Courtesy of Bengal Foundation
The Bengal Foundation has begun work on its Contemporary Arts and Crafts Museum, Bangladesh’s first private museum of its kind. The ambitious complex will house multi-media works from the organization’s founder Abul Khair’s private collection, pieces by local artists, a sculpture garden, and a boat museum to celebrate the various cultural arts of local residents.
The first instance of large-scale adaptive reuse in Bangladesh, the museum will sit on a 45-acre site in Dhaka. Initial efforts will include transforming one of the jute factories currently occupying the site into an exhibition space. A second factory provides another exhibition area and seminar rooms, while a jute warehouse houses the cafeteria. Small bungalows will occupy the space between natural groves of trees to provide kitchens and washrooms, their features responding to the low-hanging foliage overhead.
Art gallery. Image Courtesy of Bengal Foundation
Although a portion of the site consists of built structures, the majority is unoccupied natural landscape. To respect this, the architects, headed by Nahas Khalil, have employed a minimal design approach which is informed by the environment rather than opposed to it. This consists of ecological maintenance and limiting architectural interventions to the interiors and an as-needed basis, thus preserving the trees and industrial character of the complex. Additional nods to the environment are achieved through sustainable practices, like natural daylighting and passive shading techniques.
Cafe and seating area. Image Courtesy of Bengal Foundation
Aside from being a place for artistic exploration, the Bengal museum is a place for community. The length of the central-most existing building is truncated to accommodate a cafe and outdoor seating area for people to congregate. This move also helps solidify the relationship between the buildings on either side. Connectivity is further explored through the removal of unnecessary walls, creating a visual cue of the gallery sequence and facilitating a natural flow through the space.
View of the sculpture gallery from the art gallery. Image Courtesy of Bengal Foundation
Architects:
Location: Bangshibari, Savar
Architect In Charge: Nahas Khalil
Client: Bengal Foundation
Year: 2015
Photographs: Courtesy of Bengal Foundation