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Bilal9

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Urban landscape thread has been merged with economy & development thread.-Mod

Starting this thread to post recent architectural developments in developing Bangladesh. This is to give non-Bangladesh folks some idea of what the cities look like, which will be mainly the capital city Dhaka and its environs. Mainly images - but some videos will also be posted.


 

Bilal9

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This thread was created to showcase various Multi-Billion Dollar projects being undertaken in the country at present, such as Bridges, Economic Zones. Cities and Urban Development will be showcased in the Urban Cityscapes thread under BD Internal Affairs section.

To start off the thread, we kick off with a drone footage of the Padma Bridge, which is a 6/7km bridge being built over one of the largest rivers (of the same name) in Bangladesh. Although Bangladesh is criss-crossed by over 300 rivers, this is one of the major ones and is comparable to rivers like the Amazon, the Mississippi and the Yangtze.

 

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Rupayan City is an upscale gated community developed in the Northern Dhaka suburb of Uttara. Development is not yet 100% complete.

 

Bilal9

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Saithan

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That’s a very long bridge, hopefully there will be railway too right ?

How is it going to be financed, by this I mean bankloan, payback time, operational costs etc.
 

Bilal9

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That’s a very long bridge, hopefully there will be railway too right ?

How is it going to be financed, by this I mean bankloan, payback time, operational costs etc.

Bridge will have vehicles passing two way on upper deck slab, and one railway single broad gauge track on the bottom. Govt. is financing the bridge from its own fund.

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Bilal9

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Planned development of entire self-contained sections of suburbia and exurbia around Dhaka, Bangladesh is the trend for the near future (news below is a few months old). We should ensure however that local architects (who are recognized internationally) win part of the contracts at least.

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Singapore’s Raffles Infrastructure wins bid for $800 mil. green, smart city project in Bangladesh

Day View of Trust Green City (Image courtesy of Raffles Infrastructure)

Day View of Trust Green City (Image courtesy of Raffles Infrastructure)

SINGAPORE, NNA – Singapore developer Raffles Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. has won a bid for an $800 million green, smart city project in Bangladesh in its broader efforts to seek business expansion overseas.

The company said in a statement Friday it signed a memorandum of understanding on the preliminary framework of the township development project to the west of Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport with the Army Welfare Trust.

The Singapore-mainboard listed firm will undertake the design, financing, construction, marketing, operation and maintenance of the Trust Green City, which involves a 200,000 square-meter land development with more than 5,000 housing units built, the statement said.

The green city, which will be developed in phases over 10 years, is expected to alleviate a severe housing shortage in the South Asian country, according to the statement.

“Upon completion of this maiden project in Bangladesh, we aim to establish a stronger presence in the region where we are actively exploring more business opportunities,” CEO Eric Choo said in the statement.

The Singapore firm, which was established in 2007 and is primarily engaged in infrastructure investment in Asia, eyes demand for power, energy, transport, logistics and port infrastructure development in Bangladesh.

It has undertaken one railway project, with two others in the pipeline in China, in addition to bidding for one each in Bangladesh and Thailand, both in partnership with China Railway International Corp. and local governments, according to the company.




Singapore’s Raffles Infrastructure wins bid for $800 mil. green, smart city project in Bangladesh
SINGAPORE, NNA – Singapore developer Raffles Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. has won a bid for an $80...
english.nna.jp
english.nna.jp


www.businesstimes.com.sg

Raffles Infra clinches Bangladesh township project valued at about US$800m
RAFFLES Infrastructure Holdings has clinched the bid for a township development project in Bangladesh with a project value estimated at US$800 million. Read more at The Business Times.
www.businesstimes.com.sg
 

Bilal9

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Commercial development in a former industrial zone in Dhaka. 'Forum' by Shanta Holdings.

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Bilal9

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Another commercial project typical of the latter half of the 2010's, Shanta 'Skymark'.

'Skymark' is a state-of-the-art commercial landmark on Gulshan Avenue, one of the five or six commercial hubs in Dhaka (and probably the most upscale). This is the first building in the country to have a fully unitized facade system. The ultra modern design gives businesses the edge of creating a lasting impression on tenants and visitors.

