This project examines the entangled relationship between humanitarianism, colonial history, and the garment industry in Bangladesh. What began as a reflection on the ethics of foreign intervention and the power dynamics that continue to shape global labor systems evolved into a more specific exploration of housing for garment workers inside of these power dynamics. It questions how we, as outsiders, can meaningfully engage in contexts shaped by histories we did not live, but are nevertheless complicit in through the products we consume.
The research traces the path from Bangladesh’s rich textile heritage to the present-day realities of fast fashion, where exploitation persists under new names. It unpacks how colonial patterns of extraction have reconfigured into modern systems of labor and aid, where garment workers, often women from rural areas, are caught in cycles of migration, dependency, and vulnerability.
Against this backdrop, the project focuses on the reopening of the Sylhet Textile Mill as a site for reimagining housing for workers. Drawing from both rural housing traditions and lessons from existing factory environments, it proposes an alternative model that addresses the realistic conditions shaping workers’ lives, not as passive recipients of aid, but as people navigating a deeply uneven global system.

The trend of rapid urbanisation, a global phenomenon, is very prominent in Bangladesh and leads to the expansion of existing cities. Sylhet, a city in the north-east of the country, has been expanding in the past decades and can be expected to grow further, as it is still in the beginning of its urbanisation process. As these developments will affect the currently adjacent rural areas, this project was developed to answer the following question: How can rural areas of Sylhet be transformed according to the trend of rural-urban transition while maintaining crucial living qualities of rural populations? In proposing a housing scheme which can adapt over time to the increasing density of the area, this project aims to create a pilot project which can guide the future urban development of Sylhet City during the process of its expansion.

This design phase builds on research, personal experience, and insights gathered during
our field trip to Bangladesh. Especially the homestay in Ekduaria gave me a deep understanding of how people in rural Bangladesh live, how they use space, value community, and adapt their homes to daily needs. These experiences shaped the foundation of the project. The research focused on finding affordable, adaptable, and community-oriented housing for rural-urban migrants in Sylhet. What became clear is that affordability is the top priority, but just as important are familiar qualities like green space, open low-rise layouts, a strong sense of community, and a clear transition from public to private spaces. To respond to these needs, I chose to work with the Open Building approach. This method allows for flexible, long-term housing solutions where residents can adapt their living spaces over time. A clear structure provides stability, while the interiors remain open for change. A minimum floor height of 3.5 meters, smart placement of service cores, and layered construction all support this flexibility. Smaller studies on climate, material choice, and construction techniques helped refine the design. Local materials, passive cooling, and rainwater collection are integrated to make the project more sustainable and context-specific. This project is not a fixed solution, but a flexible framework designed to grow and change with its users. It offers a future-proof way of living that connects the memory of the village with the possibilities of the city, and aims to reduce the affordable housing shortage in Sylhet in a way that feels both practical and personal.

This thesis explores self-build solutions in Bangladesh, a country experiencing rapid urbanisation, the erosion of rural building traditions, along with a shortage of qualified architects. It draws on rural construction practices and Christopher Alexander’s pattern theory to provide people with tools to build safely and competently for themselves, reducing the need for extensive input and oversight from architects. Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, and in urban areas, many are forced to live in informal settlements. According to a survey by the Commonwealth Association of Architects, there is only one architect per 50,000 people in Bangladesh. At the same time, rural traditions that once enabled self-building are being lost—or are no longer applicable—in dense urban contexts, where more modern materials and techniques are often necessary.

Bangladesh is undergoing a rapid urban transformation, with cities like Sylhet expanding at an unprecedented pace. This growth, however, often comes at the cost of ecological stability, spatial equity, and cultural continuity. This graduation project explores how sustainable urban expansion can be achieved in Sylhet by integrating vernacular architectural practices into contemporary planning.

