kazifidaarchitects Container House — Revisited
As the landscape takes over, the steel structure of the container house gradually blends into nature over time.
Principal architect: @kazifidaislam@kazifidaarchitects
Team: River & Rain
Photo: @salarchman@salarchmanstudio #kazifidaarchitects #containerhouses
Edgewood Mews, Finchley by @peterbarber12 Peter Berber Architects — 97 homes (50% affordable) wrapped around a car-free pedestrian mews. Brick turrets, parabolic arches, and gabled dormers turn social housing into a modern-day citadel.
Led by Phil Hamilton & Alice Brownfield.
Photo: @salarchman
#PeterBarberArchitects #EdgewoodMews #SocialHousing #LondonArchitecture #Finchley
Today I received two books that I contributed to last year.
The first one is very special—*Rafiq Azam: Old Dhaka–New Story: Architecture in Bangladesh* (Rizzoli, 2025), a mid-career monograph exploring architect Rafiq Azam’s sustainable, community-focused design philosophy and his “art of negotiation.” This is his second monograph after 2014 (*Rafiq Azam: Architecture for Green Living*).
Another is a small part of *The July Resolve*, edited by Rezwan Rahman bhai—a book on an event that is now part of our collective history.
Also sharing another book received earlier this year—*Marina Tabassum Architects: A Capsule in Time – Serpentine Pavilion 2025*.
Note: I collaborated as an architectural photographer on these publications (except *The July Resolve*). For collection, please contact the respective architects’ studios.
Escape Den by Kazi Fida Architects (@kazifidaarchitects ) in Dhaka redefines container architecture through a structural choreography of steel, void, and landscape.
Instead of stacking boxes, the architects devised a freestanding steel frame into which four recycled shipping containers are carefully placed, cut, and reoriented. This liberated skeleton allows the containers to float, breathe, and engage with light and air.
At its heart, a triple-height atrium anchors the plan - where an almond tree rises, veiled by vines that soften the industrial language.
Cantilevered bedrooms, interlaced stairs, and terraces unfold vertically, producing a spatial narrative that is both tectonic and poetic.
Escape Den is not just a home - it is a proposition on reuse, solitude, and ecological sophistication.
Principal architect: Kazi Fida Islam (@Kazifidaislam )
Photographer: Asif Salman ( @salarchman ) Salarchman studio (@salarchmantudio )
#DesignOwl #ArchitecturalInspiration #ContemporaryArchitecture #SustainableArchitecture #ArchitecturalStorytelling #DesignCommunity #FutureArchitecture #GlobalDesign #ArchitectureLovers #ArchitecturalMedia
#EscapeDen #RiverAndRain #ContainerArchitecture #DhakaArchitecture #SustainableDesign #SteelStructure #AdaptiveReuse #AtriumDesign #GreenRoofArchitecture #ModularArchitecture
congratulations architect @marinatabassum ‘s khudibari winner @agakhanawardforarchitecture 2023-2025 cycle.
Khudi Bari is a simple space frame built with bamboo and steel connectors that responds to the rise of climate-driven displacement in Bangladesh. The affordable, modular structural system can be rapidly disassembled and reassembled by three people using simple tools. The Khudi Bari is resilient, with its rigid frame able to withstand lateral wind and water pressure. Nevertheless, the lightweight structure requires only a shallow foundation and anchor to the ground. The roofs are corrugated metal sheets for the ease of transport and maintenance. The façades can be made from any material sourced locally, and the Khudi Bari’s architectural design echoes vernacular houses in the region. It is designed with two levels: the lower offers a social and private space, and the upper is used for sleeping and can double as a flood shelter. Khudi Bari units have been deployed in floods and thunderstorms.
Marina Tabassum Architects has worked with communities to share construction knowledge, and scaled up the structure, using it to build aggregation centres for woman farmers and community centres for women in Rohingya refugee camps.
Photo: Asif Salman/salarchman studio
