Learning from the Landscapes: Seeing, Journeying, and Recording | Fall 2026

Tue 22 Sep - Sun 4 Oct' 26

Rather than treating the landscape as a problem to be fixed, this workshop — Ashwin Kormoshala — asks a simpler, deeper question: what and where are our landscapes? Set in the Ashwin season and moving through the rural, riverine delta, it invites participants not to solve, but to see, to journey, to record, and to discover.

Over two weeks — four evening sessions at the Bengal Institute framing a seven-day field journey — participants travel through natural farms, food forests, wetlands, and riverside settlements, reading every place through four lenses: krishi (agriculture), bon (forest), joloj (water and wetland), and bosoti (settlement). Throughout, each participant keeps a journal — a personal Odyssey of the journey — drawing, writing, and building collages from whatever the land offers. The journey returns to Dhaka to close with an exhibition of the work at the Bengal Institute.

Faculty: Khondaker Hasibul Kabir, with Kazi Khaleed Ashraf

Goals and Objectives

This is a nature-oriented landscape workshop built around a single idea: co-creation with nature and people. It deliberately stays with what is happening and where — not how or why. There are no solutions or interventions to propose here; the work is to be present, to observe closely, and to record honestly.

Reading the whole landscape through four themes — krishi, bon, joloj, and bosoti — keeps attention from scattering. Participants learn soil-making and natural cultivation; the life of a young, fast-growing forest; the standing water of wetlands and the tidal rhythm of rivers; and the settlements that grow with the land. Alongside this runs an ethnobotanical thread: each participant chooses four “silent friends” — a tree, a climber, a shrub, and a herb — to walk with and learn from across the journey.

By the end of the workshop, participants will have developed a richer way of seeing the living landscapes of the delta, a personal body of drawings and writing, and a broader appreciation of the landscape as something we co-create rather than command.

Important Information

1. Duration
September 22 – October 4, 2026.
Four classroom sessions along with a seven-day fieldwork

2. Venue
Classroom sessions: Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements, Dhaka
Fieldwork(s): Manikganj, Jhenaidah, Jashore, and Gazipur

3. Tentative Schedule
Session 1 — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 (Classroom), 6:00–8:30 pm
Session 2 — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 (Classroom), 6:00–8:30 pm
Field Work — 24–30 Sep 2026 (Manikganj, Jhenaidah, Jashore, Gazipur)
Session 3 — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 (Classroom), 6:00–8:30 pm
Session 4 — Sun, 4 Oct 2026 (Classroom), 6:00–8:30 pm

4. Workshop Fee
This is a field-intensive program involving substantial logistical and on-ground coordination — travel, stays, meals, and site arrangements across several districts. The fee is all-inclusive, covering registration, accommodation, food, transport, and basic amenities, and is tentatively around BDT 38,000. Please note that this amount is highly subsidized, and the exact amount will be confirmed with the decision emails on or after August 25, 2026. Please be prepared to accommodate an amount close to this before applying.

Payment procedure
Selected participants must complete their payment by September 5, 2026.
Payment Link (Don’t pay until instructed via email): bengal.portwallet.com/subscription/

5. Important Dates
Application Deadline: August 25, 2026
Selection Announcement: by August 27, 2026
Payment: after receiving the selection email (on or after August 25, 2026)

6. Who Can Apply
Graduates and professionals from architecture, landscape, planning, design, the arts, and related disciplines
Undergraduate students of architecture or related disciplines (the student category applies to undergraduate level only; a valid student ID is required)
Anyone passionate about landscape, ecology, and the built and natural environment

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How to Apply

To apply for the workshop, please fill out the application form:

https://forms.gle/7cMZD9bJ7Ydt9A6H7

For any queries, please contact:
[email protected]

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A Special Field Workshop — Please Read Before Applying

Because this workshop centers on fieldwork and travel outside Dhaka, with overnight and shared stays, every applicant should understand the following before applying:

(1) Financial commitment. The all-inclusive fee must be deposited in full after you receive your selection email. Please note that the amount is highly subsidized and our team is actively working on the most convenient way to accommodate the living, travel and all logistical issues to ensure the safest and the most comfortable experience for all participants, considering the limited resources. Please be certain you can meet this commitment before applying.

(2) Leave for the field work. The fieldwork runs September 24–30, 2026. Students must arrange leave from their academic classes, and professionals from their workplace, for this full window. Please confirm you can be away for these dates before you apply.

(3) Health and safety. The journey involves walking, outdoor activities, and travel, which carry inherent risks. Participants are responsible for their own health, must carry their personal medications, and must follow the guidance of the Academic Team. The Institute provides basic first-aid support only.

(4) Conduct and shared stays. As the fieldwork includes overnight and shared accommodation, participants are expected to conduct themselves respectfully and reasonably toward fellow participants, faculty, hosts, and local communities. A professional relationship and mutual respect are expected throughout.

(5) Flexibility. The schedule, route, and activities are tentative and may change with weather, tides, and travel conditions.

A full Risk Release and Consent section is part of the application form, and selected participants will be asked to confirm their consent to these terms.

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Image Release Waiver

By participating in this workshop, participants consent to allow the Bengal Institute to use photographs and videos taken during the event for publicity purposes, including print materials, the Bengal Institute’s website, and its social media platforms. Photographs and videos remain the property of the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements.

Release of Liability

By participating in the “Learning from the Landscapes: Seeing, Journeying, and Recording” workshop by the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements, participants release the Institute, its elected officials, officers, directors, employees, agents, volunteers, affiliates, and all others acting on its behalf from any claims, actions, causes of action, and complaints of any kind which they have or may in the future have, whether known or unknown, arising out of or relating to their participation in the workshop and its field visits during September 22 – October 4, 2026.

Additional Information

Terms and Conditions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WpCl9gGotbHMLOb7gdVPjvAnz2oGVfplPIbVlLSGW_Y/edit?usp=sharing

IP Policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12wZhRByvRpQKNgZ2ShqzR1c8leKJeiTmOqoohSDw-0M/edit?usp=sharing