People who want to spend some time away from the hustle and bustle of city life, 'Zinda Park' in Rupganj area is an ideal place for them. The park is located in Purbachal, near Dhaka city, which is a government project of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK). With well-planned gardens, remarkable architecture and various surrounding vegetation, Zinda Park has all the ingredients to soothe the visitors. It is a brilliant example of how an aesthetically beautiful environment can be designed through social cooperation and participation. Examples of such accomplishment achieved through social enterprises are rare.

"Zinda Park" is the outcome of five visionaries' initiative. Tobarak Hossain Kusum was one of those five friends. He dreamt of a rural setting, where people's social needs and the environment will coexist simultaneously. These five friends set out to build a society that would be suitable for the next generation, where children would have access to nature with playgrounds, schools, libraries and entertainment among other facilities.

Image : Landscape of Zinda Park

The 150 acres of land has been identified as a reservoir and garden in the 'Purbachal Plan' prepared by Rajuk as the government owns the land. Zinda Park, however, is the result of the social enterprise of young people from nearby rural areas. Under the direction of Tobarak Hossain Kusum, "Agrapathik Palli Samiti" has taken this responsibility and is running it successfully till now. These village associations themselves raised the initial funds through subscriptions, many were impressed by their great work and later contributed money and other support. Initially, they did the work of planting trees and maintaining them. Later, they took the initiative to build schools, mosques, playgrounds and libraries according to the needs of the local people around. Architect Saidul Hasan Rana joined them at this stage.

Architect’s Profile:

Architect Sayedul Hasan Rana

Architect Sayedul Hasan Rana has been working as the Chief Architect of his own studio, 'Architects Design Studio' since July, 2005. He graduated from Bangladesh University of Engineering (BUET) in 1991. Since then, he has worked in a number of private practices on a broad range of regeneration projects in and around Singapore and Bangladesh, emphasizing in environment susceptibility, low cost and civic urban design. Some of his specific interests lie in the areas of sustainable design, fabrication, and a strong integration of site and landscape considerations.

Image: Architect Sayedul Hasan Rana

On one side of Zinda Park is Purbachal New Town and on the other side, there are local villages. The park has a beautiful lake, spread over 150 acres of land. Swans and ducks swimming in the lake make for a lovely sight. The park has over 25,000 trees and plants of 250 different species. Observing Zinda Park's landscape, one can easily understand that this is the result of thoughtfulness and persistent collaboration of a few sensitive people. The architect has extensive experience in designing verdant spaces. There are also other projects designed by him in this genre.

Image: Masterplan of Zinda Park

The planning, designing, and execution for this project have been done accordingly the requirements. Zinda Park is surrounded by artificial lakes on 3 sides. There are 5 artificial lakes in the entire area, out of which 2 are used for fishing. A parking lot has been arranged at the entrance of Zinda Park, so that no vehicles can enter the main complex. There is a small garden-like area at the entrance of Zinda Park (Entrance Court). Seating arrangements are made around the court. There are two small reservoirs, with different species of animals (fish, turtles, tadpole). There is a gift shop (souvenir shop) at the entrance to the park and an office building is under construction next to it.

Image : Sketch of the Entrance Court by Sayedul Hasan Rana

Image: Plan of the Entrance Court

Image: Front elevation of the Entrance Court

Image: Entrance Court

Image: Entrance Court

The location of the primary school, which will later become a secondary and higher secondary school, has been selected near the entrance to the park for construction, so that one is not forced to walk the entire park for daily commuting. There is a large playground in front of the school. A new high school and college building is under construction along the front walkway from the primary school. There are some cottages opposite the high school building.

The mosque is the next building from the primary school straight across the road from the park entrance. In front of the mosque complex, there is the cafeteria building, and a small garden is in the opposite side. On the south of the cafeteria, there is the library building. Kusum Residence has been built on the north side of Zinda Park. There are two bamboo culverts and some seating areas inside the park.

The following buildings of Zinda Park will be described in detail in Sthapattya O Nirman':

      1.      Primary School.

      2.      Library

      3.      Mosque

      4.      Cafeteria

      5.      Kusum Residence

Team members of ‘Sthapattya O Nirman’ and ‘Urban Development Directorate’.

Image : Team Members