World Architecture Awards Submissions / 50th Cycle
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The project was started as an architectural response to the rise and growth of entrepreneurial mindset in Bangladesh among the youth as well as people from different ages. There's a common assumption in Bangladesh that job is safer than business and job holders are celebrated more here. Which results people feel demotivated socially in terms of starting a new business. This project tends to be a mythbuster of this social stigma which can convey the message of social acceptance of entrepreneurial culture and make the entrepreneurs feel like a part of the society. An architecture dedicated to solve the modern day business problems, well oriented and customizable space, futuristic approach to sustainability and integration of circular economy can not only accelerate the growth of professionals but also investors around the world will feel more interested to count on our country that can push our economic growth one step ahead.
The idea was generated by the different needs of space demand collected from the survey and analyzing them an optimized size was decided and tried to provide some controlled customization and adaptability of spaces through modular architecture. This can give individual touch to each offices and the component based customization can reduce the huge wastage of materials. The prototype was developed to be used in an open rig structure where the building can metabolically grow or reduced according to the demand and after a certain period of time when there will more this type of buildings they can share the materials among them and this can associate the economy not only with space but also with materials used in buildings. To serve this purpose a warehouse is integrated with the design as well that can store materials.
To ensure space quality and better work environment some supporting facilities like gym, jogging track, outdoor gardens are created which can develop a sense of community among the tenants as well. There is an watch tower has been developed as an extra feature of the building which was in response to the site context that allows people to explore the interesting urban fabric from an interesting point of view and that can be a point of attraction to the people who may or may not be the tenants of the building.
This research study is mostly a theoretical framework that is tried to be implemented in a real building and enhance its functionality. This study can provide a kickstart for user-oriented design strategies and in future more variables and integration of technology can enrich this study with more feasibility and functionality. It can create a whole new industry in the real estate market and make a great ecosystem between the different fields of jobs as well.
The main construction has mostly used Steel as it is light weight, durable, nature friendly and it can ensure modularity as well. Another reason of using steel is the fast construction capability which is very crucial for this type of metabolic architecture. The modules are made with steel tube where the tube steel capacity is calculated by using the formula S=M/Fy, where M is expressed point load format M=PL/4. P is the load in pounds applied at the middle of the tube steel and L in feet i.e. if L is 4 feet long then the load P is applied 2 feet from the support point, 3 ft from support for 6 ft long and so on. The capacity in this case is referred to the how heavy a load that the tube section can carry given a specific length. By substituting the PL/4 in the S equation above and solve for P yields P = S*Fy*4/L. The result of this equation is shown in the table below.S is the tube section modulus found in tube steel properties. Fy is 66 percent of the yield strength of structural tube which is 46 ksi or 46,000 psi. The average calculated load of a single module can be 175kg/385lbs.
The exterior walls are of fiber cement board because of durability, cost, maintenance or fire resistance and interior is made of plaster board.
The modules will work on subscription model for the tenants through app or website and create a dynamic community among them. When the subscribed modules are prepared they will be connected to the mother structure by using a crane that can move in x, y, and z axis incorporated with the building. This can also used for maintenance so that the procedure can not interrupt the internal function of the building and be operated externally.
Environmental Response:
Semitransparent PV panels are a specific type of transparent solar panel with a light transmittance below 100%., pitched at 30° to maximize solar energy harvesting.
Total surface area of PV panels = 1250m²
Estimated number of PV panels = 1250m²/ 1.6m²
= 780 panels
Power rating of PV panel = 300W
Total power output = 234kW
Rainwater Harvesting: A rainwater tank stores rain water to be used for toilet flashes and landscape.
Area of rainwater collector = 1200m²
Annual rainfall = 1854 per annum
Run-off coefficient = 0.75
Thus, annual rainwater harvested= 1200x1854x0.75
= 16,68,600 Liters per annum
= 83,430 litters
Proposed water tank size capacity is 83,430 Liters
Court Garden: A courtyard with soak able ground treatment to recreate green habitat, bio diversity and create a comfortable microclimate for the site.
Green roof: Ballasted roofs consisting of a waterproofing membrane, growing medium (soil) and vegetation (plants) overlying a traditional roof.
Encouraging Green Vehicle: According to LEED, 2.5% short term and 5% long term bicycle facility should be provided for the occupants and in response to it there are 20 short term and 80 long term bicycle stand is provided and there are 2 showers per 150 occupants in the building.
Also 5% of the car parking should be assigned for Green Vehicles which are close to the entrance and 2% should have EV charging facilities. To reflect it 4 cars parking of the 80 are dedicated to green vehicles and each of them have EV charging facility.
