The Second Voyage

Bhatiary Union, located in Sitakunda Upazila of Chittagong Division, Bangladesh, has evolved into one of the most distinctive marketplaces shaped directly by the global ship-breaking industry.After 20–30 years of service, ships are dismantled due to increasing maintenance costs, and nearly 95% of their components are resold as scrap.With nearly 80% of global ship dismantling occurring in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, Chittagong’s Sitakunda coast—particularly the 25 km stretch of beach at Bhatiary—has become the largest ship-breaking yard in the world.Along the Sitakunda coast, where dismantled ships arrive at the end of their journeys, another story unfolds quietly. Over the years, along a 3.5 km stretch of the Dhaka–Chittagong National Highway, an organically grown yet vibrant informal ship scrap industry market has emerged. Here, salvaged ship products—from the smallest screw to large-scale machinery, furniture, electronics—are bought and sold. The strip accommodates around 300 shops, supporting the livelihoods of over 1,000 traders and workers. Its informal growth reflects the immense economic value of the ship-breaking sector. It is vibrant, chaotic, and deeply human, sustained by the labor and resilience of traders and workers.

MARKET ISSUES:
Despite its vibrancy, the market remains fragmented and scattered, with no proper zoning or civic facilities, making movement difficult and work harder than they need to. Similar types of shops are scattered, making navigation difficult for buyers. The absence of safety measures, such as a buffer zone between the highway and the shops, increases accident risks. Basic facilities such as parking, loading–unloading zones, and organized circulation are missing, weakening overall efficiency. The current layout of the market results in lost customers, inefficient circulation, and reduced sales, preventing the market from becoming the economic hub it could be. Without an integrated system, the market struggles to establish a consistent customer base and cannot fully achieve its potential.

PROPOSAL:
This thesis begins with empathy for this everyday scene.It questions how architecture can meaningfully support the people who depend on this place without taking away its character.The proposal envisions a UNIFIED MARKET COMPLEX set within an 8.3-acre site along the existing strip, designed to enhance the commercial value of salvaged goods while introducing civic and cultural functions into the surrounding industrial fabric.

DESIGN PROCESS:
The design follows the logic of the place itself, a linear form that mirrors the roadside market, but reorganized with clarity and care. Two parallel blocks run along the site, connected by bridges across multiple levels. Between them emerges an open plaza, a pause within the industrial flow, where people can meet, rest, and reclaim a sense of public life.

- The marketplace is structured vertically. Heavy mechanical goods settle at the base, supported by double-height spaces and overhead crane systems for safe handling, while lighter products rise above in layered zones.

- Circulation is rethought through separate entries for customers, services, and administration, allowing movement to become intuitive rather than chaotic.A separate service zone is placed at the rear of the building, supported by a continuous ramp system that connects to every floor through dedicated service corridors, ensuring uninterrupted customer circulation. To further streamline logistics, the adjacent canal edge has been extended into the site to introduce a boat docking and crane zone, enabling efficient delivery of heavy products directly from the shipyards.- The master plan integrates the marketplace with its surrounding landscape to create a cohesive and inviting environment. The front landscape enhances the customer experience by providing outdoor spaces for relaxation, recreation, and public gatherings.

-  To connect commerce with culture, an Experience Center is integrated within the complex, offering visitors insights into the history and significance of the ship-breaking industry.CONCLUSION :Through this vision, the project does not attempt to romanticize industry, nor erase its rawness. Instead, it seeks to reorganize the existing condition with empathy and purpose. It also reinterprets the site’s informal trading culture, climate-responsive spatial practices, and material reuse logic into a contemporary architectural language.

In this proposal, Bhatiary becomes more than a marketplace. It transforms into a shared civic space shaped by work and people—where the end of one journey, that of a ship, gives rise to another rooted in livelihood, community, and continuity.