Moofer Architecture Stacks Terracotta Roofs and Brick Jali Screens into a Family Home in Rural Bangladesh

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This article covers topics related to Residential Building, Architecture, Building Patterns, Modular Housing, Building Design, Residential Design. In Rangunia, near Chattogram, a 4,500 ft² brick and concrete house borrows the logic of the rural homestead: pond, screen, verandah and tile roof.

In Rangunia, near Chattogram, a 4,500 ft² brick and concrete house borrows the logic of the rural homestead: pond, screen, verandah and tile roof.

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UNI Editorial published Blog under Residential Building, Architecture on Oct 11, 2026

Much contemporary housing in semi-rural Bangladesh follows the same pattern: a reinforced concrete frame, flat roofs, tinted glass and a boundary wall that cuts the house off from the land around it. Rangunia Residence, completed in 2026 by Moofer Architecture under lead architect Md. Fahad Rahman, starts from the opposite position. The 4,500 ft² house in Pomara, in the Rangunia area of Chattogram, sits among corrugated tin roofs and semi-pucca neighbours. It answers them with steep terracotta roofs, exposed brick, a koi pond and a chain of terraces that step up the building.

The architects say they are not copying the shape of the village house. They want to reuse its working principles: shade, filtered light, water close to living space, and outdoor rooms treated as seriously as indoor ones. Many projects make this claim and few follow through. Here the claim mostly holds, and the clearest evidence is how much of the design was resolved at the level of the brick, the tile and the gate leaf. Some fair questions remain. A three-storey house has more height and density than any homestead, and you can ask whether it keeps the spirit of the type or only its materials. We think the results are worth looking at closely.

A Roofscape Read from the Air

Top-down drone view of the tiled roofs among neighbouring corrugated metal and flat roofs, with palms and a solar panel nearby

Aerial view of the multi-level brick house with layered tile roofs and a person on the terrace, surrounded by palms at dusk

Drone view of the tiled roof planes and brick screen wall among palm trees and neighboring tin roofs

From above, the house stands out from its surroundings. Next door are flat concrete slabs and rippled metal sheets. Moofer's roof breaks into several overlapping terracotta planes at different heights, and each plane covers a different part of the programme. The drone shots show this better than any street view. The roof works as a field of separate pieces rather than one lid.

This matters for climate and for character. A broken roof sheds monsoon rain in several directions, leaves gaps for air to move through, and keeps the bulk of a three-storey house from towering over single-storey neighbours. The solar panel visible nearby in one aerial is a reminder that this is a working rural setting, not a curated landscape.

Tiles on Steel, Brick Below

Front facade of stepped terracotta tile roofs over exposed brick and concrete, with a small pond and palm trees in hazy daylight

Street-side view of the brick and concrete house with its sloping terracotta roof, framed by palms in hazy light

Corner of the brick and concrete volume with overlapping tiled canopies, black railings and a planter, beside a tall palm

Tiered terracotta roofs on slim steel struts above a brick screen wall, with two people standing on the terraces

Terracotta tiled roof layered above a steel-framed balcony and a checkerboard brick screen, with a glazed box rising against a pale sky

Glazed rooftop dormer with a timber frame rising above terracotta tiles, a person visible inside under a pale hazy sky

The building's basic logic is easy to read. Heavy brick and concrete form the walls and floors. A light steel frame holds the clay tile roofs, which sit on slim struts and hover slightly above the walls instead of resting heavily on them. That gap is the most important move on the facade. It lets the roofs act as parasols, casting shade on the terraces and walls beneath, rather than closing the house in.

The glazed timber dormer rising through the tiles is the one element that clearly belongs to the present. It acts as a lantern for the stair below and as a lookout. You could argue it breaks the calm of the roofline. We think it earns its place by showing honestly that this is a contemporary house that has learned from vernacular building, not a reproduction of one.

