Architecture for Agriculture: Bangladeshi Project, International inputs and lessons

Agrarian distress is a pervasive problem in the south Asian region, with a serious manifestation in our own country as well. The small farmers and landless agriculturists in and around the Khulna district of Bangladesh were also facing distress in not being able to sustain their agricultural livelihood arising from various problems like lack of access to processing and warehousing facilities, consumer markets and knowledge of sustainable farming techniques.

Solidaridad is an international network headquartered in Utrecht, The Netherlands, working towards infrastructure enhancement and capacity building for sustainable production of agricultural, marine and mining products across several nations in the world. Their work with farmers in Bangladesh, carried out in close partnership with the Dutch embassy there through programs like SaFal, revealed the dire need for establishing markets – platforms where small and landless farmers could be assured of being able to sell their produce, as well as warehousing and processing infrastructure they could access. Thus, the idea of a vegetable supermarket which could be centralised at the district level was conceptualised. The VSM at Dumuria village in Khulna district is the first of a series of such facilities planned for various districts in the region.

Having been curiously drawn towards the work of architect Frank Tjepkema in the field of designing for the agricultural realm, Daniel Knoop as a program coordinator at Solidaridad suggested roping him in for the project. Adequately attracted by the challenge of contributing to an effort to provide a contextually resonant strategic solution to this local problem in a mutually diverse part of the world, Tjep stepped in. They teamed up with reputed local architects, Vaastukalpa, to create this charming market complex.

Located along a highway to Khulna city and close to it, these 86,000 square metre premises of the village super market are expected to boost the marketability of remote rural produce of 1500 producers and upgrade the business network between producers, supply chain actors, quality regulators and end consumers. The complex houses the three main facilities of a market-place, a sustainable farming training centre and a processing and warehousing unit. 

The distinctive aesthetic of this brick and bamboo creation capped by an elegant vaulted roof catches the eye from a distance, which makes it the first check-mark in the list of validations of its success as a marketplace - distinctive visibility and attraction. The architecture is a fusion of contemporary standards and local traditional building techniques crafted into a neat package. The basic layout of the market uses the local arot (small wooden huts used by traders to sell wares at markets) system as the basic unit, thirty of which are laid out on either side of a well ventilated and lit central aisle. Accessed roughly midway along its length on either side through imposing gateways adorned with indigenous brick-craft and aligned with the site’s entrance, the passage is capped a light lifted vault which allows further ventilation.

Contrary to being a room, each arot is an allotted stall partitioned from its neighbours by stone clad wedge shaped walls with huge circular apertures which align along the length of the market to create an interactive aesthetic. With ceilings of locally sourced bamboo and an exterior of local delta-sourced red clay brick masonry, these arots are as perfectly rooted in local tradition as the present day context permits. 

'This project appealed to me because of the challenge of uniting not only the modern and the traditional, but of incorporating many aspects that had nothing to do with market trade -of creating a place that builds social cohesion, encourages education, respects religious beliefs, creates something of communal pride...’ says Frank Tjepkema. He has thus led his team at Tjep to collaborate with Vaastukalpa led by Ar. Nazimuddin Payel to create this aesthetically refined, functionally tailor-fit and robust facility which strengthens the local agricultural economy. Let’s raise a toast to more heart-warming collaborations resulting in such mind-blowing results!