Faculty of Fine Arts

Category: Academic Course: Final year project Timeline: 2015 Location: Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh Course Teacher: Haroon Ur Rashid Project Architect: Md Mostasim Billah As undergrad thesis project the main objective was to design the project in climate responsive way. The location is ecologically significant and also has a well-balanced ecosystem. To preserve the ecological value, while designing the project, the aim was to do minimum interference. Creating an open learning environment within nature is essential for an art institution, along with wall-bounded classrooms. Faculty of Fine Arts is a part of Jahangir Nagar University, and the site as well. Muzharul Islam designed the original masterplan, but that has not been followed in most cases. The site is somewhat contoured and surrounded by water bodies at the south, east, and west. The site’s edges have green vegetation and plantation, and the goal was to incorporate the existing trees instead of cutting them. The site was east-west elongated, which creates a design challenge for a tropical climate like Bangladesh. To cut the glare of direct sunlight and reduce heat gain, the buildings’ masses have been designed north-south orientated as lighting is a vital element for art learning classrooms. All the masses are joined with a connecting corridor, which connects all masses and separates the functions. Also, to minimize the sunlight glare, roofs are extended on both sides of classrooms; this also works as a circulation corridor and in time of need that can be used as extended classrooms. While zoning the programs, public functions are kept in front, and private functions like classrooms were taken to the back. The department that requires services from outside that were also kept close to the roadside. The ground floor wall had longer sides on the east-west side that reduces heat gain. Full height bi-fold windows were incorporated so that when the windows are open, the ground floors are visually open and can be seen from one end to another end. The design tried to achieve a climatically solved must needed functions blended with the exiting ecology of that site.