AR Awards for Emerging Architecture	Commended	December 2007
SHATOTTO	Apartment block	Dhaka, Bangladesh
One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Dhaka is characterised by an urban mayhem fermented by unregulated development, unreliable infrastructure and lack of green space. This project for an apartment block attempts to create a civilised and sustainable model for high-density living. Architect Rafiq Azam was a student of Glenn Murcutt and Murcutt’s philosophy of sitting lightly on the ground finds expression in an architecture of simple, unadorned materials (burnt brick, terrazzo tiles and mango wood). It also draws on traditional Bangladeshi precedents, such as the khilkee, louvred shutters that act as permeable, folding walls to demarcate space. Apartments are carefully oriented to take advantage of sun, views and, most crucially in a humid climate, cooling breezes. The duplex on the fifth and sixth floors is the most privileged, with double-height spaces and a luxuriant roof garden. The jury was impressed with how the building responded to the problems of site, programme and climate, and acknowledged its potential to act as an example for similar developments in a city with so few good role models. C. S. Architect Shatotto, Dhaka Project team Rafiq Azam, Roushon-ul-Islam Email shatotto@gmail.com shatotto@bdcom.net