" D E L E P A R A F I S H E R M A N C O M M U N I T Y"

Pabna University of Science and Technology (PUST)

Project idea

Delepara is a fisherman community village. Government proposed a housing project for the amelioration of the fisherman community of Delepara. While the government’s provision of 2,200 square feet area to each family with residential structures and facilities, the families are struggling to live properly because unplanned settlement and lack of enough space for their ritual and daily activities. This community people earn their bread by fishing. Most of the time in a day when they are not on sea for fishing, they are busy making their fishing nets, repairing them, looking after their fishing boats and arranging them in various designs.

The proposed design concept aims to improve their quality of life by creating co-living spaces that foster social interaction and giving them enough space and facilities for creating belongingness in their living space and society.

Project description

In this community (জলদাস), 100% current people belongs from Hindu religion. In their life style, the most colorful and vibrant things are the festivals which they celebrate through different puja and occasions. So, the idea is to give proper space around the existing temples for celebrate their puja and other festivals to create a sense of belongingness and reserve their rituality’s and traditions. There are 3 existing temples and 4 existing water bodies and 3 access points of the site. So, the idea is to create a central pedestrian road among the temples, water bodies and give a proper space for their ritual activities around the temples. Again linear shape space is required for fisherman’s preparation and repairing work. So, the idea is to design this settlement by giving linear courtyard for their daily work.

The proposed masterplan accommodates 120 housing units with functional courtyards in four zones around with four water body and existing temples. The inner courtyard helps them to manage their daily works like drying of paddy and pickle, children playing area, repair the net in wet season etc. The outer court uses to dry the fish net, prepare or repair the net. A designed fish market in-front of the cannel is proposed so that they can sell their fish to the local vendors.

The amenities like pre-school, boat repairing workshop, community multipurpose hall, local market for daily needs and a central field for the playing are also provided in the design proposal. Each module consists of two bed room, one kitchen, one prayer room (puja ghor), one bathing space, one separate toilet, one tubewell and a flexible courtyard consists of a Holy Basil (Tulsi) tree for puja purpose. Total area of each module is 2200 sq. Ft. where there is a small courtyard (350 sq. ft.) and green space (80 sq. feet) for cultivation.

Technical information

Locally sourced materials are prioritized in the construction process. The proposed module features a bamboo floor (future extension), a galvanized iron corrugated sheet roof, brick wall and concrete plinth. The windows are designed with louvres and double swing to maximize the daylight and natural ventilation while keeping privacy in the context of a rural community.

In the cluster,the idea is to join 2 inner court to form a linear space for the fisherman’s daily works like repairing, preparing and drying of fishing net.

The module can be extended vertically in future. It can be extended up to 2 or 3 more bed rooms if needed.

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