Ukhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA

Ukhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - Interior Photography, WindowsUkhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - Exterior PhotographyUkhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - Exterior PhotographyUkhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - Exterior PhotographyUkhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - More Images+ 13

কক্সবাজার, Bangladesh
  • Design And Supervision: URBANA, Kashef Chowdhury
  • Architect: Kashef Chowdhury
  • Design Team: Saif M Ahsan, Ahsan Habib, Iffat Mahmud Khan
  • Client: Friendship
  • Engineering Advisor: Sefaul Alam
  • Supervising Engineer: Amrul Hasan
  • Site Engineer: Uhlanong Marma
  • Cost: USD 11,000
  • City: কক্সবাজার
  • Country: Bangladesh
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Ukhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - Exterior Photography
© Kashef Chowdhury

Text description provided by the architects. This prototype school was designed for construction within the Rohingya refugee camps, arguably the largest refugee camp in the world, in the southernmost district of Bangladesh close to the border with Myanmar. In view of government-imposed restrictions on the use of ‘permanent’ building materials like cement, brick, steel etc, the architect opted for the single most available bio-degradable material in the country: Bamboo.

Ukhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - Exterior Photography
© Kashef Chowdhury
Ukhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - Image 17 of 18
Ground Floor Plan
Ukhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - Exterior Photography
© Kashef Chowdhury

Thus the structure is all bamboo - wall, stair, floors and roof - and is built using traditional techniques employing ropes and strings rather than nails and clamps. The roof is formed of local thatch deployed over the bamboo structure, impenetrable against high rainfall. The project was designed and detailed in three days, and constructed in a month.

Ukhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - Exterior Photography
© Kashef Chowdhury

Craftsmen with expertise in traditional wooden boat making were employed to help with time-tested methods of tying and fixing bamboo without nails. Members of the Friendship Culture and Preservation team, well conversant with such techniques, worked side by side with members of the refugee community, supervised by engineers and architects traveling constantly from the architect’s office in Dhaka.

Ukhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - Interior Photography, Windows
© Kashef Chowdhury

Because of the scarcity of free spaces available within the high density camp areas, the footprint of the structure had to be kept to a minimum. But it opens up inside by way of separation of the inner structure and the ‘skin’ of the outer peripheral screen. The latter serves as a filter against external noise, rain and solar heat gain. This breathing screen lets in filtered light and helps to keep a naturally comfortable environment indoors while offering a veritable connection to the outside. The articulation of the two classrooms connected by a curving stair helps to provide exciting playful spaces for small children. The day-school can function fully without power, helped by the light pouring into the threshold space open to the sky.

Ukhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - Exterior Photography
© Kashef Chowdhury
Ukhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - Image 18 of 18
Side Elevation
Ukhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - Exterior Photography
© Kashef Chowdhury

The plight of the Rohingya is the making of one of the saddest stories in recent human history. Their children are victims of circumstance, destined now to grow up in a refugee camp against a yet unknown future. In the golden light filtering through the familiar bamboo, in the playful, bright and generous spaces inside, the design desires to achieve just one thing: To lift the human spirit in however subtle a manner, for those however young in age.

Ukhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA - Exterior Photography
© Kashef Chowdhury

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Project location

Address:Cox's Bazar - Teknaf Hwy, কক্সবাজার, Bangladesh

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "Ukhia Schools / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA" 30 Sep 2020. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/948699/ukhia-schools-kashef-chowdhury-urbana> ISSN 0719-8884

© Kashef Chowdhury

孟加拉竹制学校,3天设计30天建成 / Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA

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