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Bilal9

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Another (older) commercial property by Shanta 'The Glass House'. As can be surmised so far - this commercial and residential developer in Bangladesh specializes in small exclusive, prestige properties and not large projects. I posted pictures because this is our current showcase of architecture in the country for outsiders (as small and as secluded as we are).

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Striking and Refined- Northern Lights by Shanta Holdings – Architect Column


Tasmiah Chowdhury

June, 2020

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Situated at a calm and serene block of North Gulshan, the residential building Northern Lights celebrates the vogue of artsy living; where art incites euphoria and inspiration. The project is a development by Shanta Holdings Ltd, and is designed by architect Nahas Ahmed Khalil and his studio team ARC Architectural Consultants.
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The project is a tasteful projection of both earthy aesthetics and modernity. Built on a plot of approximately 30 kathas, the apartment strives amid lush greenery. When designing this luxurious residential building, architect Khalil and Shanta also sought to create a sustainable development that would contribute towards a more compact city. With this in mind, the design team reflects and sets strategies of compactness and diversification, all the while highlighting local techniques. By considering the context, the design provides a multi-program that responds sensitively using artisan materials, sustainable urban scales and dynamic ways of living. As seen in most of Khalil’s works, this project is also primarily constructed in concrete, and also showcases shades of brick and wood throughout its interiors and exteriors. The architect decides to render most of his work with brick and fair face concrete, primarily because the materials are sustainable, environment-friendly and low maintenance. Moreover, they also inherit local and traditional significance.

The thirteen-storied building delivers twenty-two apartment units. Designed from the inside out, each apartment is functionally planned to make the most of the views while maximizing user comfort. Straight and pure lines, simple forms, wide opening views and huge volumes with lots of natural light, minimize the distance between the indoor and outdoor. While the muted painted walls and light floors finish off the interior, reflect the daylight all over the spaces and extinguish the compactness while making a tranquil, spacious dwelling. Without clear boundaries, the integration of the public and private areas reveals a sequence of spaces combining expansiveness and symbiosis. The interior is clear of any unnecessary obstructions, creating another dimension while helping to achieve a calm repose with minimalistic furniture and becoming fluid, complemented with high quality finishing materials and colorful paintings that enrich its liveliness. The building tells a narrative about its owners and their lifestyles. The spaces for the family and close friends are warm and interactive and the connection with nature is constant.

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The residential complex also includes a selection of soothing common spaces and modern lifestyle amenities for the residents, a feature of all Shanta projects. A sophisticated reception lobby, lush landscaping and attractive water features, an elegantly furnished community lounge, a fitness centre, a swimming pool, a covered outdoor recreational area and a rooftop garden have been designed for residents to socialize effortlessly, explore their creativity and nurture well being. The grandeur of the double-height ground floor area as well is sure to leave anyone spellbound upon entry. The roof is designed as a terrace for multipurpose activities, it’s an ideal platform to spend the evening under the mutable sky providing an obstruction-free view to the eyes and mind.
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Architect Khalil’s projection is simple, but simultaneously, one that makes a statement. His sensitive and restrained use of building materials tells richly complex architectural stories that elude simple classifications. “In search of an honest and careful architecture, we paid special attention to details, to the chosen materiality and the actors in the project processes. Our priority was to develop every constructive detail achieving optimal solutions that exceed the possibilities of the strictly conventional. The finished construction, as a result, is the witness and reflection of a careful process”, the firm adds.
 

Bilal9

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So far I have described luxury projects. However due to acute housing demand in Dhaka, the govt. recently built flats for lower and lower middle income folks (esp. govt. employees) in Dhaka on govt. financed allocation basis. There are 6636 3 bedroom flats here in a planned community akin to HDB flats in Singapore. These will start being populated soon.

