The goal of this project was to celebrate BRAC Aarong’s 40th anniversary. An outdoor exhibition was planned to showcase the acclaimed retail shop’s wide-ranging products. The Ci+AU was commissioned to create an exhibition master plan at Dhaka’s Army Stadium and design individual pavilions for different iconic products, from Jamdani and Silk fabric, to jewelry and leather merchandise.
The exhibition masterplan choreographs Aarong’s journey from a modest outlet to market handicrafts created by rural women to a national icon. The visitors experience this journey in the layout of the masterplan. To evoke the experience of a traditional environment in sync with Aarong’s promotion of handicrafts, all pavilions were made of bamboo. The idea was to create a few display pavilions using local materials. The project required a quick installation and dismantling; hence, bamboo was the ideal choice for the structure of the pavilions. A structural frame technique is used which is the same approach applied to timber frame design and construction. The bamboo joints with the floor, walls, and roof are interconnected and often rely on each other for overall stability. The project drew national attention for its innovative use of bamboo and a master plan that appealed to popular imagination.