Bangladeshi project wins Aga Khan Award

A Bangladeshi architectural project was chosen as one of the winners of 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture, announced yesterday in Kazan, Russia.

The winners will share $1 million between them, said a press release from Aga Khan Development Network.

Arcadia Education Project, designed by Saif Ul Haque, is located in South Kanarchor on the outskirts of Dhaka. It is a modular structure -- incorporating space for a preschool, a hostel, a nursery and a vocational training centre -- that takes a novel approach to a riverine site that is often flooded for five months every year.

Rather than disrupting the ecosystem to create a mound for building, the architect devised the solution of an amphibious structure that could sit on the ground or float on the water, depending on seasonal conditions.

The other winning projects are -- Revitalisation of Muharraq from Bahrain; Palestinian Museum; Public Spaces Development Programme from the Republic of Tatarstan in Russian Federation; Alioune Diop University Teaching and Research Unit from Senegal, and Wasit Wetland Centre from the UAE.

The Aga Khan Award was established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 1977, said the press release. During the nomination process, more than 9,000 building projects have been documented.

Five projects located in Bangladesh have received the award in previous years.