Author: MD Munsurun Nabi
Studio Mentors: Ar. Sajal Chowdhury, Ar. Rezuana Shoma
Supervisor: Ar. Nusrat Jannat Keya
CO-LAB ARTERY: A Dynamic Coworking Hub in Darağaç, İzmir
Darağaç, known for its evolving creative scene and industrial past, serves as the backdrop for CoLab Artery—a coworking hub designed to foster collaboration, adaptability, and public engagement. The project aims to bridge the gap between tradition and innovation, transforming an underutilized urban void into a vibrant and multifunctional workspace.
Urban and Cultural Context:
Darağaç has long been a dynamic yet challenging site, marked by its proximity to industrial areas, informal artistic communities, and increasing urban pressures. The neighborhood’s transformation into an artistic and creative hub has inspired the spatial and functional strategies behind Co-Lab Artery. Addressing the need for flexible public spaces, the project integrates coworking areas with cultural and community-driven functions, ensuring that the space remains a catalyst for exchange and interaction.
Design Intentions and Spatial Organization:
Co-Lab Artery is structured around three key layers: urban, cultural, and architectural.
• Urban Layer: The project reactivates its surroundings by introducing open and semi-open spaces that invite the public into the site. The external circulation, terraces, and landscaped areas ensure permeability and engagement with the neighborhood, creating an inviting atmosphere for both professionals and visitors.
• Cultural Layer: Recognizing the site’s artistic energy, the design incorporates collaborative spaces such as workshops, studios, and exhibition areas. The flexible nature of these spaces allows for a diverse range of activities, from co-creation to public events, supporting the evolving needs of Darağaç’s creative community.
• Architectural Layer: The building itself is conceived as an adaptable framework with modular spaces, external walkways, and an open structural grid that allows for future transformations. The integration of steel, glass curtain walls, and wooden details reflects a balance between industrial aesthetics and human-centered design.
Program and Functionality:
The programmatic arrangement ensures a gradual transition from communal to more focused workspaces:
• Ground Floor: A community hub featuring informal seating areas, small meeting rooms, and essential amenities, designed to encourage social interaction and public engagement.
• First Floor: Open-plan coworking spaces and workshop areas, promoting flexibility and creative synergies.
• Second Floor: Enclosed offices and focus areas, positioned strategically along the facade to offer quiet and productive environments while maintaining visual connectivity with the surroundings.
• Third Floor: The most adaptable level, hosting an open event hall, an urban resilience forum, and exhibition areas. This floor supports large-scale gatherings and knowledge-sharing activities, reinforcing CoLab Artery’s role as a civic space.
Rooftop Observation Deck: An informal yet interactive space offering panoramic views of the city and harbor, doubling as a break area and an extension of the working environment.
Impact and Vision:
Co-Lab Artery is more than a coworking space; it is a spatial response to the needs of contemporary creative professionals and an urban intervention that strengthens the social fabric of Darağaç. By blending work, culture, and community, the project aspires to set a precedent for flexible, inclusive, and contextually embedded work environments. Through its architectural strategies and programmatic diversity, it reflects the evolving nature of workspaces in the 21st century, where collaboration and adaptability define the future.
-Location: Darağaç, İzmir, Turkey
-Site Area: ~1650 m²
-Total Built Area:
• Enclosed Ground Floor → 181 m²
• 1st Floor → 306 m²
• 2nd Floor → 318 m²
• 3rd Floor → 396 m²
• External Circulation → 222 m²
-Total Built Area = 181 306 318 396 222 = 1,423 m²
-Height: 4 floors (12.75m)
Spatial Program & Floor Areas:
Ground Floor:
-Community hub (2 multipurpose rooms)
-Sitting areas & gathering spaces
-WCs
-External circulation wrapping around the building
First Floor:
-Open workshop areas
-Offices
Second Floor:
-Focus workspaces (offices & breather spaces)
-Sitting areas near façades
Third Floor:
-Open event hall
-Urban resilience forum (small conference room)
-Exhibition & flexible event spaces
-Urban observation deck (seating with city & harbor views)
Material & Structural System:
-Primary Structure: Steel frame system
-Façade Materials: Glass curtain walls, steel elements, wooden accents
-Circulation: Open & external pathways ensuring fluid public access
The Earth Observatory is a restroom renovation project situated along the I-80 highway, designed to challenge and transform the negative stereotypes associated with public restrooms, often viewed as "dark, dirty, and unsafe." Public surveys in recent years have consistently highlighted these concerns, emphasizing the need for an innovative approach to restroom design. This project seeks to improve people's perceptions by merging functional utility with the surrounding natural beauty, creating a space that integrates with the landscape rather than detracts from it. By doing so, the design aims to reshape the user experience, offering more than just a stopover but a moment of reflection and interaction with the environment.
