and allow these members opportunities to start small plots on their existing homesteads.

3.

Seeds are then dried and prepared for storage. Exsiting practices of air drying on mats can remain in use.

3.

Seeds are then dried and prepared for storage. Exsiting practices of air drying on mats can remain in use.

Community Garden

4.

Seeds are then stored in the seed center in air tight containers to prevent moisture and insects from getting to the seeds. The quantities are then weighed and inventoried to keep track of the seed reserves.

4.

Seeds are then stored in the seed center in air tight containers to prevent moisture and insects from getting to the seeds. The quantities are then weighed and inventoried to keep track of the seed reserves.

5.

Seeds are then distributed to farmers at the beginning of each growing season. These seeds will then increase the overall strength of crops grown in the community and ensure community-wide food security and economic viability.

5.

In times of flooding, heat wave and drought, or crop failure, seeds can be redistributed to the community to restart the agricultural production in the area. Having strong, native seeds will help to ensure the viability and resiliency of production after disasters.

6.

Families and the community at large benefits from increased crop yields. With this surplus, the families can enjoy an increase in food supply and an increase in amount of crops sold, in turn bringing back a higher annual income.

6.

The community is then stabilized with the addition of strong seeds. Returning a portion of the harvest back to the seed center will help to stabilize the community over the course of many years, ensuring the longevity of the community at large.

129

Firstname Lastname

With the surrounding community garden around the seed center, the children in the community can come together and design and maintain a community garden complete with flowers and other plants the community enjoys. Vines and climbers can be plante around the center as well, cooling and covering the seed center in a green screen.

130 Final review at the Harvard GSD, December 2017.

131

132

The Next Phase

In February 2018, two exhibitions showing the achievements of the studio were organized in Taherpur and Modonpur. The villagers were excited to see the outcome of their interactions with the students in drawings and images.

Mahmuda Alam and Argha Saha from MTA and POCAA held meetings with the clients to discuss the proposals prepared by the students.

The five clients selected five projects according to their preference. They focused on functionality according to their individual trades, multiple and flexible use of space, attention to climatic conditions, and choice of material for durability and maintenance.

Three of the five projects are now being developed by the students for construction in January 2019. Two other projects have been deferred due to personal reasons of the clients; these houses have been rescheduled for construction in October 2019.

133 The villagers of Taherpur and Modonpur are set up the exhibition of studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; projects and provide feedback on the design proposals.

134

Contributors

Timmy Aziz Timmy Aziz studied physics at Trinity College, Oxford University, and architecture at both the Architectural Association in London, and the Cooper Union in New York City, where he received his professional degree. He is a New York State–registered architect whose designs have included products, furniture, new buildings, and renovations. He has practiced in the United States, particularly in New York City, as well as in Europe and Asia. His work has been published in Domus, ArchTech, Interiors, I’m Home Design, and New Faces of AIANY. Aziz has taught at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Hampshire College, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and also taught as visiting professor at design schools in Xiamen, China and Dhaka, Bangladesh. He has been at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) since 2006. While chair of the department he designed and implemented the new curriculum of the current architectural design program which was designed around rigorous training in architecture, coupled with strong relationships with the many departments of art and design at MICA. Timmy currently teaches in the departments of foundation, architectural design, and humanistic studies.

Khondaker Hasibul Kabir Khondaker Hasibul Kabir is a Bangladeshi landscape architect and sustainability advocate who works with Bangladeshi development agencies such as BRAC and Grameen in rural and sustainable architecture. He first proposed “The Platform of Hope” (Ashar Macha) in 2007 when he opted to live in a slum and proceeded to design a community space. It was showcased in the Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum, in New York City. He has also been working on disaster-resilient housing projects in Bangladesh and Haiti as well as in participatory action research projects for developing building-for-safety options in different flood-prone rural areas of Bangladesh. He holds a Master of Architecture in Landscape from the University of Sheffield.

He holds a Master of Architecture in Landscape from the University of Sheffield. His research and practice focus on ecological landscapes and the aesthetics/ethics of housing and development. His research and practice focus on ecological landscapes and the aesthetics/ethics of housing and development.

