Spring 2021: In the Flow: Hydro-logical Housing in Dhaka
Mon 12 Apr - Fri 9 Jul' 21
A collaborative studio of Bengal Institute with Global Housing Studio of TU Delft
We are delighted to announce that Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements is organising a semester-long joint studio program in Spring 2021 with Global Housing Studio of Delft University of Technology, based in the Netherlands (also known as TU Delft, and ranked No 3 in QS World Universities Ranking).
Bengal Institute is introducing this new program with the opportunity for professionals and academics to interact and learn from renowned architects, scholars and thought-leaders through intense studio activities, discussions and lectures on housing and urban environments.
The program includes a design studio focusing on hydrological housing and lectures on urban design and housing, with an exchange of faculty members. Classes will run 3 days per week, with studio hours aligned with the timing of TU Delft so that online interactions can take place.
For students at TU, Delft, the ‘Dhaka: Hydro-logical Housing Studio’ follows the MSc Global Housing studio that challenges participants to engage with pressing dwelling and urban issues in cities experiencing rapid urbanization, as well as with the increasing cross-cultural character of contemporary architectural practice. The Urban Design and Housing Studio of Bengal Institute for Architecture Landscapes and Settlements is a masters level certificate program designed to focus on the challenges of housing in Bangladesh addressing multiple levels: urban systems, housing morphology, hydrology and topography, economic groups, urban development, and building technology. With the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, as focus, the studio challenges will include:
(1) issues of dwelling and housing in cities experiencing rapid urbanization,
(2) issues of urbanization and development in hydrological and vulnerable landscapes, and understanding how housing is also a geographical fact, and
(3) a comparative understanding of Dutch and Bangladeshi settlement and landscape practices.
There will also be opportunities for Bangladeshi students to travel to Delft, Netherlands, as well as for TU Delft students to visit Dhaka, to work on academic projects as well as visit exemplary works and sites—depending on the ease of the global pandemic restrictions. The studio program will be directed by Kazi Khaleed Ashraf and Marina Tabassum at Bengal Institute, and Dirk van Gameren at TU Delft. Dirk van Gameren is the dean of architecture at TU Delft and heads the renowned office of Mecanoo Architects.
Considering the cross-cultural nature of international practices and pragmatics of working on specific sites for Dhaka, students of TU Delft will work in close collaboration with participants of Bengal Institute. They will form groups to exchange ideas, information and share knowledge of the studio and programs.
Faculty:
Kazi Khaleed Ashraf
Dirk van Gameren
Marina Tabassum
Rohan Varma
Critics and Special Guests:
Kenneth Frampton
Rahul Mehrotra
—–
Other special faculties, prominent professionals in the field of urban design, housing and architecture may also be invited for seminars and workshops in both Dhaka and Delft.
Studio Theme and Focus:
- Habitats in delta landscape, housing morphologies, landscape strategies, constructional innovation.
Learning to deal with the large-scale involving an integration of architecture, landscape strategies, spatial planning and ecological planning, especially in the dynamic context of the Bengal delta. - The “large scale” and the “complex” as studio topics.
- Combining landscape urbanism and housing.
- Site and content in Bangladesh.
Studio studies will combine comparative studies of Dhaka and cities in the Netherlands.
Spring 2021 Studio Schedule:
The joint studio program is a semester-long design studio with TU Delft that will run for 11 weeks, from 19th April to 2nd July, 2021. The program will be held during the afternoons from Monday to Friday, to match with the studio hours in Delft, Netherlands.
Time schedule for lectures/seminars TBA.
The Arrangements
Students from TU Delft will participate online, while participants of Bengal Institute will attend classes at the Institute, depending on the circumstances surrounding Covid-19.
Total number of participants from BI for the Joint Studio Program: 15 (maximum)
Subscription Charge:
For Bangladeshi Citizens
*Subject to minor changes.
৳8,000 Registration and administration fees
৳20,000 Monthly instalments
Total: ৳68,000 BDT, payable online.
The subscription charge includes: Tuition, all activities in Dhaka and nearby areas, and refreshments. It does not include any intercity or international travel expenses.
Discount: The amount is already highly subsidised. We may not be able to provide any discount. There may be some special discounts for alumni and associates of Bengal Institute.
Registration Process:
- Submit the online form and wait for the selection email. You will have to answer 3 essay questions and submit a portfolio of your works. We might also ask for additional documents to submit or call for an interview (online or in-person).
- After the selection you will be informed about the payment options. Pay and confirm your admission.Application deadline: 2nd April, 2021
FAQ
- Is it a degree/credit granting program?
At Bengal Institute it is not. It is a general post-graduate certificate program, unaccredited, non-degree-granting. At TU Delft students in the Netherlands, it is part of their master’s program. Bengal Institute participants of this program may receive credit towards their master degree at TU Delft if they enrole there in future. - Can anyone participate?
No, only the graduates of architecture (B.Arch. programs) can participate in this program. - Can the payment be done on installments?
Yes.
- Is it a degree/credit granting program?
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