Through a multidisciplinary approach, combining fieldwork, urban mapping, material research, and case study analysis, the project addresses the question: How can strategies for urban growth incorporate traditional knowledge to support environmental, economic, and cultural resilience in rapidly developing cities like Sylhet? Centered on Shonatola, a peri-urban village on Sylhet’s edge, the study exposes the risks of fragmented, plot-based development and the growing preference for industrial materials that disconnect communities from their environmental and cultural roots.

As an alternative, the project proposes a design framework that employs natural materials, bamboo, compressed earth blocks, and lime plaster, across all housing types and income levels. This material consistency challenges the social stigma surrounding vernacular construction and supports inclusive, low-carbon development. The proposal is anchored by a Community Land Trust (CLT) model that ensures affordability, collective land ownership, and long-term governance.

Rather than opposing urban growth, the project demonstrates how locally grounded design can steer it in a direction that is equitable, resilient, and reflective of cultural identity.

This thesis aims to address the ongoing issues impacting vulnerable communities, specifically in Sylhet, Bangladesh as a result of the global climate crisis.

Bangladesh’s extreme vulnerability to climate change are due to its low-lying topography, and funnel-shaped coast, exposing the land to cyclones and tidal surges, resulting in seasonal floods.

These factors, alongside the large population base, widespread poverty and lack of strong institutional development make the country particularly vulnerable to climate variability.

The proposal seeks to present a viable prototype that can be adapted and applied across diverse settings experiencing comparable environmental challenges brought about by the ongoing climate crisis. The intent is to offer a scalable solution that supports climate resilience and informed evidence-based planning.

The amphibious housing prototype is strategically located in Sylhet, Bangladesh, a city that has been devastated by extreme weather conditions for decades. As such, the design process thoughtfully incorporates local culture as well as economic and social considerations.

This thesis aims to propose a contextually grounded solution based in Sylhet, Bangladesh. With the intention of demonstrating that, with appropriate adaptations to design and managerial strategies as well as material considerations that may be better suited, the amphibious housing system holds the potential for broader application in supporting climate-vulnerable communities worldwide.

As cities across the globe grapple with rising urbanisation and housing shortages, over one billion
people now reside in informal settlements. In South Africa, the legacy of apartheid planning,
combined with systemic inefficiencies and rapid urban growth, has compounded the challenges
of providing inclusive, sustainable low-income housing. While extensive research exists across
disciplines such as architecture, political science, and economics, much of it remains siloed—
offering fragmented perspectives on an inherently complex issue.

This dissertation takes a different approach. It examines low-income housing through a
double lens: spatial design—how built form is created and how its context is developed—and
governance—the aims, actors, and instruments involved in decision making. Using the K206
housing project in Alexandra, Johannesburg, as a case study, the research explores what happens
when government plans meet residents’ lived experiences. It engages three key literature
themes of low-income housing: informal settlement upgrading, state-subsidised housing, and
incremental housing. Through interviews, surveys, and expert consultations, the research reveals
how governmental aims—such as resident-responsive design, security of tenure, and income
generation—were translated into built form, and how residents responded to and reshaped these
interventions—sometimes in unexpected ways.

The findings show that residents are not just recipients of housing policy—they actively reshape
their environments and create their own systems of living, especially when dissatisfied with the
systems they are dealt. The research highlights governance and spatial design complexities in
South Africa and makes the case for interdisciplinary approaches that centre the voices of those
most affected by housing policy.

Addis Ababa is experiencing a high rate of urbanization coupled with a decades-old housing crisis. This study problematizes the current housing problem not only in the frame of housing shortage but also as a ‘housing mismatch’, with the underlying dwelling typologies rooted in modernist design ideals not responding to context. These dwelling solutions, as seen in the recent condominium projects, do not fulfil the social and spatial requirements of dwellers. This problem calls for a thorough inquiry into tracing the roots of the ‘housing mismatch’. Since dweller-initiated housing transformations are a common phenomenon in most housing conditions in Addis Ababa, the study proceeded to analyze these transformations to understand the housing mismatch in its qualitative and spatial aspects. One of the reasons for dweller-initiated transformations is to finetune living habitats to cultural parameters. In line with this, transformations were observed during the test run of the fieldwork conducted on three households in 2020. Furthermore, the fieldwork revealed that dwellers used local conceptions of space such as the gibi, the gwaro and the gwada to explain the socio-spatial phenomena of transformations....

