Dialogues in coexistence: Carving out public spaces for the Bengal Delta

Public space in Bangladesh is treated as a luxury—an afterthought squeezed out by rapid, unplanned urban growth. A new exhibition at Bengal Shilpalay in Dhanmondi refuses that logic. Titled 'Dialogues in Coexistence: Shaping Inclusive Public Spaces in the Bengal Delta', it gathers sixteen years of work by architect duo Saiqa Iqbal Meghna and Suvro Sovon Chowdhury, who design not with imported glass and steel but with terracotta, bamboo, timber and rice husk—materials that already know how to live with our heat and rain. 

Their proposal is modest and radical at once: small, low-cost structures that communities can build, move and adapt themselves, tailored to the Bengal Delta rather than borrowed from the West. Running until 25 July, the show asks a simple question—what if shared, climate-responsive public space were the norm here, not the exception?

Commissioned by the British Council as part of the Women of the World (WOW) Bangladesh 2026 programme, the project was curated by Luva Nahid Choudhury, Director General of the Bengal Foundation, and the artist and Kala Kendra founder Wakilur Rahman.

In a conversation with The Business Standard, Wakilur Rahman explained how public spaces are extremely important despite the lack of importance assigned to them by government bodies or people in residential areas. 

"Public spaces have been monumental in every cornerstone of our history. From our Liberation War in 1971 to the July Uprising of 2024, public collaboration has shaped us as a nation every step of the way, and yet urban planning that prioritises public interaction through shared spaces remains out of the question.", explained Wakilur.

In a country where formal civic infrastructure has often failed to keep pace with rapid urban growth, and where women and lower-income residents are frequently least served by what public space does exist, it needs to be of utmost importance to place sustainable and green architecture to lead the way for urban planning from this point on.

He further explained the importance of sustainable and green architecture as the future direction for designing public spaces in Bangladesh, "What makes their designs special is how closely the material palette is matched to Bangladesh's particular urban and climatic conditions, rather than being imported wholesale from elsewhere".

The models are built from handmade terracotta tiles, bamboo screens, timber, straw, rice husk and woven netting—materials sourced from local craft economies that have already been proven to work well in our climate. Terracotta and clay have long been used in Bangladesh precisely because they absorb and slowly release heat, keeping interiors cooler through punishing summer humidity while retaining a degree of warmth as temperatures drop in winter.

Bamboo and woven screens, meanwhile, allow air to move freely through a structure, an essential quality in a city like Dhaka, where concrete towers built without cross-ventilation trap heat and force a reliance on energy-hungry air conditioning. As a result, in a country battered by both heavy rain and heatwaves in a perpetual cycle, locally fired materials simply perform better than imported glass-and-steel alternatives in the long run.

One installation immediately draws attention. From a distance, it resembles the overturned hull of a traditional boat, its sweeping canopy constructed from handcrafted clay roof tiles that also resemble the form of boats. Beneath it lies a generous open space that could function equally as a gathering place, a temporary shelter or a quiet area to enjoy the weather.

Another installation features a thin layer of folded sheets designed to capture rain instead of using a plastic cover. Beneath it is a round table rooted into a separate base of rocky soil that allows rain to seep through without making the seating area muddy. 

"Not only is this better for the environment," said Wakilur, "but using such inexpensive and readily available materials also makes a strong case for the widespread implementation of designs where people can sit and connect even during the monsoon" 

The architects are equally explicit that none of this works as a purely technical exercise. Their stated principles 'Climate, Context and Care' treat community involvement as the core of the design process itself, not an afterthought once a building is finished.

Near the end, Wakilur noted, "The vision on offer is not one of grand, monumental civic buildings, but of small, replicable, low-cost structures that communities can build, move and adapt themselves using familiar local materials and skills," finally extending architectural authorship beyond the architect's studio and governments and into the hands of the people who actually use these spaces.

What the exhibition ultimately argues is that resilience in Bangladesh cannot mean sealing buildings off from a climate that swings between monsoon flooding, blistering summer heat and a sharper winter chill than is often acknowledged.

Instead, it proposes architecture that breathes with the seasons, is built from materials the country already knows how to make, and treats public space as something shaped together with the communities who will gather, shelter and survive within it.