Kabir is an active member of Community Architects Network (CAN). He guided the "$2000 Home" studio during their site visits in Jessore and shared his insights and experiences of working in rural and semirural settings. He also hosted the studio on project visits in Jhenaidah, where his office successfully completed two major community projects of $1200 Homes.

Tabassum won the Jameel Prize 5 in 2018. She is also a recipient of a 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the Bait ur Rouf Mosque in Dhaka. Her project the Pavilion Apartment was shortlisted for an Aga Khan Award in 2004. Tabassum received the AYA Award from India in 2004 for the project NEK10, located in Dhaka. She is a recipient of the 2005 Ananya Shirshwa Dash Award, which recognizes women of Bangladesh with exceptional achievements.

135

Marina Tabassum Marina Tabassum is the principal of Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), a practice established in 2005 based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

MTA began its journey in the quest of establishing a language of architecture that is contemporary to the world yet rooted to its place. The practice consciously maintains an optimum size and undertakes a limited number of carefully chosen projects per year. The projects done and at hand are varied, ranging from community center, public school, museum and eco resort.

Tabassum graduated from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 1995. The same year, she founded URBANA, where she was a partner for 10 years. The most important project of this partnership is the Independence Monument of Bangladesh and the Museum of Independence, designed in 1997 and completed in 2013.

She is the academic director of the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements. She taught design studio at the Harvard GSD; she also taught advanced design studio as visiting professor at the University of Texas in 2015, and at BRAC University in Bangladesh from 2005 to 2010.

Tabassum is a member of the Steering Committee of Aga Khan Awards for Architecture. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Prokritee, a guaranteed fair-trade organization that has empowered thousands of women artisans of Bangladesh through the export of handcrafted objects.

Colophon

$2000 Home: Cocreating in the Bengal Delta Instructor Marina Tabassum Report Design & Editor Mahmuda Alam A Harvard University Graduate School of Design Publication Dean and Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Design Mohsen Mostafavi Assistant Dean and Director for Communications and Public Programs Ken Stewart Editor in Chief Jennifer Sigler Associate Editor Marielle Suba Production Manager Meghan Sandberg Series design by Laura Grey and Zak Jensen ISBN 978-1-934510-72-8 Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Acknowledgments The studio was supported by the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture through its appointment of Marina Tabassum as the Fall 2017 Aga Khan Design Critic.

The studio trip to Bangladesh was made possible by the generous contribution of the Bengal Institute for Architecture Landscapes and Settlements. A very special thanks to Chairman Abul Khair for his continued support and encouragement to pursue socially responsible community projects in rural Bangladesh.

The Bishal Foundation and Panigram Resort hosted the students in Jessore, and we are grateful for their warm hospitality. Thanks to POCAA and the group of volunteers who helped the students converse with the clients.

Last but not the least, thank you to the communities of Taherpur and Modonpur, who opened their houses to the students with warm welcome, sharing their lives, living, dreams, and aspirations to help the students with the process of design.

Image Credits Cover: Argha Saha Page 8–9: NASA Observetory Page 13: Jennifer Grosso Page 30, 31(top): William Baumgardner Page 26, 28, 29, 30 (top), 33: Mashudur Rahman Fahim Page 31(top): Jingyi Bi Page 28 (bottom): Aimilios Davlantis Lo Page 37, 122, 123: Kazi Anisul Haque Borun Page 68, 69, 133: Suhailey Farzana Faria Page 41, 55, 75, 89, 103: Illustration by Shamim Ahmed The editor has attempted to acknowledge all sources of images used and apologize for any errors or omissions.

Harvard University Graduate School of Design 48 Quincy Street Cambridge, MA 02138 publications@gsd.harvard.edu gsd.harvard.edu

Studio Report Fall 2017

Harvard GSD Department of Architecture

Students William Baumgardner, Jingyi Bi, Christina Hefferan, Naomi Levine, Xinyun Li, Aimilios Davlantis Lo, Changhao Lyu, Michael Matthews, David Solomon, Jungchan Yee, Alex Yuen, Miao Zheng, Xin Zheng

ISBN 978-1-934510-72- 8

9 781934 510728