Project Description

The project explores how architecture can control human behavior and how spatial design can offer a path to ultimate liberation. The concept is directly inspired by the psychological tension and hypnotic rhythm of the Jantar Mantar (মস্তিষ্ক প্রক্ষালণ যন্ত্র—the brainwashing machine) from Satyajit Ray’s satirical film, Hirak Rajar Deshe (হীরক রাজার দেশে). The design translates this cinematic narrative of enforced thought control into a physical layout, forcing users through a rigid, concentric circular maze that acts as a choreography of control. 

As we step inside, the boundary between sound and architecture blurs; we begin to feel the music of the structure, and as we move deeper into the space, it shifts and warps like an endless, hypnotic illusion. This disorienting distortion is exactly how the Jantar Mantar brainwashing machine operates, trapping the mind within a physical loop.

To control the user's movement and psychological experience, the space is organized like a musical score using standard architectural modules. Large walls and open zones act as whole notes and half notes, establishing a slow, predictable rhythm and long spatial pauses. As the user moves deeper into the layout, the architecture shifts into quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes. These rapidly accelerating structural walls and tight pathways compress the space, heightening anxiety and trapping the individual in a repetitive, endless loop. 

The final goal of the architecture, however, is to break its own system through a sudden "de-rhythm". A deliberate fracture violently splits the geometric perfection of the concentric circles. This physical rupture breaks the endless sequence of control and brings the conditioning process to an unexpected halt. By tearing through the rigid layout, this structural split creates a clear threshold of awareness. It is precisely here, in the gap between the oppressive echo of the walls and the physical exit, that the individual finds spatial and psychological liberation.