BRAC University by WOHA

BRAC University’s vision is to become a catalyst for change that coalesces the local community, improves the immediate built environment of the neighbourhood, and provides a model for environmental and social sustainability in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The design challenge is to create a livable, tropical and sustainable inner-city campus that maximizes areas for teaching, yet introduces breathing spaces for informal learning and social interaction. The project is located on a polluted swampland and the design by WOHA (based in Singapore and founded by Australian Richard Hassell and Singaporean Wong Mun Summ) features a bioretention pond that will remediate polluted water. The key design strategy is to create two distinct programmatic strata by floating the private realm for learning as a raised canopy above the public lower stratum.

Project location Dhaka, Bangladesh

Client

BRAC (Building Resources Across Communities) University

Type Educational

Site area 21,600 m2

Status – Construction began 2011,

expected completion 2021

Practice location Singapore