ULTRADENSE URBANISM WORKSHOP: reporting from Karail, Dhaka, Bangladesh
The following 3-day workshop was planned for the students to work in groups focusing on four critical themes. The coordinators of the workshop chose Karail as their ground for research based on the fact that this area offers one of the densest living conditions in an urban context.
Out of the four themes, “The Body in the Space” looked at changes within infrastructural systems in relation to human comfort in outdoor spaces. It presented methods of improving outdoor living conditions and green roofing through proposals such as shading devices made from discarded sarees and bamboo. The theme of “The Social and the Political” generated innovative discussions around emergency water tanks to be hidden in the minaret of a mosque, allowing water storage for fire fighting. The third group, zeroing in on “Movement in the City,” developed models in which boating facility and aquaculture became part of a broader issue of urban mobility. The fourth group, “Architecture in the Fabric,” proposed stilted housing, freeing up the ground as community spaces.
The event has been supported by Binyash Limited and the Angan Lecture Series, Department of Architecture, BRAC University.
photo credit: participating students of architecture department, BRAC University
