"CITIZEN ARENA : Citizens Against Pseudo-Democracy" By Mohammed Ashraful Alam 10108015 SEMINAR II Submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Architecture Department of Architecture BRAC University 2015 Abstract: Any governance system is defined by the placement of 'power' in it and in democracy the supreme power is vested in the people. However, the Citizens of Bangladesh are not aware of the power that their constitution offers them. Therefore, they are unable to exercise them. As a result, the power of the people remains idle. This creates an imbalance in the distribution of power between the governance and the governed, which results into 'Pseudo-Democracy'. This project provides the citizens with a platform, where they can get the opportunities to be aware of the power that the constitution offers them and how power works in the governance system. Not only that, they will also be able to practice these powers through this project. As a whole, this will be a platform for the Citizens to be aware and act, which will be known as 'Citizen Arena'. Citizen Arena will not only educate people in 'power', but also will provide them with opportunities to exercise those power. Here in this project citizens will be brought to a more engaging relationship with the constitutional rights to keep Democracy upright. Acknowledgement: 'Citizen Arena' was a concept that from its conception to its completion has grown to maturity with the help of many. Perhaps, this is what made the project all the more engaging. Therefore, I am sincerely grateful to many for their contribution to help me realize this project. Firstly, I would like to thank Almighty Allah for his blessings and guidance over these past 5 years. A special thanks to my family for keeping me in their prayers and for the patience, tolerance and love with which they have showered me all this time. A special acknowledgement is due to my course instructor A.F Mahmudun Nobi, without whose continuous guidance, ideas, appreciations, the project would have not been possible. I would also thank Dr. Mohammad Habib Reza and Shakil A. Shimul for allowing me to do an unconventional project and guiding me in whatever way possible. Furthermore, I would like to thank all my batch mates, and juniors for extending their helping hands whenever it was required. I would specially take the following names, Mridul, Maisha, Abir, Asif, Shatil, Zabed, Kader, Anisha, Walid, Towhid, Sakib, Tabib for their continuous support. Last but not the least, I am very much grateful to Reshmeen Nusrat, for her never ending motivation and encouragement through the whole journey, without which 'Citizen Arena' would have remained only as a concept. Thank you. Table of content CHAPTER 01 : Background of the project 1.1 Project brief 1.2 Project Introduction 1.3 Objective of the project 1.4 Given Programs CHAPTER 02: Site Appraisal 2.1 Site Considerations 2.2 Site 2.3 Reasons for choosing the site 2.4 Connectivity of the site 2.5 Surroundings of the Site 2.6 Detail Area Planning CHAPTER 03 : Literature Review 3.1 What is Pseudo-Democracy? 3.2 How Democracy can turn into Pseudo-Democracy? 3.3 What Distributes power in a Democracy 3.4 Constitution of Bangladesh 3.5 Citizen Organizations / Civil Society CHAPTER 04: Case Studies 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Case study 01_Tiananmen Square, Beijing 4.3 Case Study 02_Museum of Australian Democracy 4.4 Case Study 03_The Open Parliament of Albania CHAPTER 05: Programs and Development 5.1 Proposed Programs and Rationale 5.2 Self Developed Programs 5.3 Other Proposed Programs 5.4 Area Calculation Chapter 06 Design Development 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Connecting the axis 6.3 Concept Development 6.4 Form Development 6.3 Programmatic Layout 6.4 Final Design Drawings Conclusion References A s hraf | 1 CHAPTER 01: Background of the project 1.1 Project brief 1.2 Project Introduction 1.3 Objective of the project 1.4 Proposed programs A s hraf | 2 CHAPTER 01: Background of the project The project is unique in the sense that there is no existing proposal as such and the project cannot be easily placed in any particular typological categories. It is an architectural response to the existing political relationship between the governance and the Citizens of Bangladesh. There has not been any precedence of such project in Bangladesh. The purpose of the project is to provide the citizens of the country a platform, where they will be able to learn about their constitutional rights, and will also be able to exercise those rights from that very platform. 1.1 Project brief Title: "Citizen Arena : Citizens Against Pseudo-Democracy" Client: Citizen Organizations ( Citizens for Good Governance, Democracy Watch, Election Working Group, BELA, Ain O Shalish Kendro, Electoral Integrity Project, BNWLA). Site Location: As there is no proposal of this project, hence there is no specific site already proposed. But this project demanded a central location, well connected to the rest of the city. Not only that, it had to be around the administrative body of the government, and also required a vast open site, for the monumentality of its physical and metaphysical purpose, as this project represent the Citizens of the country. Considering all the conditions, the Old-Airport site has been decided to be the potential site for the project. Site area: 106 acres 1.2 Project Introduction To understand and recognize any political system, it is fundamentally important to understand it’s distribution of 'Power’. The placement of power between the governed and the governing body determines the nature of the political system. The placement of power decides the nature of governance, for example, in a 'Monarchy' power resides with monarchs, in a 'Dictatorship' with the dictator. In the same way, in a Democracy, the supreme power of the state should be vested in the citizens. Through the citizens the power disseminates to the institutes of Democracy, therefore to the government. In democracy, power always resides with the people and that is what made democracy so popular. Democracy gives citizens the power to demand accountability and the right to choose or decide for their own. In fact, the very notion of democracy is to give power of the state to the people, diminishing any chance for any individual group to possess absolute power. A s hraf | 3 This project proposes a center where citizens will be educated about Democracy, how democracy works, why ‘power’ is so important in a democracy, how government works, and how to organize power to create pressure in order to achieve what is desired by the majority. Along with the edutainment center, there will be facilities for citizen groups or forums that will give them a platform to have open dialogues, to exchange ideas about governance, to organize citizens and create educated collective opinion about decisions that governments take. In brief, ‘Citizen Arena’ will make citizens aware of the power they have in democracy and how can they organize it and apply it constructively to create pressure on the governing bodies in order to achieve a common demand. 1.3 Objectives of the project ● Educating citizens in their Democratic rights. ●Familiarizing citizens with the constitutional rights. ●Providing scopes to the citizens to exercise their rights. ●Providing civic education. ●Creating a bridge between the citizen organizations and the citizens. ●Providing citizen organizations a stronger ground, with the power of the citizens. ●Creating a public space, combined with cultural essence. ●Providing a platform to contain citizens' voice. ●To create a monument dedicated to Democracy. A s hraf | 4 1.4 Given Programs As this project is a self-developed project, no program requirement is given. But to have a starting some major programs need to be assumed. Programs Area Admin 10,200 sqft Assembly hall 5028 sqft Freedom-Gallery of Political arts 26,200 sqft Equity- Gallery of Constitution 16,300 sqft Justice- Gallery of extra judicial acts 14,900 sqft Representation- Gallery of manifestos and 13,700 sqft political promises Petition Gallery 88,350 sqft Civic Education 15,700 sqft Legal Aid Service 13,000 sqft Lawyers' Lounge 9600 sqft Auditorium 14,064 sqft Canteen 11,300sqft Total 2,38,342 sqft In the proposed design, in addition to providing these opportunities, the design will include the buffer space or event space to catalyze the social interaction with the society. A s hraf | 5 CHAPTER 02: Site Appraisal 2.1 Site Considerations 2.2 Site 2.3 Reasons for choosing the site 2.4 Connectivity of the site 2.5 Surroundings of the Site 2.6 Detail Area Planning