Project Description

The project was envisioned as a space for the people of Dhaka to stop, and take a moment to reflect — on themselves, each other, and the Buriganga River. In a city that has mostly been about noise, speed, and congestion, the sanctuary will provide a deliberate transition to stillness and replenishment. 

The site is near Rayer Bazar in Hazaribagh, situated among established housing fabric and busy riverfronts, but has lost sight of a lot of its publicness. The design allows us to regain our connection to the site, creating green spaces, sheltered gathering areas, and access to the river, prompting healing for both individuals and the community. Visitors will begin their journey on a series of branching trials that will allow for a gradual relief from urban intensity, into a calm nature-dominated environment. Groups of canopy trees, punctuated by small circular clearings - socializing circles - will establish intimate areas for conversation, moments shared, and community wellness. 

At the center of the site, a circular amphitheater rests within a still pool. This central space accommodates small gatherings, cultural happenings or quiet moments of contemplation.  Here water cools the air, modulates sound, and offers a mirror to the shifting sky. In this way, it becomes an agent of experience too.  From this green center, decks extend out over the river in order to provide unobstructed views and a connection to the flow of the Buriganga – an encounter with the flow of nature, and the scale and pace of things that helps to restore our perspective and calm.  

The sanctuary heals on three levels:  

• People - nurture our awareness and peace;  

• Community - reclaim civic space in common;  

• Nature - restore riparian planting to restore ecological resilience. 

As people engage with the varied elements of greenery, water, and each other, the Reflective Sanctuary is a place where mind, body, and spirit can begin to be healed.