The project focuses on the natural conditions, the industrial and housing situation in the haor region of Sylhet, Bangladesh. The aim is to create a new housing system suitable for rural areas, combining local industry and housing. This will increase employment opportunities, improve local living conditions and alleviate the problem of over-migration from rural to urban areas. At the same time, the new housing system is flexible, adjustable and adaptable, and is able to respond to seasonal variations in natural conditions and changes in local industries.

This project presents a solution where the Bede, a floating nomadic community in Bangladesh, can be preserved while simultaneously allowing space for the needs of the culture without having to hide their identity. It uses traditional and affordable techniques, preserving not only the Bede traditions, but also the traditional shipbuilding techniques of Bangladesh. In addition, the design improves the daily lives of this marginalised group.

In (South) Asian countries such as Bangladesh, spaces that ac¬centuate transition have been playing a far more crucial role in architecture than in most other cultures (Singh, 2015). This inter¬mediate or third space, holds a transitional quality and is therefore in architecture called the transition space. It’s defined by the rela¬tionship of the extreme zones it’s connecting, like private versus public or internal versus external zones. Since these in-between spaces are so frequently passed through, humans are often not even conscious of the themes it has been signifying for centu¬ries: welcomeness, auspiciousness and prominence.

The transition space is full of social and cultural meanings, shaping people’s environment and everyday behaviour. For instance, in rural parts of the predominantly Islamic country of Bangladesh, transition spaces like courtyards reinforce the seclusion and se¬gregation of women by influencing the female movement both in public and private spaces (Chowdhury, 1992). Men are able to move freely through the public streetscape, while women avoid open fields and roads. Instead they’re circulating via the more private courtyards (anginas) where most female activities take place, like cooking and interacting with other women. Another transition space that’s found in most of these dwellings, is the front porch (baithak) which is primarily used for receiving male guests. Women mostly don’t feel at home in this space although it is a prominent part of their homestead, and thus making an im¬pact on their habits. Like for females, transition spaces also nota¬bly influence the lifestyle of children and the elderly by offering a more private space for daily activities and social interactions.

Besides social and cultural importance, transition spaces are de¬signed to respond to climatic needs of the tropical monsoon cli¬mate (Singh, 2015). To illustrate, courtyards provide ventilation and therefore facades facing the street can contain fever ope¬nings, enabling more privacy and creating an open, yet private environment. Transition spaces like verandas offer a greater spa¬tial quality by providing protection from harsh sunlight and ra¬infall. In addition, the direct infiltration of heat and glare into the interior is being prevented by the extended roofs, keeping these indoor spaces cooler. Since the in-between space functions as a buffer zone for (severe) climate conditions, a more comfortable transition for the residents is created and the liveable quality of inside spaces is significantly improved.

Transition spaces are capable of either dividing or connecting spaces since they act as a link between public and private spa¬ces (Singh, 2015). For example, at one level it’s able to achieve privacy by not placing entrances in direct contact with exterior spaces. On the other level, interaction is being promoted when the space is enclosed through an in-between space like courty¬ards. In either way, transition spaces are inevitably at the heart of living in many (South) Asian cultures such as Bangladesh. Late Indian architect Charles Correa even believes that a transition space like an open to sky place can make a significant difference between a liveable habitat and claustrophobia in small (low in¬come) housing. Taking into account the importance of transition spaces in Bangladesh’ architecture is therefore crucial. People specific themes like gender, ethnicity, religion and income are all playing a key role in the creation of meaningful transition spaces which affect and operate on various scales: the scale of a dwel¬ling, community and city.

