Project Description

The Common Pitcher re-imagines the traditional 'Koler Par' as a 10-cubic-meter living filter. Within its layers, nature-based solutions (NBS) turning salinity problem, transforming a functional necessity into a site of social binding.

Key Design Intention: In the salinity-prone coastal regions of Satkhira and Khulna, water is a source of both survival and social connection. The Common Pitcher re-imagines the traditional Koler Par (tube-well area) as a 10 cubic meter "living filter." Our intention is to create a community micro-hub that treats saline pond water and harvests rain, turning a mechanical necessity into a site of social cohesion. By hybridising traditional rainwater harvesting with solar-powered Reverse Osmosis (RO) this project creates a Nature-Based Solution (NBS) Hub.

Gabura Union, Satkhira here life is traditionally centred around the communal pond, while the community depends on these water bodies for their daily needs, the water is heavily contaminated with salt due to being on coastal region. By placing these nature based hubs we are reclaiming a space that is already a social heart but is currently failing its people due to the salt-water intrusion.

Functional & Symbolic Strategy

The design uses a vertical water treatment housed within a modular bamboo lattice:

• The Hybrid System: We have combined a solar-powered Reverse Osmosis (RO) unit with Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). Pond water is pre-cleared in a sub-surface sedimentation zone before being desalinated via the RO membrane.

• The Filtration Layer: A ring of traditional terracotta Motkas (clay pots) serves as the final polishing stage. These pots use sand and gravel to filter water while their natural porosity keeps the water cool through evaporation.

• Rainwater Harvest: Inclined roof captures fresh rainwater to blend with treated water, naturally lowering the salinity footprint.

• User Experience: Narrative Depth – The social plinth designed for cohesion and conversation. The experience through social connection of the whole community to use the community facility, binds them indirectly in that 10 cubic meter space. It isn't just a utility kiosk; it is a breathing monument where the daily chore of collecting water becomes a moment of communal gathering and experience.

Historically, in rural Bangladesh, the act of fetching water is a ritualized time for assembly. It is a place for exchange and a site for communal cohesion, and a sanctuary for women to step away from domestic isolation. By designing this 10 cubic meter structure as a social plinth, we highlight the importance of community cohesion and binding. 

• Vertical Efficiency: By stacking the filtration layers vertically, we preserve the ground plane for social seating, fitting a complex treatment plant into the footprint of a small garden shed and, in a nature-based solution.

• Climate Readiness: This compact, lightweight structure is designed for portability and replicability. Its small volume and bamboo frame allow it grow be easily moved or rebuilt as coastlines shift. 

• Micro-Hub Scalability: The design proves that a tiny space can solve a massive problem, acting as a resilient blueprint for thousands of salinity-affected communities across the Bangladesh.