Khondaker Hasibul Kabir and Suhailey Farzana, an architect couple from Jhenaidah in Bangladesh, have shown the world how they co-designed a public space in their own town – keeping in mind the nature and people.

Their community-led initiative titled “Urban River Spaces, Jhenaidah” is one of the winners of the 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

Six award winners, who will share the $1 million award – one of the largest in architecture – show promise for communities, innovation and attention to environment.

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The award giving ceremony will be held at Royal Opera House of Musical Arts Monday night (Muscat time).

“This is not a project, I would say, rather it’s a process that has begun,” Farzana, who came to Muscat with his husband and son, told UNB hours before receiving the prestigious award.

What kind of city do we want? What kind of street do we want in our city? What kind of open space do we want in our city? These are the questions the architect duo discussed with locals in Jhenaidah town.

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“This is for the community and its people. We are working as per their desire and as architects we are getting involved in a process. Our first identity is that we are residents of this city, then we are architects,” Farzana said.

Architect Kabir was optimistic that people from other parts of the country will be inspired to do something similar.

“We tried to figure out how we can get involved in the process and how we can do something better together,” he told UNB.

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“If we can do this in our city and set an example, people from other parts of the country will say, if Jhenaidah can do it, why can’t we?” – Kabir added.

Farzana said, instead of moving to Dhaka, they decided to stay in their city. “We are local architects. We understand local needs better. There was no need to get someone from outside the city for this project.”

She said this is an example for other cities and towns in Bangladesh. “Architects can return to their roots and work for their respective cities.”

Responding to a question, Farzana said, “We didn’t do this alone. We have a big team and we are representing that big team. We are also representing Bangladesh.”

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Farzana noted that this is also a proud moment for Jhenaidah.

Architect Kabir said people of Jhenaidah are happy. “This recognition comes with more responsibility. Financial gains are not major but the energy that it brings is strong. With that energy, we can do more for the country and its people.”

The community-driven project provides public spaces in the riverine city with 250,000 residents; over time, access to and use of the river and banks had become impeded.

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To date, the project comprises two ghats – steps leading down to platforms at the river, with adjacent walkways – and the opening of obstructed pedestrian pathways leading to them.

Locally available materials such as brick and concrete were used in the simple, contextual designs, all built by local builders and masons; the site-specific projects retain all existing trees and vegetation.

Future phases focus on public use of the river area with walkways, gardens, cultural facilities and environmental efforts to increase biodiversity in the river.

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Through consistent community participation and appropriation, extensive involvement of women and marginalised groups, and a local workforce, the seemingly simple undertaking of cleaning up the access to the Nabaganga river in Jhenaidah led to a thoughtful and minimal landscaping project with local materials and construction techniques. Thus, a derelict informal dump site transformed into an attractive and accessible multifunctional space that is valued by Jhenaidah’s diverse communities, according to the Aga Khan Award for Architecture jury board.