The innovative therapeutic center for the disabled built with ancient techniques in mud and bamboo

This therapeutic center for people with disabilities and ethical fashion textile studio is a real catalyst for local development.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

This therapeutic center for people with disabilities and ethical fashion textile studio is a real catalyst for local development.

The innovative therapeutic center for the disabled built with ancient techniques in mud and bamboo

Anandaloy in the Bengali dialect means "The place of profound joy" and this building could not have been better named. Two floors built with mud and bamboo, surrounded by the lush rice fields of Rudrapur village in northern Bangladesh, the structure is not only beautiful, there is so much more. The project as a whole - through the intelligent combination of sustainable design, green architecture and social inclusion - is a response to the needs of the community and the place.

German architect Anna Heringer designed this sustainably constructed multifunctional building housing a therapeutic center for people with disabilities on the ground floor, a fair trade textile production workshop for the village women on the first floor and under the ramp connecting the two floors there are caves that offer a space in which to play or feel protected and embraced. An incredible solution to reduce inequalities, welcome and promote local development without damaging the environment.

“Architecture is a tool for improving life. The vision and motivation of my work is to explore and use architecture as a means to strengthen cultural and individual confidence, support local economies and promote ecological balance, ”Heringer points out.

The Anandaloy Building was built mainly with mud and bamboo from local farmers and designed using the craftsmanship knowledge of the Rudrapur inhabitants, thus demonstrating respect for the environment, culture and traditions of the place.

The construction process of the project was also meaningful and challenging. To make it happen, Heringer involved the whole village: the inhabitants, the neighbors, the people with disabilities, everyone put their hands in the mud, remembering the importance of “being a community” and reinforcing social cohesion.

This wonderful project with its immense socio-cultural and sustainable value is the second winner of the OBEL AWARDS 2020, a new international award that honors recent and outstanding architectural contributions to human development around the world.

Architecture has great transformative, social and environmental power, and Anna Heringer's Anandaloy Building proves it.