Retrospecting Genocide: Awakening the Existence of Zinzira Bazar

The project ‘Retrospecting Genocide- Awakening the Existence of Zinzira Bazar’ gives a hint of the co-existence of two different major functions at the same time. A bazar that serves the neighborhood for a major time span also, became a prime shareholder of the history of our liberation war in 1971. On April 2nd, The Pak military vandalized the Zinzira bazar and killed almost 700 people who took shelter escaping from Dhaka during ‘Operation Searchlight’ took place on 25th March. The mass killing stretched in Zinzira, Kalindi, and Shubhadya union from Keraniganj. Reasons behind the site Zinzira was taken- being one of the most atrocious killing sites in the history of our liberation war, horrific storyline, and strategically important zone during the war. In this project, the task was to tie up this phenomenon with the existing function in a way that no single attribute deluges another one. The revival of the bazar comes as a part of the total thought process where neighborhood engagement would highly be encouraged. In order to express the rendezvous, it introduces a few new functions and withdraws its boundary to have access from all over the neighborhood, creating various types of facilities not only for the stakeholders of the project but also for the neighborhood and beyond. The additional functions along with the traditional bazar are- mosque, madrasa hostel, library, confectionary-café, movie hall, marketplace, warehouse, wholesale dock and a boat terminal. The experiential journey starts from a -15’ plaza connecting the boat terminal which is also a part of Gallery 1. Gallery 1 is based on the idea of prologue of our Liberation war. Gallery 1 leads to Gallery 2 which is placed under the traditional bazar respectively at -15’ and -25’ level. This one is based solely on the Zinzira Massacre. A chair from one of the victims house is placed there as an exhibit including other items. The third Gallery is a block of library and experiential pathway which connects the mosque and café terrace. The journey ends to a Banyan tree plaza that is a witness of the Zinzira Genocide 1971. The third gallery is design to express the story of our liberation war 1971. The boat terminal is designed to replace all the three existing ‘ghaat’ nearby the site in a way that still operating at the same location; additionally passenger waiting, toilet, docking system is included to enhance the experience. Moreover, a part of the terminal works as Gallery 1 including the curatorial office. The mosque was re-zoned to make accessible road network uninterrupted, relocated and having a jenana floor that both can be accessed from neighborhood aspect and the project mass level. The traditional bazar is introduced with some facilities and divided into different zones which made the bazar more efficient. The wholesale setup and warehouse is shifted to the basement 1 level which will also house a loading unloading dock for mass transportation. The marketplace is designed to house other rentable shops and a movie hall comes with rooftop café and a terrace garden. A confectionary, café and super-shop block is there which is connected to the library block. The project is based on the idea on Neo-contextuality. The approach to the project can be defined in 2 ways. Large scale considerations in an urban context and the co-relationship among several functions.