Rethinking The Urban Façade Of Mohammadpur Town Hall Bazaar: Connecting People, Place And Architecture | Bachelors Design Project

Site Context

The site’s historical evolution reflects a layered transformation from agrarian roots to a vibrant urban marketplace. Originally known as Barab village, the area remained marshland and was primarily used for agriculture through the 1920s and 1930s. The mid-20th century marked a shift toward civic and spatial planning, with the establishment of the Town Hall Mohammadpur in 1955 and the introduction of grid planning in the 1950s. 

Commercial activity began to take shape in the 1960s and 1970s, as ground floors were repurposed into shops, culminating in the formal establishment of the Bazaar in 1968. The following decades saw a steady expansion of market functions, particularly in perishable goods such as fish, meat, and vegetables. Since the 2000s, the emergence and growth of the Mosque Market have further institutionalized regular bazaar activities, embedding the site as a central node of everyday commerce and community life.

Design Process

The study begins with a strategic site analysis, positioning the area within a central business district enriched by robust transit connectivity and commercial intensity. A series of layered maps—morphological, topographical, and infrastructural—reveal the spatial dynamics of the site, including urban density, elevated zones, fragmented blue-green networks, and diverse land use typologies. Road connectivity and building height maps highlight circulation patterns and vertical zoning, while rent range and public transport maps expose socio-economic gradients and accessibility. Active location highlights and demographic traffic analysis, segmented by weekdays and weekends, provide insights into user behavior, income distribution, literacy levels, religious majority, and household sizes—forming a nuanced understanding of the site’s lived rhythms.

From this diagnostic foundation, the study identifies both opportunities and constraints. Opportunity appraisal maps point to civic nodes, waterfront edges, and embedded commercial corridors ripe for activation, while constraint maps flag regulatory barriers, infrastructural gaps, and spatial fragmentation. These findings inform a clear vision: to transform the site into a vibrant, inclusive urban environment that fosters equity, resilience, and civic engagement. The objectives are sixfold—ensuring gender-sensitive design, ethnic inclusivity, civic gathering spaces, economic resilience, participatory governance, and scalable development models. Together, they form the ethical and functional backbone of the proposed interventions.

To operationalize this vision, six strategic approaches are proposed: Child-Friendly Design, Clean-Up Initiatives, Product-Based Zoning, Embedded Civic Participation, Smart Waste Management, and Waterfront Activation. These strategies are spatially synthesized in the conceptual zoning map, which organizes directional flows, functional clusters, and civic anchors into a coherent urban framework. The zoning plan integrates commercial vibrancy with inclusive public spaces, aligning infrastructural upgrades with community needs and future scalability. This layered approach ensures that the site evolves not only as a marketplace but also as a resilient, participatory, and culturally grounded urban node.

Final Outcome

The spatial organization is anchored along a central axis that prioritizes visibility, connectivity, and circulation. Functional masses are strategically segregated yet unified through a grounded plaza—a classic plinth that offers both a fearless and humble welcome to all users. The primary massing zones are categorized into three essential components: perishable goods, non-perishable goods, and marketing goods. The wet market, comprising perishable and non-perishable zones, is located in the northeast, while the dry market, dedicated to marketing goods, occupies the southwest—an orientation informed by considerations of natural ventilation, solar access, and efficient drainage.

The architectural form emerges from contextual responsiveness—shaped by functionality and neighboring conditions. Rather than asserting a distinct formal identity, the design seeks a humble integration with its surroundings. The architectural vocabulary includes geometric volumes, raw material expression, perforated brick infill, sustainable facade treatments, and clear circulation paths that facilitate seamless movement across functions.

Circulation is a celebrated aspect of the design. From the welcoming threshold to the festive culmination, the pedestrian journey is enriched with diverse activities and spatial transitions. Linear walkways are intentionally choreographed to evoke a sense of progression—both in form and function. A key intervention involves the transformation of a vehicular road at the southeast corner of Iqbal Road into a pedestrian-oriented paveway, connecting an otherwise inaccessible field to the bazaar. This decision is grounded in collective survey data and reflects a participatory planning approach.

The facade treatment retains its historical resonance through the continued use of archways, fostering a sense of local belonging and cultural continuity. Material choices are guided by considerations of economy, climate responsiveness, and local availability—primarily brick, concrete, wood, and steel.

Conclusion: In essence, the project envisions the bazaar as a civic celebration—an organized, inclusive space where daily necessities are accessed, transactions are humanized, and community life is enriched. It integrates the processes of developing, pricing, promoting, and distributing everyday goods within a spatial framework that enhances consumer satisfaction and supports broader organizational objectives.

[This Academic Project has been published with text and images submitted by the student]