CRAFTING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES: The Intersection of New Vernacular Materials and Adaptive Design in Public Architecture

Abstract

This thesis investigates the transformative role of public architecture in fostering socio-environmental resilience through the integration of new vernacular materials, adaptive resilient design, and community engagement. Grounded in the context of Chattogram’s shipbreaking yard, a site marked by industrial intensity, ecological fragility, and human labor, it reimagines how architecture can emerge from within rather than be imposed from above. The project navigates complex intersections of material reuse, cultural memory, and economic precarity, offering an architectural framework that is deeply rooted yet globally adaptable. Through case studies, theoretical frameworks, and design prototypes, the research explores how participatory processes and local craft can align with advanced digital techniques to form a responsive design language. The work embraces adaptive-transformative modularity, utilizing flexible design tactics that allow architecture to evolve with time and need. By centering the voices and labor of marginalized communities, the thesis positions architecture as a mediator between tradition and innovation, the human and the industrial, the ephemeral and the enduring. Ultimately, this thesis proposes a contextual, inclusive, and scalable approach to architecture—one that not only addresses housing affordability, climate adaptability, and cultural continuity but also catalyzes dignity, participation, and long-term sustainability in public space design.