This graduation project explores how design can improve the quality of life for women living in informal settlements in and around their homes in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Titled "A Safe Return," the project focuses on designing new housing for residents of the Sweepers Colony, an informal settlement in Sylhet, while also providing housing solutions for middle and high-income groups. The core aim is to enhance the lives of women through improved living conditions by ensuring safety through "eyes on the street" in public spaces, maintaining privacy within homes, and creating areas where children can play freely. It also seeks to establish spaces for communal gatherings from urban to unit scale, fostering connections with the neighboring Hindu community, and providing opportunities for self-development among women. Furthermore, the design incorporates private sanitation and washing facilities and introduces greenery to enhance the living environment. A significant aspect of the project is addressing the challenges posed by climate change, which plays a crucial role in designing the new neighborhood. The strategy spans multiple scales, from urban public spaces to urban clusters, and from clusters to individual units. "A Safe Return" aims to offer women a secure transition from their current living conditions in the informal settlement to their new homes, ensuring a significant improvement in their quality of life.

An elderly-oriented affordable housing system in the context of Lakkatura tea garden, Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Children are the future. Providing a fostering living environment for the next generation in the favelas of Sao Paulo might enable them to break negative patterns of behaviour, so energy towards crime an violence is redirected towards productive ends for them and their communities. Gaining insight from the field of developmental psychology, this project makes a material parallel to the distinct developmental stages of children, as described by Erik Erikson. The neighbourhood consists of clustered dwelling groups, starting small and protective, but while the development of the child goes on, the further clustering of the dwelling groups provide a more dynamic environment for the child to grow further. A balance between protection and engagement, between order and chaos, will help the child grow up and develop the virtues of; Hope, Will, Purpose, Competency and Fidelity.

Since the introduction of neoliberalism in the 1980s, housing has transformed from a social good to a market commodity, resulting in housing policies’ focus shifting from resilience to efficiency. The shift greatly affected the Global South, where an overwhelming amount of housing was, and still is, required (Syllabus Intro). Several initiatives aimed to counter the issue through approaches solely focused on resilience. These projects were, however, unable to produce the amount of housing needed. Subsequently, several housing experts recently argued that a trade-off between efficiency and resilience is required to challenge this global phenomenon.

The project investigates the balance between resilience and efficiency through a social housing development in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city. Despite São Paulo not being a poor city, it has one of the world’s most inequitable distributions of wealth. One of the main symptoms of this inequality is a lack of sufficient housing. The project is in Grajau, one of the city’s periphery neighbourhoods. Heterogenous neighbourhoods, called favelas or irregular settlements, populate the district(Marques and Saraiva 2017, 21). Favelas often consist of dwellings that do not meet adequate housing standards according to Brazilian law. Still, these neighbourhoods provide an opportunity for impoverished families to have a house, presenting somewhat of a solution towards the Brazilian housing crisis.

The research concluded that Brazil’s large socio-economic gap and complicated political history are two of the primary catalyst for the country’s significant housing crisis. The Estatuto da Cidade (City Statute), developed after the fall of the dictatorship, acts as a legal framework to manage and improve the urban development of periphery neighbourhoods. The City Statute includes the Zones Especias de Interesse Social’ (ZEIS, Special Zones of Social Interest). ZEIS identifies areas where infrastructure and degraded properties can be improved, allocates space for public amenities and dedicates unused land for Social Interest Housing (HIS) and Low-Income Market Housing (HMP).

The central concern of the project is the lack of urban integration between Social Housing developments and their surrounding heterogeneous neighbourhoods (favelas and irregular settlements). A combination of fieldwork, theoretical research and comparative analysis, discussed throughout the report, was used to identify the problem. The project challenges the urban segregation between favelas and Social Housing through porous thresholds and careful boundaries. The approach is derived mainly from the work of German philosopher Walter Benjamin, Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck and Brazilian architect Hector Viglecca. The design applies porous thresholds and careful boundaries throughout all design scales, continuously considering the project’s socio-economic, managerial, and environmental impact.