Aga Khan Academy Dhaka | Shatotto

The Aga Khan Academy

The Aga Khan Academy project is a collaboration between Shatotto and London’s Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. Set upon a 74,150 square meter land area, the project is Shatotto’s largest school project to date. The design philosophy takes inspiration from Buddhist Mahaviharas which emphasizes shared spaces or courtyards attached to living quarters, and aims to create a sanctuary of education for students and staff alike. The various school buildings are designed with wide, open hallways and courtyards providing plenty of space for students to move about freely. There are numerous points of interaction all over the school grounds – places to run, play, sit and chat or simply observe the surroundings. It was once said that “the classroom belongs to the teacher, but the school belongs to the students”, an ideology echoed by the design of the Aga Khan academy through its ample space and freedom afforded to its users. Complementing the open layout are the numerous brick buildings surrounding the central maidan (field). Using mainly locally sourced brick and patterning born of Bangladeshi brick traditions, the academy creates a cohesive campus and expresses a hierarchy of special spaces within the subtle artistry of its brickwork language. The character of the academy takes after many of the original Buddhist universities that once existed in Bangladesh, and is defined by the massing and materiality of brick buildings situated on a sculpted and heavily planted landscape base on all four sides of the calm, central maidan (field). This is the spiritual, recreational, and social heart of the school.