The old building of the women’s welfare association was a Dhaka institution, providing services for the empowerment for women, and it housed an auditorium that was famous as the birthplace of modern Bengali theatre. The building was no longer able to meet the organisation’s needs, so funds were raised for a new six-storey complex containing two auditoriums, conference facilities, offices, and a primary school. The ground floor is designed as a gathering place and an extension of the sidewalk and the vertical circulation is gentle, by means of ramps, bridges and voids. The façade maintains this connection with the outside through a combination of heavy masonry brick walls, concrete fins and curtain walls. 

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture