Birol Inana
The school is located in the compound if a Bangladeshi NGO, Dipshika, which means "Sparkle of light", and is dedicated to helping children in rural areas learn to read and write. School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Birol Inana
Local traditional building materials have been combined with learned construction knowledge to produce a building that is not only sustainable but also a much-needed facility for the village children. School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Birol Inana
Colourful cotton drapes hung at ceiling level and in doorways soften the harsh walls of the mud structure. School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Birol Inana
The children sit on mats at the rammed-earth floor, as it is tradition in Bangladesh.
Birol Inana
The panels, made of small bamboo stocks, provide shadow and air. School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Birol Inana
The site is near Dinajpur, in the northwest of the country close to Indian border. The school is in the village of Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
AKAA / Birol Inan
The roof is a frame construction consisting of beams - four layers of joined bamboo sticks - and vertical and diagonal poles. School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Birol Inana
The lower portion of the school consists of rammed straw-reinforced mud walls finished with battered mud; the upper floor is a framed bamboo construction with slatted bamboo for walls, windows and doors. School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh (South Asia).
Birol Inana
Rhythmically spaced vertical bamboo trusses are juxtaposed with horizontal bamboo slats to create a powerful imagery. School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Birol Inana
School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Birol Inana
The classrooms at the ground floor are enclosed by a mud-wall, with apertures and doorways strategically positioned to allow light and wind penetration.
Birol Inana
The three classrooms in the ground floor are connected to caves through holes. School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Birol Inana
School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Birol Inana
The main beneficiaries of this project are children. Adults in the village think it is great that children have a nice place to study. School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Birol Inana
The first floor opens the view wide across the paddy fields. The first floor opens the view wide across the paddy fields.
Birol Inana
The classrooms on the first floor have walls of slatted bamboo that allow diffused light into the spaces as well as natural ventilation. School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Courtesy of architects
School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Birol Inana
School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Courtesy of architects
Elevations. School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Courtesy of architects
Sections. School in Rudrapur, Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
Courtesy of architects
School in Rudrapur
Award Cycle: 2005-2007 Cycle
Status: Award Recipient
Country of origin: Bangladesh
Location: Rudrapur, Bangladesh
Client: Dipshikha Non-formal Education, Training and Research Society for Village Development
Architect: Anna Heringer, Eike Roswag
Completed: 2005
Hand-built in four months by architects, local craftsmen, pupils, parents and teachers, this primary school in Rudrapur, a village in north west Bangladesh, uses traditional methods and materials of construction but adapts them in new ways. The architects, Anna Heringer from Austria and Eike Roswag from Germany, made every effort to engage the skills of local craftsmen, helping them refine processes and learn new techniques that they could then use to improve the general standard of rural housing.
The school is part of the Modern Education and Training Institute (METI) of the Bangladeshi NGO Dipshikha, which places an emphasis on helping children develop their own potential and use it in a creative way. The building follows the same principles, bringing out the best in local materials by inventively combining them with improved construction techniques. Earthbound materials such as loam and straw are combined with lighter elements like bamboo sticks and nylon lashing to shape a built form that addresses sustainability in construction in an exemplary manner.