Picasso once said, “All children are born artists”. This cultural center gives children the opportunity to choose their talent exploring all the cultural options it provides. They will walk the curvy pathway of this compound towards their passion, their art, their culture. This thesis project was proposed by Nayeem Bin Hasan, student from Ahsanullah University of science and technology (batch 28).The site location is in Tilagor,Amberkhana ,Sylhet,covering an area of 5.33 acre. The built area of this project was 89179 sqft. The supervisors for the thesis project were Prof. Bijon B. Sarma, Sujaul Khan, Nujhaba Binte Kabir, Rumana Rashid, Rizu Sarkar.
The scale was a key aspect for shaping the project. Since the project was for the children, the main objective was to match the scale that coordinated with the children and there was no scope for ambiguity. Since the site was located in Sylhet and the orientation being along the west side, the graphic lines were encompassed from the contour lines of the tea gardens. The first building block at the entry point includes two floors consisting the administration block and a restaurant. Another 2 storied block is interlocked from the ground level of this building mass, where the ground floor consists of a puppet theater. This adjoining mass dwells a multipurpose hall that holds various seminars and programs related to children /kids. The circular mass leading to the entry mass is the academic section.
The ground floor of the circular building mass accommodates children aged 6 to 9 and programs includes painting, singing, piano, guitar and dance classrooms. Similarly, the class rooms at the first floor cater to children aged between 9 to 12.The second floor of this mass is for crafting and sculpting. This floor has been designed differently as the program requirements were quite different as it required additional space. Concurrently, a verandah adjoins from this level that visually links the peripheral tea garden inspiring activities such as painting for the children. As for the directional set-ups within the site, the route from the entry mass to the academic section is a journey that bear an additional intrigue as on one side the line is straight and the other side it is curvilinear. The wall is colored yellow that evokes a “sense of gaiety” amongst the children. Children will draw and sketch on this wall like a large canvas.
The landscape was a major feature of this project that was entirely conceived keeping the psychological aspects of the children. Here the curved circles are amalgamated with the curved lines set from the tea gardens.
Concurrently, all these geometry was dealt in such a tasteful manner that children do not face any hassles or any obstacles during their play time. There is a small amphitheatre within this landscape where many small-scaled cultural events can take place subsequently. Along this brief journey across the amphitheatre, some small free-standing columns are designed which simultaneously instills the vista of the site contours as well as manifests a clear direction across the entire landscape.