The Jali as Climate Device

Close view of a perforated brick panel under the clay tile roof, framed by palm fronds and leafy shrubs

Close-up of a brick jali screen with rotated bricks set between solid brick piers, palm fronds visible beyond in daylight

Water spilling over a brick weir below a perforated brick wall planted with heliconia and broad-leaved plants

The perforated brick screens are where the project's argument is most convincing. Bricks are rotated within the bond and set between solid piers, producing a jali that admits air and dappled light while keeping out direct sun and passing views. It costs almost nothing beyond the labour of careful laying. It also relies on a skill Bangladeshi masons already have, rather than on imported cladding systems.

Planting does real work here as well. Heliconia and broad-leaved shrubs grow against the screens, and a brick weir spills water beside them. The ground-floor edge becomes layered: masonry, foliage, water, then the room behind. Air passing over water and through leaves before reaching the interior is a familiar strategy from the tropical homestead, rebuilt in fired clay.

Water at the Threshold

Brick and concrete house rising from a green koi pond, with a timber deck projecting over the water

A man seated in an armchair behind a large steel-framed window at dusk, with lit pond edge and marigolds outside

Double timber door with a vertical handle set in a brick and concrete wall, dappled with leaf shadows

The pond recalls the pukur, the household pond at the centre of rural Bangladeshi life. Here it is shrunk and placed right against the ground-floor living spaces. A timber deck reaches out over the water, and a large steel-framed window lets someone sit in an armchair at dusk with the lit pond edge and marigolds directly outside. The relationship is close, almost tactile, rather than scenic.

The entry is quieter than this. A plain double timber door with one vertical handle is set into brick and concrete and dappled with leaf shadow. Placing such a modest front door beside such a rich edge is a good decision: the house gives very little to the street and opens fully to its own garden.

Terraces as Rooms

Covered terrace with herringbone timber floor, steel-framed tile roof and black railings, a person looking out over neighbouring buildings in soft light

Folding glass doors open to a herringbone timber terrace with a tiled roof, a man walking past at sunset among palms

Herringbone timber terrace in front of a brick upper floor with perforated brick panel, steel struts and a man leaning on the railing

Man leaning on a black balcony railing against a brick wall, with trailing vines and a pitched tile roof above

The terraces carry the verandah into three dimensions. Each has a herringbone timber floor, a tile roof on steel members and black railings, and folding glass doors open them straight into the interiors. They are where the house is actually lived in. People in these images lean on rails, look across neighbouring roofs and walk out at sunset, and the photographer has caught the house in its intended use.

The plans show that the large first-floor terrace sits beside the family living area, while the second floor has only a narrow strip. As you climb, outdoor space shrinks and privacy grows, which is a sensible ranking for a house that, judging by the mirrored suites, appears designed for several generations or branches of one family.

Interiors Built from Light

Living room with exposed concrete ceiling, brick walls and timber sofas, a seated person facing the open window and perforated brick screen

Living area with cantilevered timber stair, perforated brick screen and a man reading in a wooden armchair as a sunbeam crosses the floor

Open ground floor with timber slat partition, floating wooden stair and exposed concrete beams, a person in white walking toward the dining area

Inside, the palette barely changes. Concrete ceilings and beams are left exposed, walls stay in brick, and furniture is timber. The open ground floor runs from living to dining, divided only by a timber slat partition and a floating wooden stair. Daylight entering through the jali becomes the main ornament, a moving pattern of sunbeams across the grey floor over the course of the day.

The danger with this much raw material is gloom, and the photographs show a house that depends heavily on sun. On overcast monsoon days these rooms may feel heavy. That is a reasonable trade for the thermal mass and the honesty of the materials, but it is a trade, and the interiors are best judged in daylight.

Stairs as Light Wells

Corridor with timber doors, brick walls and a black spiral staircase, and sunlight from the glazed wall striping the grey floor

Upper corridor with brick wall, spiral steel stair and tiled pitched roof, afternoon sun casting bright shapes across the grey floor

Looking down a tall concrete and brick stairwell where dappled sunlight falls on the brick wall and a glass floor panel

Brick-lined stairwell with a perforated brick screen at the top, sunlight dappling the walls above timber treads and steel balustrades

The vertical circulation is unusually generous. A main stair runs up a tall brick-lined shaft topped by a perforated screen, with timber treads, steel balustrades and a glass floor panel that lets light fall through more than one level. A separate black steel spiral stair links the upper corridors to the roof. Under the pitched tiles of the top floor, sunlight from the glazed walls lays bright stripes across the corridors.

