Project Name: Cultural Continuum

Student’s Name: Mehjabin Shahedee Prionti

Project’s Year: 2025

Project Supervisor’s Name: Ar. Ziaul Islam, Ar. Mehrab Iftekher, Ar. Dr. Abu Sayeed Mostaque Ahmed

Head of the Department Name: Ar.Dr. Nawrose Fatemi

University: University of Asia Pacific (UAP)

Mehjabin Shahedee Prionti

Site analysis

Beyond traditional curation, the museum functions as a vibrant community hub, featuring interactive spaces and research wings that invite local engagement and celebrate the mystic heritage of the eminent persons. By blending ecological sensitivity and seismology with ethnographic preservation, the museum ensures that the distinct identity of Sylhet remains a dynamic, accessible legacy for future generations.

Context and Rationale: Sylhet is a region defined by its distinct geography—rolling hills (tillas), vast wetlands (haors), and a rich history shaped by spiritual movements and the tea industry. Despite this wealth, the region lacks a comprehensive institution to document its tangible and intangible heritage. The proposed Sylhet Divisional Museum in Kumargaon seeks to bridge this gap. Situated on the outskirts of Sylhet city, the site was chosen for its accessibility and topographic richness. The project envisions the museum not merely as a storage facility for artifacts, but as a civic environment that celebrates the unique subtropical climate and vernacular spirit of the region. The area is 6.4 Acre which is surrounded mostly by residential and institutional buildings. The site has less vegetation, and because of being under urban development, people have the tendency to infill the land and build apartments; as a result, the site is losing its natural features indeed.

Baton house

Historical diagram

Identity diagram

Landscape diagram

Material

Program diagram

Concept: The Sylhet Divisional Museum reinterprets the region’s landscape diversity and cultural heritage through an architectural dialogue between land, water, and form. Located in Kumargaon, the design prioritizes ecological continuity by embedding galleries underground, preserving the natural undulating terrain. Above ground, pavilion-like structures feature triangulated roofs inspired by the traditional ‘Bangla Baton’ style.

Architectural Framework: The core design philosophy challenges the conventional practice of land-filling, which degrades local ecology. Instead, the museum adopts a "landscape first" approach. The majority of the exhibition programs are embedded underground. This decision achieves two critical goals: it preserves the natural undulations of the site, allowing the landscape to remain the dominant visual element, and it provides a thermally stable, controlled environment essential for the preservation of sensitive artifacts.

Masterplan

Architectural Form and Materiality: While the galleries are subterranean, the visible built forms above ground are designed as lightweight pavilions that respect the site's hydrology. The roof structure is a contemporary triangulated roof system that reinterprets the ‘Bangla Baton’ house’s roof system, ensuring structural resilience in this seismically active zone while offering a visually distinct regional identity.

Sustainability and Water Ecology: Water is treated not as a utility but as an exhibit. Acknowledging Sylhet’s status as one of the wettest regions as well as an abundant waterscape in the world, the design integrates the monsoon cycle into the visitor experience. Rainwater is harvested through the articulated roof slopes, cascading down via the water cycle into central reservoirs. This transforms heavy rainfall from a weather event into a sensory architectural feature, turning the museum into a "living waterfall" during the monsoon and also during dry seasons.

Basement plan 1 & 2

Basement plan 3

Section 1

Section 2

Civic Engagement: Moving away from the elitist, enclosed museum model, the design prioritizes public accessibility. The ground plane is dedicated to open plazas, walkways, and water edges that encourage community interaction. By weaving together the history of the land with the history of its people, the Sylhet Divisional Museum stands as a testament to the continuity of culture, climate, and memory.

Axonometric plan

Jury Comments:

Ar. Asif M. Ahsanul Haq: Rather than competing with its surroundings, the project intentionally exercises restraint. By letting nature lead the design, the architectural form becomes a subtle vessel for its intended purpose. This methodology honors the environment while seamlessly integrating the necessary functional programs.

Ar. Dewan Arif: The inception of this project serves as a visionary blueprint, demanding a profound mastery of subterranean architecture to bridge the gap between conceptual dream and built legacy. By looking beneath the surface, the design harmonizes complex functional requirements with technical precision, ensuring structural resilience within the region's high-seismic landscape. It is in these quiet depths that the project’s true potential is realized, allowing the architecture to recede so the terrain may flourish as the primary exhibition. This mastery of building below the horizon transforms a bold motive into a tangible cultural continuum for the future.

Ar. Taorem Rahul Singha: Choosing to submerge the architecture is a silent homage to the earth. In this high-seismic landscape, the subterranean form offers a grounded resilience, allowing the built structure to recede so that the terrain may speak. The roof structure must follow the slope rather than floating because that would merge with the project’s character.