A school built with indigenous tools, styled after its people
For Mariam, a nursery student, the most beautiful place is her classroom.
Abrar, a student of kindergarten, agrees with Mariam partially. For him, the most beautiful place is his classroom. He also likes the little hiding place between the balcony and the stairs of their building.
None of them can hold back their pride when speaking about their school.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The classrooms themselves are a play of light, air and colours. Yellow, green, orange and matte coloured windows open to let glorious sunshine in and the vista beyond is a green expanse of a playing field.
Perforated screens allow for recycling air, with students not feeling the heat on even the most scorching of days.
The two-storey school building is also earthen in colour. In fact, everything here – from the colours to the layout – are inspired by rural homesteads. The open courtyard is a testament to that.
It's a home away from home for the children.
Approaching the building, one can already hear the humming emanating from the classrooms. That is followed by curious eyes.
It's a Thursday, meaning it's half day of school so the anticipation is already building for the dismissal bell to ring.
As soon as it rings, children rush out, bags slung over their shoulders. The quiet afternoon erupts into joyful cries.
This is the Shahabuddin Foundation School located near Bohoria Bazar in Laxmipur Union, about 8 kilometres from Chandpur city.
Due to its architectural style, the school has been on the list of places to visit in Chandpur district for several years. But it's not just the exterior. The school is also considered to stand apart in terms of both quality and philosophy.
The style and splendour
The school was established in 2017. Its designer was architect Lutfullahil Majid Riaz of Archeground.
His team also included Nabi Nawaz Khan, Zubair Hasan, Tahlil Bin Reza, Kafil Saddam Hossain and Mehnaz Chowdhury. Mir Mosharraf Hoshen Chowdhury was the structural engineer of the building.
Riaz considers the building one of his favourite establishments.
The school funded by businessman Shahbuddin for his village needed a different look.
"The site allotted for the school in a remote village was completely covered with greenery. Constructing a simple two-storey brick-and-stone building there would have spoiled the atmosphere of the place. I wanted to create something that would blend with nature without disturbing nature," Riaz said.
He knew a colourful building would stand out like a sore thumb, so he had to rethink it, settling on the earthy tone. The building, with its tin roofs, bricks and stones, has been designed to ensure the structure does not contrast with the natural splendour surrounding it.
"We used those hues that the children are already familiar with from the environment. For example, we kept the colours of the windows and panels according to the life cycle of the leaves. It slowly turns green, yellow and red again in a storm. This is the palette that is dominant throughout the school."
The upper floor has a tin roof as per the rural climate. Instead of using sliding glass windows, open windows suitable for this country's climate have been placed in the schoolhouse. The north-south oriented building therefore never lacks light and air.
The school building is located on an area of 6,000 square feet. There are four classrooms and a teacher's room on the ground floor, and four more classrooms on the second floor.
The Shaheed Minar is located on one side of the school grounds.
A wide balcony has also been kept around the classroom to give a feeling that the openness is never too far away. Sitting on a bench in the balcony is almost like being a part of the field.
Electric lamps in bamboo baskets also line the balcony ceiling, creating an aesthetic view within a natural environment.
There are two separate staircases in the school building. One leads directly to the field from the second-storey. Architect Lutfullahil Majeed Riaz named this the "Vacation Staircase".
The staircase also serves as a play area with two round holes built into the stairs which seem like little caves.
A place to learn with fun
The environment of a school can be very conducive to learning.
Therefore, the architects of Archeground tried to arrange the environment of Shahabuddin School in such a way that it can play a role in the development of children.
Riaz said, "To inculcate the idea of respecting nature in the minds of children, we have set up a compound inside the school where I have planted black cherry trees."
The tree within the school building reinforces the idea of coexistence with nature. "We want to make the school environment a place of passive learning for children," he said.
Aside from harmony with nature, the school also serves other functions.
"We built a mosque in the Shahabuddin school compound," Riaz said.
He said they wanted to make a 3,000 sq-ft open mosque, ensuring the school grounds are not empty as villagers come to pray.
"People will also think of the village as their own. Playgrounds and places to sit and hang out around the mosque have also been kept. Villagers can come and chat here," said architect Riaz.
The mosque also comes with a rainwater storage system, from which worshippers can use for ablution and even bathing.
A touch of roots
From the design of schools to the manufacture of equipment, local culture prevails in all areas. Brick, metal as well as wood, bamboo and tin are used]
According to the architect, "I wanted to keep the atmosphere like a village tin house throughout the school. No tiles or glass was used anywhere in the school. We didn't want to create an unfamiliar environment where any child would feel inferior."
All the construction work of the school has been done by the local masons of the village without taking any craftsmen or masons from outside. According to Riaz, "Some of them may even have children in this school. If they are involved in this construction with their own hands, they will also have a sense of pride in the school."
Head Teacher Shankar Kumar Saha, who retired after teaching in various famous government high schools in Dhaka, said he has been in-charge since the school was established.
Asked about the architectural style of the school, he said humorously, "Riyaz Sahib put us in danger by building such a school. During the holidays, people from far and wide come to visit the school."
Currently, some of the rooms have been closed due to holes in the ceiling which allowed rainwater to seep in.
On the founder's plans, he said Shahbuddin wanted to turn the primary school into a high school and college.
For that purpose classes VI and VII were also introduced before Covid-19. Archeground was commissioned to design the new building for the high school. The bricks and sand needed for the new building were also brought.
But the construction stopped as the site for the academic building of "Chandpur University of Science and Technology" was decided to be behind the school. That brick and sand still lie in the corner of the field.
The education system
At present, the school offers education from nursery to class five. There are 161 students in total.
There are 12 teachers, including the head teacher.
Each nursery class is attended by three teachers. One explains the materials and the others supervise the students closely.
The headmaster has arranged an additional two hours of free coaching classes after the scheduled school hours for each class from class three to five.
"Most of the students in the village have no one to show them how to study at home. They have to complete what they learn from school. So we give this extra time to them outside of school hours."
Though private, the cost of studying in this school is nominal. Admission to Shahabuddin School requires Tk350 and the monthly salary is only Tk50 taka.
If any meritorious poor student applies, he gets the opportunity to study free of cost.
All expenses of the school are funded by the Shahabuddin Foundation.
