Project Description
Project: NILOY (G+8) Nine Storied Apartment Residential Building
Architect: Meheroze Al Hassan
Landscape: Meheroze Al Hassan and Sabin Huda
Interior: Meheroze Al Hassan and Sharfin Afroze Structural: Prof. Dr. Khasroo Miah (DUET)
Data, Network and Computer Support: Sabin Huda
Research Analysis: Prof. Sureya Huda (EUB)
Text/Story: Assoc. Prof. Meherub Al Hassan (BUP) Consultant: PERSPECTA Type: Residential Building (A2)
Area: 16 Equal sized Apartment in 8Floors & Car Park in Ground floor.
Unit Size: A & B = 136.22 sqm/1466 sft (approx.)
Construction Budget: 750,00,000 BDT
Photography: Ayan Al Hassan, Azan Al Hassan, Maisur Ibrahim and Raiyan Hassan.
Owner: Mrs. Mahmuda Khatun.
Materials: Major Local materials including Brick, Concrete, Paint, Tiles etc. Period: 2014-2017
Location: 5/5 Sir Syed Road, Asad Avenue, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
DESIGN CONCEPTS:
Whether the building is in an urban setting or rural, the most central thing to Meheroze & his Team is context. This is one of the main reasons that NILOY has a very specific and characteristic local flavor. And NILOY means Heart or Soul of any living being & it has aptly been reflected in all major design decisions ranging from Basic Concept to minor construction details. For example, to ensure Air from South Orientation as The Heart of VASTU-KALA gives priority about South Air Ventilation, the main Vertical Circulation Spine including Stair-Case, Lift Core & Lobby, is intentionally shifted from South to Front Side North. The minute detail of Grill Design in all Openings of Niloy, mirrors the Heart-Beat Graph, is another vital Sign. Thus NILOY moves with street visibility.
DESIGN PROCESS:
Meheroze aims to embody the image of a new bond to architecture: a relationship with the crafting a living space that fits with inspired life style is no longer a luxury, no longer a pipe dream, it is an accessible service. The synergy of the Architecture can be felt in the main concepts of this project and in the conviction that architecture can be done differently, & people will prefer to invent, or reinvent their environment.
The G+8; nine storied NILOY displays several Strategies & Meheroze explained, “I truly do accept that Architecture in general, needs to be weaved with the people and the nature concerning Context, History & Heritage. Vision representing our Future is established in the practice (as Architectural venture intrinsically bears) — might craft a piece of Architecture more significant and durable. Perhaps it might carry admittance to plenty of imaginative creation for the designer. I figure — Architectural Design which is deprived of this connection will ultimately become unknown & absent of natural souls”.
DESIGN MOMENTARY:
NILOY has been developed a thorough expertise in the renovation, transformation and construction of buildings of all types. Air from South, Cross Ventilation, Openness, Lighting and Alignment are at the very core of all projects completed by Meheroze & the Design Team. The importance given to finishing touches and the general quality of its achievements is, amongst other reasons, a result of tight monitoring throughout the entire project execution process from start to end of construction.
The essence of NILOY’s architectural work is visible in the smallest details of the designs that make up its portfolio. The quality of NILOY goes far beyond simple aesthetics: Designer’s thought process is driven by spatial requirements, light, the lifestyle of the occupants and the integration to the context. The outset of NILOY is guided by certain recurring values: timeless and functional design, alignment and durability with contextual & refined style ensure NILOY’s longevity.
Since the ending, NILOY’s work has been highlighted in a number of specialized Medias and has received a variety of Design & Architecture Commendations including nomination in Berger Award for Excellence in Architecture-2022, The Journal of the American Institute of Architects: ARCHITECT etc. In NILOY, Meheroze draws inspiration from Local history and tradition, re-thinking traditional motifs and adapting them to contemporary design & delivering a great emphasis on the relationship amid Community, Human and Mother Nature.
SPATIAL MANIFESTATION:
The building on the ground floor is functionally conceived with a main entrance to the north & vehicular circulation comes with a straight drive way that provides Car parking at both sides. The vertical Circulation spine of Lift and Stair is easily accessed from the entry gate with major services like Electro-mechanical room, Caretaker room, common Toilet at the back side of the building. Few chunks of Green zone & plantations in the ground level have somehow yet tightly been arranged in both the front and back side as well.
NILOY has total 16 Apartment Units with 2 units per floor in nine storied Housing. Each Unit Type contains 3 Spacious Bed Rooms, modern Living, Dining facility & Family space served by the Service Spaces like Kitchen & Kitchen Verandah, 3 Wash Rooms (2 attached & 1 common) along with maximum numbers of Balconies both attached & common.
The central Dining Space of each Unit of NILOY acts like HEART, connected with all major Spaces allowing enlarged front side visual access to the green, neighbor, openness, sky and trees in& around the project. This central space connects both the right & left side wing of other functions like Bed rooms, Wash rooms, Living room, Kitchen etc. This Nine storied moderate sized yet space conscious Residential Urban Housing has magnificently been designed by Meheroze & PERSPECTA team to ensure the spirited Living Style.
SOCIAL CONCERNING:
For neighbors, starting relationship with NILOY is also the beginning of a relationship that lasts several years, opening them up to a certain intimacy and a few dreams. And the added value is without a doubt a richer and more personalized work, but also a smaller margin of error, since budgets and timelines are controlled. This tour de force is indirectly aided by an important facet of direct involvement with the project: NILOY’s collaborators & surrounding neighbor. With a significant working team, people also work hand in hand with an impressive constellation of contributors during the construction. These workers, such as Masons, Carpenters, Painters, Electricians, Cabinetmakers, Ceramics workers or welders, have developed relationships with NILOY that are more than economic: they understand their intentions and collaborate to bring the work to the possible highest level of Excellence.
CULMINATION:
Draw up, NILOY’s philosophies of design help craft a local and specific Architectural identity. Therefore, users and those around them make these buildings their own very quickly. The dialogue this creates helps make the public understand the importance of quality Architecture. Thus NILOY continues the vernacular tradition of the space while giving it a contemporary facture, in the image of the Context itself. Natural, local and authentic materials are preferred to imitations, styles, and contemporary trends for better integration with local context.