Abstract

This paper studies the practice of preserving culture and memories through a creative approach towards architectural spaces. Institutions like cultural centers and museums are established to preserve a place or community's culture and traditional practices. They are considered important infrastructures in a city, as they foster identity and community and are built with a sense of continuance and immortality. They work to preserve culture, traditions, narratives, and practices for future generations. Françoise Vergès's statement, "Museums seem to, inevitably, imply a certain death,"  (“Rohingya Cultural Preservation: An Internationally Coordinated Response Is Urgent” 2024) reflects on how museums preserve and display objects which results in detaching these objects from their original context and converting them into static entities rather than dynamic cultural resources. 

The practice of collective making 

Rizvi Hassan is a Bangladeshi architect. He has worked on community projects at various places. His practice involves a process of collaborative making, where he works with communities and draws learnings from the construction and the outcome. His projects respond to the context not just in terms of material use but also address the identity and culture of the community. His approach to the Rohingya Cultural Memory Center has an interesting response to the contemporary context as it looks beyond the tangible form and addresses the healing of the refugees. 

Who are Rohingya refugees?

Rizvi Hasan’s Rohingya Cultural Memory Center (RCMC) in Bangladesh, provides an interesting perspective towards preserving memories and cultural practices. The project started by understanding the stories of the Rohingya community, a displaced Muslim ethnic group from Myanmar, who had been forced outside of their homeland. The reason being the conflict between the government and the community due to discrimination and denial of citizenship. This led to a lot of violence and the community eventually fled to Bangladesh. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) carried out a mental assessment survey in which it was discovered that the Rohingya refugees faced a loss of identity after being cut off from their cultural homeland (Arakan). An important objective of this project is to heal from the past and create new stories that bring a sense of belonging to the community.  

Concept and Philosophy

The architect brings forward creative ways to construct the center by engaging people from the community in the process. The artisans who built the space belonged to the community, which resulted in creating spaces that belonged to them not just in a tangible way but also in a true sense. It reflects on the idea of creating spaces through memories, which are impalpable entities and do not have a designated form. Such spaces can be created through architectural metaphors, where a message is conveyed through a physical form. It is concerned with the story or memory that is associated with the space which establishes a relationship between the viewer or user and the form.     

The courtyard acts as an interactive space allowing in natural light.                                                                         Source: Archello

Healing through making

Gardens were an important part of the process while building as they initiated discussions regarding plants that would be planted inside each of the four courts. The community members also became a part of discussions which eventually helped in crafting the space from scratch. These discussions led to a better understanding of the construction techniques used by the community in their traditional houses. The center makes them feel at home as it brings together the culture of their homeland and engages them in activities like gardening together, making objects, and weaving that connect them socially.      

Spaces and Experiences 

The memory center sits on a hilltop. A large game-play area at the start of the structure is a space for community children to play traditional games. The main building of the center is an amalgamation of three halls which reads as a single permeable space from the inside with three gardens, which are like central courtyards that allow in light for display as well as collect rainwater. These gardens are intrinsic to healing and community building and not just green spaces inside the structure.

Each of these courts has different gardens with plants for kitchen purposes, healing, medicine, and water plants. The walls created by bamboo weaving are perforated, which creates a visible connection between the inside and the outside, it also increases the breathability of the space and the quality of light entering inside the space. The roof extends ahead of the wall and creates a shaded passage outside the structure that becomes a transactional corridor allowing interactions between people passing through it. This nipa-palm roof protects the structure from rain and keeps the temperature cool inside. The structure is made of natural materials like bamboo and nipa-palm leaves that were locally available. It follows the typology of tottar ghor, a traditional timber house in Rohingya where the verandah winds around the living space on the upper level. The fourth unit acts as a workshop and storage space, where the articles displayed in the center were made. It is accessed by stairs due to a level difference.

From Objects to Experiences: Modern Approaches to Cultural Preservation

These centers are expected to last for a longer period, as they influence the social and cultural life in the city/state. The RCMC is an ephemeral structure made up of wood and bamboo and is built in such a way that it can be easily dismantled. The materiality of the structure contradicts the idea it was built with, that is to revive, preserve, and take ahead the memories and cultural practices of the community. Similarly, the Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Center (Dharamshala, India) also aims to preserve the culture of the community by training the refugees and empowering them, by providing workshops for making their traditional crafts. They believe in preserving culture by empowering the community, by providing them means of livelihood. It is designed to address the needs of the people. Both structures are designed with the primary objective of healing and preserving the cultures of the displaced communities but have completely different forms and practices involved.  

The practice of preserving culture has evolved from stories passed on verbally and written records to education, architecture, and other institutions. There is a shift observed in the outlook of a lot of institutions. Earlier, culture was preserved through the idea of objects being displayed in large rooms. This shift has opened up perspectives beyond the tangible. Today’s practices look at metaphorical ways of preserving culture, that is by looking at experiences and stories as driving forces to create a space. 

References

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Hassan, Rizvi. n.d. “Rohingya Cultural Memory Cente | Rizvi Hassan.” Archello. Accessed August 7, 2024. https://archello.com/project/rohingya-cultural-memory-cente.

Hassan, Rizvi. n.d. “Rohingya Cultural Memory Cente | Rizvi Hassan.” Archello. Accessed August 8, 2024. https://archello.com/project/rohingya-cultural-memory-cente.

Khan, Zohra. 2022. “Art of preserving memory: The Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre in Bangladesh.” STIRworld. https://www.stirworld.com/see-features-art-of-preserving-memory-the-rohingya-cultural-memory-centre-in-bangladesh.

Majumdar, Shahirah. n.d. “Rohingya CMC.” Rohingya CMC. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://rohingyaculturalmemorycentre.iom.int/detail.aspx?lang=en&area=news&pid=34&bid=283&cid=107.

Mollard, Manon, Oliver Wilton, Matthew Barnett, Eleanor Beaumont, Kristina Rapacki, Noman Ahmed, and Martha Dillon. 2023. “Memory matters: Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre in Ukhiya, Bangladesh by Rizvi Hassan.” The Architectural Review. https://www.architectural-review.com/buildings/memory-matters-rohingya-cultural-memory-centre-in-ukhiya-bangladesh-by-rizvi-hassan.

“Rohingya CMC.” n.d. Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre. Accessed August 7, 2024. https://www.rohingyaculturalmemorycentre.iom.int/blog.aspx?lang=en&cid=99&pid=33.

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“Rohingya Cultural Preservation: An Internationally Coordinated Response Is Urgent.” 2024. New Lines Institute. https://newlinesinstitute.org/state-resilience-fragility/complex-emergencies-and-humanitarian-crises/rohingya-cultural-preservation-an-internationally-coordinated-response-is-urgent/.