Two stairs in a 4,500 ft² house could look excessive. In practice they separate the house into overlapping routes: a public spine and a private shortcut to the roof terrace. That flexibility matters if extended family share the building.

Plans and Drawings

Site plan drawing showing the plot boundary, surrounding semi-pucca buildings, two roads and tube wells, with no new building yet placed

Layout plan drawing showing the three-storey residence, a waterbody and a small structure placed within the plot beside neighboring buildings and roads

Master plan drawing of the whole plot showing the house at the rear, a large tree, planted courts, parking and the entry gate

Ground floor plan drawing showing two bedrooms, kitchen, dining, living room, stair, brick jali wall and a deck beside the waterbody

First floor plan drawing showing two mirrored bedrooms with toilets, a family living area, two stairs and a large open terrace

Second floor plan drawing showing two mirrored bedroom suites, a lobby with stair and spiral stair, and a narrow terrace

Roof plan drawing of the rooftop with a barbecue station, a round water tank, a seating group and a spiral stair

Section drawing cutting through three floors under a steep sloping roof, with a floating stair, brick screen walls and a railed terrace

East elevation drawing of the narrow four-level facade with paired windows, a roof railing and water tanks at the top

North elevation drawing showing a long diagonal roof slope above shuttered windows, a railed terrace and a brick screen at ground level

West elevation drawing of a stepped three-storey house with a ribbed sloping roof, balconies and a side stair volume

South elevation drawing showing a steep single-slope roof over stacked terraces, railings, shuttered windows and a perforated brick screen

Detail drawing of a brick jali with front view and row-by-row top views showing rotated bricks, glass and metal plate

Boundary wall detail sheet with axonometric views, a section and plan rows of angled bricks under a hidden LED strip

Gate detail drawing with outside and inside views, swing plans and a section of angled slatted leaves

Roof detail drawing comparing metal framework, ceramic tile layout and roof plan across three stepped roof sections

The drawing set begins at the right scale: the existing site, with semi-pucca neighbours, two roads and tube wells marked before any new building is drawn. The master plan pushes the house to the back of the plot. This frees the front for a large tree, planted courts, parking and the entry gate, much as a homestead sets back from its yard. The ground floor holds two bedrooms with the kitchen, dining and living areas beside the pond. The first and second floors each contain mirrored bedroom pairs, and the roof carries a barbecue station, a seating area and the round water tank.

The detail sheets are the strongest part of the package. Row-by-row drawings of the jali show the rotated bricks, glass and metal plate. The boundary wall uses angled brick courses over a hidden LED strip. The gate is built from angled slatted leaves, and a roof study compares metal framing and tile layout across the three stepped roof sections. The architects plainly treated these elements as architecture, not as items to leave to the contractor.

Why This Project Matters

Rangunia Residence offers a credible alternative to the generic concrete villa spreading across Bangladesh's peri-urban edges. Its tools are cheap and local: brick laid with intent, clay tiles on light steel, a pond, a screen and a verandah. What sets it apart is discipline. The vernacular is not used as decoration but as a set of answers to heat, rain, light and family life.

Not every question is settled. The house is taller and more closed off from the street than the tradition it draws on, and its interiors depend heavily on good weather. Still, the project shows that a regional practice can stay rooted in place without looking backward. For architects working in similar climates and economies, the jali, gate and roof details are a useful lesson in where the real design effort belongs.

Rangunia Residence by Moofer Architecture (lead architect Md. Fahad Rahman; structural engineer Pratim Bhuiyan; electrical engineer Mohammad Rashedul Islam). Location: Pomara, Rangunia, Chattogram, Bangladesh. Area: 4,500 ft². Completed: 2026. Photography by Prantography.

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