We are delighted to share that VITTI Sthapati Brindo Ltd. has been honored with two distinguished awards in recognition of our commitment to architectural innovation and inclusive design. Our Boral Biddya Niketon project in Chatmohor, Pabna, has received both the Merit Award for Architecture and the Inclusive Design Excellence Award (IDEA) for 2024.
The Inclusive Design Excellence Award (IDEA) celebrates projects that go beyond standard accessibility, embodying the spirit of universally inclusive design. This award specifically acknowledges projects with thoughtful features for the support neurodiverse individuals, ensuring equitable access for all community members
Merit Award for Architecture—celebrating excellence in architectural vision, creativity, and functionality. .
It all started with a movement by local peasants and fishermen against structures like embankments, sluice gates, and cross dams being put in place by humans, destroying the very ‘beel’ area, once famous for fish in wetlands and crops of naturally alluvial soil. Nature, till then, was being replenished every year by the riverine system until ‘the cordon approach’ of river control destroyed the whole. As a result, a persistent struggle to balance nature and humanity ended up winning an ongoing restoration action plan by the government for the area.
This endeavor evoked a deep sense of urge to establish a center of knowledge for future generations to evolve as nature responsive & responsible entities.
As architect activists, we became advocates for nature-based solutions against the devastating consequences of manmade intervention in nature and the riverine system. We ended up formulating an idea of a 'school'– a learning center— that would celebrate nature and its settings.
Two single storied side blocks were built with reference to the existing site boundary lines, evoking the idea to create an interplay between the boundary & inner classroom space to accommodate sun light, rainwater, plants as wall creepers, etc. in between. Operable drop-down screens of bamboo sticks were used in between the wide openings of the rooms in order to protect students from gushing rain, yet ensuring ample natural light & cross ventilation through perforated brick walls on the other side instead of windows, helping to combat the usual claustrophobic effects of confined classroom spaces.
The 25-meter-long double stacked block along its two wings of single-story blocks creates the ‘Uthan’ - courtyard of the mango orchard at the south a central void with covered space underneath for the kids to play & study. The elevated layer holding a series of classrooms envisioned not to be confined but of space tends to blend into the very ‘Uthan’ by opening up the south side of each room. A free-form library of rammed earthen ‘mud form’ at the lower level brings back the virtue of nature-based solutions, creating playful but comfortable flowing space, providing natural protection against heat and warm weather. The use of handmade floor tiles to mild steel frame structure in combination of wooden roof frame cladded with finished roof tiles are placed as required to create a natural flowing space, which also guarantees inclusion and universal accessibility by means of ramps and stairs all the way.
The structure is a testament of playful learning advocating synergy with nature at a time when senseless, artificial efforts are being paraded to destroy humanity beyond now and forever.