Drawing inspiration from the site's natural features, particularly the interplay of muddy land and salty water, the Earth Observatory incorporates an element filter installation to create an immersive, multi-sensory experience. This installation serves as a symbolic and literal filter through which visitors engage with their surroundings, emphasizing the elements of earth and water that define the area. By blending these natural features with functional design elements, the space becomes a platform for exploration and discovery. The restroom itself is reimagined as a place not just for utility but for interaction, offering a playground-like environment that encourages visitors to explore.
The visitor’s journey through the space is deliberately arranged, guiding them along a thoughtfully designed route that reveals the beauty of the earth. The goal is to inspire contemplation—not only of the natural environment but also of our responsibility to care for it. By emphasizing the relationship between humans and the earth, the design fosters a sense of connection and stewardship. Ultimately, the Earth Observatory invites visitors to reflect on how we treat the land and inspires a more mindful, respectful approach to our environment.
Program/ Infrastructure, Pavilion, Rest Spot, Parking, Land Art
Site Area/ 31,000 sqft
Site/ Utah, United States
The intersection(s) of The Great Salt Lake Desert and Interstate 80.
Center/North side of I-80 between mile markers 21 and 22.
Designer: Ruijen Yang, Oi Ling Wong
Supervisor: Wendell Burnette
Human beings, as biological organisms, have been “created” by nature; and as creative subjects, we also, at the same time, are actively shaping and transforming the earth we inhabit. As we progressively shape and transform the earth, pure nature free from human influence is said to no longer exist. In the age of the anthropocene, we are witnessing the DISAPPEARANCE of nature apart from human beings. Human extinction, will eventually come.
Apart from humanity that is fated to go extinct, earth can and will survive just fine without humanity. Nature is defined as that which stands in CONTRAST to humanity. Its like a coin with two sides which lines us up as either for nature or for the human. As they reveal themselves to be deeply interconnected ideas, the root of nature and humanity knits the string of fate.
What seems to be needed to avoid this seperation between nature and humans that knits the string to fate of destruction, is an inclusive conception of nature, one that inhabits both the human and the nonhuman components. Its the concept of recovering an intimate sense of interdependence and connectedness with the lived environment. Only if we remember our connections, only if we REINHABIT the earth, then we can start to heed and take care of earth.
Inhabiting both human and nonhuman components in a life system that is going to benefit eachother can be described as second nature, which means emergence of new habitat for human and nonhuman components that is shaped by HUMAN INFLUENCE, not dominance.
Every being on earth already inevitably takes up space and inhabits the earth. The overall biomass of ants on Earth is more than that of people, although their actions produce no "pollution". So, the problem is not the amount of human consumption and limiting industrial production wouldn’t solve it. The redesign of industrial production as a way of humans reinhabiting the earth to cerate SECOND NATURE, is the solution.
The structural system of the building proposes a NEW SETTLEMENT MODEL, where construction waste filled cube meshes are used as the main load bearing element. This meshes, which can be called gabion cubes are stacked on top of eachother and makes the building stable with its big dimensions & weight. This system does not require any vertical bearing elements like columns, it only needs beams as it works as masonry kind of system.
Elif ARABACI
Instructors: Ebru Yılmaz & Ülkü İnceköse
In Taiwan's rural areas closely intertwined with the land, a naturally pure way of life has been cultivated, making daily life diligent and warm without haste.
However, faced with the rapidly changing demands of generations and the development of urban civilization, the countryside has gradually become the opposite of the city. In response to the natural development of life and the environment, it constantly absorbs disturbances from urban civilization, deviates from interference and demands, and causes the countryside to fall into a stagnant cycle.
The foundation of the countryside is seen as a breathing space for urban civilization, thus labeled as a salvation land. In reality, local residents have long closed their doors and windows, thereby closing the interesting alleyways that once flowed into the city.
Only the fields and structures left on the land record the traces of past lives. Therefore, I will use the countryside as the subject to unlock closed pathways, excavate the presentation of rural life, experience life from childhood to adulthood, ride on unfamiliar development contexts, reconnect communities, gather local consciousness, and regain the vitality and spirit of innovation.
The foundation of the countryside is seen as a breathing space for urban civilization, thus labeled as a salvation land. In reality, local residents have long closed their doors and windows, thereby closing the interesting alleyways that once flowed into the city.
Only the fields and structures left on the land record the traces of past lives.
Therefore, I will use the countryside as the subject to unlock closed pathways, excavate the presentation of rural life, experience life from childhood to adulthood, ride on unfamiliar development contexts, reconnect communities, gather local conscious.
Designer: Hsinya Tsai
Instructor: Chieh An Yang
Institution: Chaoyang University of Technology