Bamboo Treatment

Treating bamboo can increase material service life radically, to the extent that there is no distinguishable life limit when bamboo is well treated and used in a well-protected manner.During the treatment process, material is soaked in a mixture of Borax and Boric acid that are dissolved in water. Borates are extremely fine, dissolving easily and dissipating throughout the cellular structure of the poles. The chemical solution, which is toxic to bamboo but is relatively harmless to humans. is then filtered and reused to ensure an efficient. The rest of the chemical then moved to the nearest town to ensure environment safety.

All the bamboo used in the project was picked from nearest bamboo farm that comforted required standards -including bamboo species, size, age and general condition. Approved specimens were then cut into a general size of 25’-30’ and transported to the project site.

After recieving at site, bamboo’s with required quality were being sorted and transfered to the cleaning station. The outer portion of the nodes and branches were removed using sharp machete with the blades flat against the bamboo, away from the body.

After cleaning each one to expose its vascular tissue, bamboos were moved to the final stage prior to soaking -drilling. Labors, using drills fitted with custom drill bits made of an 13’ section od rebar with a sharp age crafted on the tip, applies steady pressure to drill a hole through teh full length.

A treatment tank was made on the groung by digging mud. The tank was 40’ long, 5’ deep and 8’ wide. The size of the tank allow approximately 150 pcs of bamboo at a time. A temporary shade was built with bamboo & thatch to protect it from sun and rain

Solution, a mixture of Borax ,Boric acid and water with appropriate proportion in presence of experts were made into the tank and then bamboo bundles, 15-20 peice bound by rope were transfered to the tank with properly weight down. Each cycle of soaking was done for 7-10 days before trafering them to prior drying.

Bamboo bundles, checked by experts were then tranfered to the nearest open ground for drying. Soaked bamboo’s were kept vertically with support to dry in sun so that the extra chemicals can easilty drained out and the dischared chemicals can be used efficiently.

School is a building which has four walls with tomorrow inside.

- Lon Watters

Orphan School 06

Bidyanondo Sampriti Orphanage School

Volantary I Consultancy service I 2019-20

Team : Ar. Sayon Sur, Ar. Kanak Saha, Ar. A. K. M. Saleh Ahmed Anik

Responsibility: Site survey, formulation of design and preparation of drawing, site supervision, etc

Site : Baidyapara, Ramu, Cox’s Bazar

Site Area : 0.81 Acres

Bidyanondo Foundation, one of the renowned charity organizations working in Bangladesh, have been consistent in their efforts to ensure a better life for marginalized people suffering from economic and social constraints. One of the key initiatives they have taken is to build safe houses and orphanages for children from poor families or living in difficult situations. As an organization, Bidyanondo foundation always concentrated on the efficient use of resources they have for the maximum benefit of the people who depend on them.

The first time we met the Bidyanondo authority, they immediately asked for a beautiful stand-alone structure for the school, but they also needed it to be maximum cost-efficient and to be built with the local materials they have on the site. We took this as an exciting opportunity to get out of our regular urban architectural norms and create something that is critically regional in form and concept. The culture and simplicity of indigenous people, their use of material and structural techniques, and undoubtedly their way of living with nature inspired us to imagine the school not just as an isolated built form, rather as a continuous part of the landscape that surrounded the site.

The site chosen for the project is surrounded by farmlands. To the south is the village road connecting to the Bazar (Marketplace) and the localities. The flat landscapes also transform into small hillocks on the south, where there are indigenous settlements.

The regional architecture of the southern part of Bangladesh and in the hill tracts are identical in the use of a series of open, semi-open and interior closed spaces; particularly for the hot-humid climatic features. The raised platform is a major architectural element in hill tracts, which helps here to let flow the rainwater on the ground coming down from the hills and to protect the timber.

Master Plan

The ponds surrounding the built form is introduced to create a buffer from sorrounding are well protected and used for fish and water lily farming, adding to the sustainability and versatility of the school. The school here, not only imagined as a typical one, consists of classrooms and fields. But as a utopian idea where children learn not only from books, but also from the nature surrounding it and practical knowledge like fishing or farming inside the school territory. Hence, openness and connection to the agricultural landscape was a key consideration. The foyer has a metaphorical hearth at the center which is meant to grow a tree inside the built form, to celebrate the local spirit of living close to nature.