Project Name: Community Spaces in Rohingya Refugee Response
Architects: Rizvi Hassan, Khwaja Fatmi, Saad Ben Mostafa
Completion year: 2018-2020
Project Location: Ukhiya-Teknaf, Bangladesh
Client: Forcefully displaced Rohingya Community, BRAC & ActionAid
Drawing: Rizvi Hassan, Khwaja Fatmi, Saad Ben Mostafa
Photographer: Rizvi Hassan, Asif Salman
| “Community Spaces in Rohingya Refugee Response” is a series of projects that were basically a 14-month response to the Rohingya crisis in Ukhiya-Teknaf area. The projects were mostly developed in post emergency phase, transitional phase and development phase of the camp, considering various needs arising in the camps and surrounding. Rohingyas are one of the Muslim ethnic minority communities in Myanmar. Since August 25, 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have fled to Bangladesh. The children and adolescents are living in deplorable circumstances and growing up without proper childhood development, recreational opportunities, or psycho-social assistance. Many architects and humanitarian organizations have been working in various sectors since the start of the influx, considering the need for Shelter, Education, Health and Nutrition, Protection, Gender-based violence and other local Interventions. After rehabilitation, there also stands a lack of safe community spaces for women. Among all the threats emerging, loss of cultural identity is also acknowledged. |
Image : Architect Rizvi Hassan, Architect Khwaja Fatmi, Architect Saad Ben Mostafa |
| According to the needs, the organizations offered different supports these centers. The six projects are Women Friendly Space, Camp 4 (extension), Safe Space for Women & Girls in Camp 25, Display & Production Centre for Rohingya Women in camp 11, Hindupara Integrated Community Center in Hindupara Camp, Community Center in camp 03, Bhalukia Community Center for host Communities in Bhalukia, Ratnapalong. |
| Women Friendly Space, Camp 4 (extension) The Women friendly Space primarily works to mitigate Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in the camps. In addition, it offers skill development opportunities, legal and psychosocial support and many more. The centre contains a livelihood training room, a large multipurpose room, an office for staffs, a room for kids to sleep and play while their mothers are working, a breast-feeding room, two confidential rooms for legal and psycho-social counseling and an extra room for provision of paramedic support. It is a place where women can come and relax or take a bath and be away from their congested hot shelters for a while. The center is completely enclosed so that it offers privacy and security to the users. |
Image : Women friendly space in camp 4 extension |
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Image : Plan of camp-25 : A safe space for rohingya women & girls
| Safe Space for Women & Girls in Camp 25 Safe Space for Women and Girls, serving as a platform, allows Rohingya women and girls to advocate for basic services. The facility also plays a key role in providing women’s access to community support networks while strengthening social relationship. A very basic introvert court ensures privacy and freedom for women of comparatively a conservative society. Around a central courtyard, activity rooms, a store, a counseling room, and an area for adolescents are organized, giving the impression of a larger space. Locally obtained unprocessed bamboo, straw, rope, and tarpaulin were used as materials. Since the location is in a cyclone-prone area, materials that could be hazardous during a cyclone were avoided. The site is also very close to Asian elephant habitat. To avoid unwanted occurrences, the material and exterior scheme avoids commotion for elephants resulting in the use of vibrant colors like red or yellow. The colors in the interior court and some openings also create an interactive atmosphere. The center hosts various trainings and counseling for both Rohingya and Bangladeshi women within its’ area. Toilets and bathing facilities are located in separate outhouses to one side of the women’s centre. The privacy afforded here was an important part of the design. |
| Display & Production Centre for Rohingya Women in camp 11 The display center offers a platform for the Rohingya women to create, showcase and sell handmade products to the visitors. To beautify the display center, they painted the walls and courtyards inscribing auspicious messages. The entry gate of the display center has ‘Istegbal’ (meaning welcome) inscribed and ‘Aloon Lar Shay Pha la’ (meaning Come and see us) on the other, to invite the world to know about their Identity. The main function of this structure comprises a production space, where the women can create their craft products and a display center where those can be displayed and sold. The two spaces are connected with a large open to sky courtyard, which is designed to be more adaptive according to different uses like any general rural household courtyard of this region. |
Image : Ground floor plan of camp 11 : Display & production center for Rohingya women |
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| Hindupara Integrated Community Center in Hindupara Camp Hindu Rohingyas are a minority within a persecuted people. The aim of this project was to work on building relationships and trust between Hindu-para community members and host communities to strengthen the means of communication. Thus, an “Integrated Community Centre” came as a proposal for building a sharing platform aiming to create aspirations for the surroundings, and be a catalyst for better communication. Due to the growing shortage of bamboo, steel was used in construction as an effective alternative solution because the steel industry in Bangladesh is located near the site. A basic foundation, steel framework, modular segmentation as the skin, and a simple double-pitched roof that acts as an umbrella in this sub-tropical monsoon climate are all part of the project. Using the ‘Muli’ bamboo in-fill in the modular system as a contextual material. |
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Image : Elevation and structural system of Hindupara integrated community center in Hindupara camp |
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Image : Ground floor plan and east elevation of community center in camp 3 |
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| Bhalukia Community Center for host Communities in Bhalukia, Ratnapalong The Bhalukia Community Center serves the Bangladeshi Host Communities of Bhalukia,Ratnapalong who were directly or indirectly affected by the Rohingya influx. This centre offers various life skills and livelihood training programmes, psychosocial support and counseling to the women and men of the communities. This project was successful in terms of replicating the previous designed schemes and constuct a better-quality environment within short time. |
Image : Plan of Bhalukia community center |
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Women friendly space Photo by Asif Salman |
Safe space for women & girls Photo by Rizvi Hassan |
Display center Photo by Rizvi Hassan |
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Interior view of Hindupara community center Photo by Rizvi Hassan |
Community center, camp 3 Photo by Rizvi Hassan |
Interior view of Bhalukiya Community Center Photo by Rizvi Hassan |
| Contributor: Architect Nishi Shaymoon Nirnoy upodestha ltd, Panthapath |
