Khondaker Hasibul Kabir is a Bangladeshi landscape architect and sustainability advocate who works with Bangladeshi development agencies such as BRAC and Grameen in rural and sustainable architecture. He first proposed "The Platform of Hope" (''Ashar Macha'') in 2007 when he moved personally in with family in the
slums
A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily in ...
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. He also worked with German Architect
Anna Heringer
Anna Heringer (born 13 October 1977 in Rosenheim) is a German architect. A proponent of sustainable architecture, she has designed a number of notable buildings including the METI Handmade School in Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
on the
METI Handmade School
The METI Handmade School, a primary school for 168 students located in Rudrapur in Dinajpur district of Bangladesh, was built with the assistance of local craftsmen making use of traditional materials, primarily mud and bamboo. An example of su ...
in
Rudrapur, Bangladesh
Rudrapur is a village in northern Bangladesh. It is located in Biral Upazila in the Dinajpur District. About 370 km by road from Dhaka, it is close to the town of Dinajpur, not very far from the Indian border. The award-winning METI Handmad ...
which received the
Aga Khan Award for Architecture
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the field ...
in 2007.
Education
Kabir graduated with a
Bachelor of Architecture
The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) is a bachelor's degree designed to satisfy the academic requirement of practising architecture around the world.
Australia
Architectural education in Australia varies depending on the university offering th ...
degree in 2000 from the
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, commonly known by the acronym BUET, is a public technological research university in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in 1876 as the Dacca Survey School, it is the oldest institution for the study ...
in
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
, and later attended the
University of Sheffield
, mottoeng = To discover the causes of things
, established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions:
– Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield
, type = Pu ...
in the
U.K.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
where he was awarded a
Master of Architecture
The “Master of Architecture”(M.Arch or MArch) or a “Bachelor of Architecture” is a professional degree in architecture, qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation (internship, exams) that res ...
degree in 2005, where he researched "Homestead plant-communities in the floodplains of Bangladesh for their potential uses in landscape". He also attended the
Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion Sweden and also Costa Rica for "Small scale organized self-help housing" in 2003. He joined
BRAC University
BRAC University ( bn, ব্র্যাক বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, also known as BracU) is a private research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was established in 2001 as a branch of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed's BRAC un ...
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
worker to build a platform extending over Gulshan Lake, and connected it to the garden with a bridge. The "Platform of Hope", measures 18 by 36 feet serves as an open area where local children in the slums of Dhaka can gather to play. It is also equipped with a small
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
. The slum which is home to 120,000 people, is the largest slum in
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
, the capital of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. Located at the city's center, it is boxed in by a growing rich neighborhood and a lake, and increased population density has led to a decrease in open land. Dhaka, according to
UNEP
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on ...
TreeHugger
''TreeHugger'' is a sustainability website that reports on news, and other subjects like eco-friendly design, homes, and gardens. It was rated the top sustainability blog of 2007 by Nielsen Netratings,
and was included in Time Magazine's 200 ...
BRAC University
BRAC University ( bn, ব্র্যাক বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, also known as BracU) is a private research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was established in 2001 as a branch of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed's BRAC un ...