The quality of life and dwelling conditions of the Shonatola village community, living in a peri-urban settlement outside of Sylhet city, is under significant threat. The Shonatola villagers experience significant housing challenges, infrastructural barriers and economic insecurity due to climate-induced environmental distress and the impacts of Sylhet city’s sprawling urban development on their way of life. This research investigates how a situated participatory housing design approach can be applied to improve dwelling conditions of the Shonatola village community. This project proposes a three phase design approach to address the defined research question. Phase one addresses infrastructural upgrades to the existing community; phase two confronts a reactive approach to in-situ housing improvements to the existing village and phase three proposes a proactive design approach to densify the Shonatola settlement by expanding west, beyond the current village limits. This results in three reactive and two proactive design schemes. This project provides a systematic method for development, by offering housing solutions which promote and uplift villagers within Shonatola by improving their current living conditions and supporting their ability to keep living on the land they have lived for generations, while also addressing the need for future expansion and densification of this peri-urban site.

At the edge of North America lies St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, one of the oldest cities on the continent (Newfoundland & Labrador, Most easterly point in north america, n.d.). In recent decades, this historic city has seen a prevalent trend of institutional architecture within St. John’s being abandoned or demolished with little consideration for alternative building end of life practices. This leads to the loss of history and contributes to unsustainable practices. Through the use of qualitative and quantitative metrics, a regional systematic framework is established to be applied to future institutional buildings in St. John’s. This will assure that careful deliberation is taken when making decisions regarding future planning of institutional buildings upon their decommissioning. The Waterford Hospital will become unoccupied in late 2024 to early 2025; it is both a historic and complex example of an institutional building in St. John’s. It serves as a strong case study for the development and application of this framework. The results of applying the established framework to the hospital lead to the recommendation of partial to significant demolition; a new program is proposed for the site which integrates remaining building elements into the design. Moving forward, the provincial government can utilise the established framework from this study to ensure that thoughtful institutional building end of life planning is performed, preserving the culture of St. John’s.