The Site

Here is a series of plans and sections to describe the various states of water level across the area of focus. This location was chosen for it's unique position of outside the embankment, but inside of the river. Sandfilling and development is attractive here for it's prime proximity to the financial core of Dhaka. Although, as it is outside the embankment it is extremely susceptible to the dynamic rise and fall of the Turag River. Land in this area is subject to seasonal fluvial forces.

The Sandfill

Dhaka's west side is protected my a 30 kilometer long embankment. This flood protective infrastructure has spawned a wave of illegal landfilling through the means of pumping in sand that is shipped up river. Sandfill, as I call it, provides a platform for future development, but it's current processes of operation disregard any value of low lying land for the city. Zones of 5 meters or less around Dhaka act as critical flood protection through the it inherent ability to store water during events of heavy rainfall and annual river flooding. In addition, areas of low elevation naturally develop as wetlands in this subtropical environment, which can host a range of unique wildlife habitats. (see species board for types of wildlife and habitats)

The Endangered Species

Dhaka is in, or adjacent to, four bio-ecological zones. This map identifies there proximity to the city and the endangered species of each type of habitat.

The Proposal

This blog was created to provide a window into the last few months of my graduate career at the GSD. During this time I will be in the depths of my thesis work, which is devoted to the cycle of drawing and then researching and then drawing and then more drawing. Please follow periodically to watch these final stages.

The proposal -

The mega city of Dhaka faces a great threat of chronic catastrophic flooding in the future due to the impending climate change. Through the construction of hard edged infrastructure the city is attempting to prevent the devastation from the four surrounding flood prone rivers pose. Since Dhaka is on the brink of battling the issue of flooding due to climate change, it will become a model of catastrophe prevention that other cities will reference over the course of the 21st century.

This thesis project seeks to create a soft infrastructural edge between the Turag River and Dhaka’s Mohammadpur District, which addresses the need for both a healthy hydrological ecology and future urban settlement. The three objectives are to: reestablish an ecological drainage network for the District of Mohammadpur, create an adaptive urban fluvial edge that will buffer the city from river floods and quickly release storm waters, and develop a platform for future settlement.

Check out the full thesis prep doc here.