 

Bilal9

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Commercial Production of Payra 1320mw Thermal Power Plant begins

3600 MW LNG Power Project is being constructed next to Payra Thermal Power Plant.

 
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Bilal9

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Designed with Intricacy – South Breeze Square

Tasmiah Chowdhury
July, 2019

Architectural forms are influenced by the climate of the region. Architecture’s subjugation to nature provides diversity and identity and also improves the human experience by keeping a man in close relationship with the elements. The South Breeze Square office building, set in Gulshan Avenue, exhibits a perfect example of how climate plays a very important role in architectural and building forms. The core philosophy of the prominent Architect Nahas Ahmed Khalil along with his team; Ar. Farzad Ehsan and Ar. Rehman Taki Ferdous, was to harmonize the building form and fabric with the site and climate; thereby reducing ecological impacts and achieving energy efficiency whilst providing human health and comfort, and creating opportunities for social interaction and a productive working environment.
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From Ar. Nahas Khalil design scheme; the form of the building was approached from two primary concerns. The building faces west. The first concern, therefore, deals with the difficult problem of overcoming the heat gained through glazing, without the use of special glazing or expensive shading elements. The building has three neighbors with only the west-view free. The option of blocking the only view overlooking the Gulshan Avenue, with solid surfaces was not desired.
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“It took the design team multiple trials of basic layouts in the schematic design phase to bring out the desired solution. Fortunately, the site sits on a slight curve of the Gulshan Avenue. This presented us with the scope of opening up the north-west from inside. By staggering the west face of the building it became possible to create a more-or-less solid west surface on the extending block. By tilting the extending block a bit, a long view to the North-east, onto the Gulshan Avenue could also be achieved”, explains Ar. Nahas Khalil while describing the project.

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To not miss the west opening onto the wide avenue, unique design façade is implemented; where the west solid wall is replaced with concrete strips. The strips twist to create openings and twist back return to the closed position in a random harmonious manner.
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The concept of a “Brise-Soliel” is thus transformed exploiting the plasticity of concrete to create enough openings inside this extended block to expose the Avenue without letting in the sunlight at any time of the day in any season. The setback, northern main block of the building, is shaded from the low western sun by the extended block with the full glazing left intact, for the daylight to fill in the inside.
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A variety of flexible workspaces befitting different work styles and tasks has been a major concern of the office design. Cantilevered planter-balconies provide additional shading to the west façade and help create a desired to escape from the daily stress of work.
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Collaborating with South Breeze Housing Limited, the second concern of the design team was getting a proper daylight distribution inside. In Bangladesh, there is an abundance of daylight, with the opportunity of an intrinsic connection with the outdoors. But, a common fallout of greater daylight though, is more glare on computer screens. Therefore, a large focus of the project dealt with maximizing daylight, yet minimizing glare.
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The designer team devised a glazing system; where the lower mid-section of the glazing system, closer to the computer, are allowed to be screened off by individual users, while the upper and lower segments of the glazing system are free to allow unrestricted daylight. In order to enhance the daylight, the lower-midsection, between the heights of a standard desk to about the height of a person, is pushed out. An inner extension acts as a light-tray to bounce sunlight off the top surface deeper into the office spaces.

Strategic design decisions were taken to utilize spaces. Some additional spaces that could not be used above ground, due to the height restrictions, had been placed in a partial semi-basement set into a depressed landscaped area, creating a private open-to-sky garden. The floor above on the ground floor, also having direct access from the outside; may connect internally to form a duplex office space. The first floor, similarly, having direct access from the outside using a stair from the ground floor, can also double up to form a duplex with the second floor. This results in four floors of attractive, independent feeling office spaces while reducing traffic loads for the rest of the twelve office floors.

The toilet stacks have been extracted from the traditional service core, and strategically placed inside the office space, thereby, reducing circulation. The linear small lobby; opened up to a small garden on the south-east; created a lunchtime outdoor reprieve from the office chores.
A portion of the west of the site has been given over for the enjoyment of the pedestrians using the Avenue. A green island with the flowing sounds of water stops the building intruding in on this no-mans-land to be enjoyed by both the city and the building in almost equal degrees.
 

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