Category: Process

In Bangladesh, from the very childhood of ours, we have always seen people inviting their friends, families and neighbors to attend some prayer ceremony, right when they are finished building a new space. That can be a home, a school, a mosque or even a new shop. And whenever we were invited, we would wait for the pack of sweets, nimki and jilapi that they would offer everyone to receive well-wishes and have a blissful lifeline of that space. When we had grown a little and got to observe few constructions in our surrounding, we noticed that the celebration is not only limited within the after-construction ceremony. We noticed the craftsmen would ask for a sweet party (mishti-mukh) right before the starting of a big day, let’s say construction of the roof of the house, or casting of the main floor etc. We could clearly tell a construction was on-going by the voices of a group singing, not the heavy sounds of a machine.

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Architecture for Mental Wellbeing: Making of Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre

21/8/2024

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Being a displaced person is not easy. Especially when you have lost everything and cannot conserve the memory and learning you have. It is easy to get derailed, easy to choose the wrong. But whichever path is chosen, one thing is there for sure, that is, the urge to survive and protect. Protect a position, protect an identity.

The Rohingya community has gone through changes & unsettlements throughout their lives. Continuous migration, settled & unsettled situations, conflicts, and the geographic context have built their lifestyle in a unique way. The current situation, being in the largest refugee camps, has added a bit more uncertainty to their lifestyle, as it has influences on their culture & values too. It is the ongoing events that will shape what they have.

Despite of having the unsettlements, Rohingya people have many stories, knowledge and wisdom that creates positivity and care. ‘Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre’ tries to collect, preserve and spread those knowledge & stories, to create goodwill among displaced communities even in the most unsettled situation, through cultural practices, as culture is the basic place for generations of any community, holding their unique identity. It as well traces the positive knowledge to pass over to next generations for a better way of life.

The building process of ‘Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre’ has tried to strengthen their identity, culture & values through a creative environment that involves the community members; as well it focused on their mental well-being.

initial sketch_Rizvi Hassan

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Born in a Camp

Building Through Celebration

Architecture for Mental Wellbeing: Making of Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre

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