Faculty of Design

Environmental Design - Interior Design Specialization

Syeda Salwa Baquer

Levee

Sustenance of ideas, identity and belief is key in Interior Design, achieved through an attempt of interpretation of lives as they synthesize with their environment. On that note, this thesis endeavors to revive an important historic edifice in the slighted scene of architectural conservation in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh, and thus restore the integrity of the land and the community that inhabits it, through mission-driven hospitality.The Ruplal House, a convex point of architecture, culture and history, lies abandoned, standing still as the world passes it by- a silent and dilapidated witness.Levee is the reconfiguration of the heritage site to a mixed-use development that offers rehabilitation, recreation & respite by banking on the local resources and exacting exorbitance- so the plenitude of the past empowers the prosperity of today. It is where public, economic and environmental health reconciles with design interventions that have been insofar withheld to truly interweave timbre and timber. It stands with yesterday, it stands for tomorrow.Please View Plans, Elevations and Sections below:

“Design, for me, is simply story-telling. A protagonist, an obstacle to overcome, a bit of hope, raw beauty, a lot of willpower and a beautiful end. The gorgeous yet parched site inspires both awe and anger in me- hauntingly beautiful and colossally dishonoured when it has the potential to become incredibly meaningful to the historically rich land and its culturally imbued people.The logo is inspired by the namesake- levee- an embankment along waterline. More than a capitalistic venture and an interior renovation, this project’s ambition is to heal and grow with the community and perform to its perceived promise”