Combining Architecture and Culture

Combining Architecture and Culture

Meti School Bangladesh

German architectural know-how becomes a role model in Bangladesh.

The country of Bangladesh is the most densely populated country of the world. Nearly 1,000 people share one square kilometer. 80 per cent of the population live on the countryside. During the wet season, 70 per cent of the area are likely to get flooded. This is a problem for the building industry. Local traditions, houses made of clay and bamboo, make you believe they have a lack of quality looking at their life-cycle of ten years. The team of architects Ziegert Roswag Seiler Architekten from Berlin has specialized on clay buidings and now has realized a connection of traditional building methods and modern know-how by erecting METI School in Dhaka.

Innovation as a Role Model

The school concept METI plans to encourage and support the children's individual skills. The project is supposed to be an alternative to teacher-centered teaching, and the school building Ziegert Roswag Seiler Architekten have developed is designed to support pedagogical measures.

Tradition, Team and Individuality

METI School provides various rooms and usage possibilities. There are three class rooms on the first floor. The foundations consist of a brick wall inserted 50 cm deep into the ground. Bricks are the basis of many building projects in Bangladesh. This inserted wall carries supporting clay walls. As a supporting construction, bamboo rods have been deployed. The extra layer of bamboo is necessary for stabilization, since between the class rooms six caves were built the children can enter by crawling through two openings. These retreat possibilities give pupils the possibility of working on their own and as a team.

The upper floor with its two more class rooms is the opposite of the first floor. Here, you have a permeable room structure. Open windows allow an unblocked view across a pond and the surrounding trees. The ceilings are covered with colorful sari scarves. The gaps between the bamboo rods make the sun rays paint a pattern on the floor and emphasize the openness of the upper class rooms.

For building METI School only local day laborers were hired and trained. Pupils and teachers were also involved in the building process. For instance, they made the straw sleeves for the architraves of doors and windows.

Project details

Architect:

Ziegert | Roswag | Seiler Architekten Ingenieure

Status:

Completion: Autumn 2005

Comments

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Kate Flynn's picture
Kate Flynn 20. January 2015 - 17:19

This is a great way of promoting pedagogical measures but also of learning more about the building and designing process. Of course, for the ones who have a vision about redesigning their interior but don't know what to do, they should call for the interior fit out companies that will always try to exceed their expectations. All in all, this is a great opportunity and combining arhitecture and culture can only come up with something really good and advantageous for the population of Bangladesh.

tonybennet25_1's picture
tonybennet25_1 20. January 2015 - 18:59

Interesting way to support pedagogical measures, but as many of you know, environment is very important, whether for learning or living. Most people believe that preserving culture is very important, but so is architecture, that's why many of them hire a specialist from the day labor ga, to see how these two can be combined to obtain an improved and unique decor.

modhuleenab's picture
modhuleenab 23. January 2015 - 12:41

There are indeed some amazing pieces of architecture around in this country which are awe inspiring. Many new construction projects are too being launched for building modern residential complexes for people. However, now one can access the properties they need online, not just that but they can also find movers at places like http://yourbestmover.com/contact/.

modhuleenab's picture
modhuleenab 23. January 2015 - 13:18

The old buildings do have the most amazing blend of architecture and culture, modern buildings too could be designed to reflect the culture in a beautiful manner. However, when it comes to finding property related information, one could find that online including services like self storage which one could access at www.storcal.com.

clodymony's picture
clodymony 26. January 2015 - 17:20

This building looks fabulous. The combination between modern and traditional is great and children are very happy to study in this school. Moreover the school has a great interior design, with modern furniture and they've requested some professional services like those from http://actionairplumbing.com/ in order to fix the heating and cooling system.

Kate Flynn's picture
Kate Flynn 28. January 2015 - 19:52

This is a great article and school arhitecture is an important topic because it influences children's behavior. But, most of all, the education is based on the best programs, like you can see here http://www.achildsview.com because not only the traditional form of education is the best one. Anyway, great arhitecture and congratulations for their efforts, the children of Bangladesh should study under great conditions.

billmarket17's picture
billmarket17 26. February 2015 - 10:07

The way a school is built can influence in good or bad the children' behavior. Therefore, if the school has a great architecture and a nice interior design, the school board should do everything they can to keep it in this way. Therefore, if they have a problem, for instance, with the mold, they should resort only to professional services, like the flood damage remediation in Syracuse, NY. Everyone who resorted to these services were satisfied by their professionalism and promptness.

frankbanes's picture
frankbanes 5. March 2015 - 3:48

The project is supposed to be an alternative to teacher-centered teaching.

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prabirbanik82's picture
prabirbanik82 12. March 2015 - 11:03

For such flood prone areas it would be better to use materials that would be able to protect the building from any kind of water damage. However, most big properties contain spacious garden area which often become hard to maintain. So in such situations it would be best to hire a good Virginia Beach tree removal company for trimming big trees.

prabirbanik82's picture
prabirbanik82 13. March 2015 - 8:35

There are many areas like this which are flood prone, in such places it is best to use materials which are water resistant. However, those who have big houses they often face problems in keeping these places clean. In such situations it would be better to hire a seattle carpet steam cleaning company which offers wide range of cleaning services.

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