Urban tune-up: Redesigning Dhaka’s rooftops as public spaces
Ridwan Noor Nafis has been named the Global Winner in the Global Undergraduate Awards and achieved Gold Prize at the ARCASIA Thesis of the Year. His project envisions turning Dhaka’s barren rooftops into vibrant spaces for interaction
Growing up in Dhaka, Ridwan Noor Nafis witnessed the degradation of a city over the past decades. Parks, playgrounds, and other public spaces have all disappeared under the pressure of urbanisation before his eyes. Buildings and high-rises have swallowed every inch of land, and metro rail has replaced the sky above our heads.
In 2024, while doing his thesis at BUET's Department of Architecture, Nafis decided to work on Dhaka's public spaces. When it comes to public spaces, most people might think of creating new open areas in the city or renovating abandoned parks and open grounds.
But Nafis, now a lecturer in his department, thought outside the box and decided to use the rooftops across the city.
"I thought to myself: let's take the challenge. Let Dhaka remain as it is. Buildings have occupied the land, but their rooftops still hold open spaces," he said.
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Dhaka's rooftops are the greatest overlooked resource the city has. Nafis wondered what if these barren, underused spaces could be transformed into something more?
Imagine an interconnected layer of rooftops, designed and activated with architectural interventions, turning lifeless surfaces into vibrant, functional zones. However, Nafis believes that we don't need to build this culture from scratch.
"In my childhood, I saw rooftops filled with people, especially in the afternoons. Some chatted, some played, others flew kites. On rainy days, many rushed to the rooftop to get drenched. The scene was so lively. Today, that practice is gone," he said.
"We just need to revive that culture by designing a system."
Before diving into how Nafis designed that system, it's worthy to mention that his project titled 'Urban tune-up: Architectural packages for block-based rooftop spaces as containers of public life' has already gained global recognition.
He has been named the Global Winner in the Architecture and Design category of the Global Undergraduate Awards (GUA) 2025, one of the world's most prestigious academic awards programmes. Spanning 25 disciplines, it is organised by a non-profit under the patronage of the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins.
From more than 2,400 outstanding submissions from leading universities worldwide, Nafis's work was selected as the top entry globally in the mentioned category. This year in November, the 16th annual GUA Global Summit will be held in Dublin, Ireland, where Nafis will represent BUET and Bangladesh on the global stage.
That is not all. Nafis also won the Gold Prize (1st Place) at the ARCASIA Thesis of the Year (TOY) 2025, held in Incheon, South Korea. This competition showcases the best thesis projects from architecture schools across Asia, promoting creativity and the regional exchange of ideas.
The project was supervised by Dr Khandaker Shabbir Ahmed and Maherul Kader Prince. "They guided me throughout. I feel deeply indebted to them," he added.
How the design works
The project seeks to reclaim public spaces in a city dominated by privatisation. But it does so without breaking the rules. It blends local practices with global urban design approaches to create visionary and feasible solutions.
Nafis chose Karwan Bazar-Farmgate and its surrounding areas as his project site. Being dense and compact, he found the zone ideal for testing his concept.
The design unfolds in three layers. First, a connected rooftop network stretches across plots and blocks, offering a new canvas above the city's existing buildings. Second, architectural "packages" are introduced to activate and enliven these rooftops. And third, an elevated walkway weaves its way between metro stations, injecting life into a city long shaped by cars.
Together, these elements form an integrated urban system. Drawing from local data, like the Detailed Area Plan 2022, and international urban design principles, the project proposes a parametric block structure that adapts to existing patterns. From this emerges a "potential roof layer" ready to host the architectural packages.
However, Nafis said that his model is only a demo and can be adapted to meet different needs.
"Each rooftop package, composed of primary follies and modular roof units, is flexible. It can accommodate children playing, community gatherings, food stalls, or urban farming."
Meanwhile, the elevated walkway, 20–22 meters above the ground along the metro piers, serves as a linear spine of public life. Unlike the city's rigid streets, it moves naturally, linking rooftops, transit hubs, and public spaces in one continuous route.
By activating rooftops, Dhaka could reinvent itself. Buildings retain their solid, permanent lower levels, but above, a temporal, dynamic layer breathes life into the skyline. These rooftop spaces can evolve with the city's changing needs.
Is it implementable?
An award or recognition only validates an idea, but for its benefits to reach the public, it must be implemented. Now the question is: how feasible is Nafis's idea within the socio-economic realities of Bangladesh?
Several cities worldwide have transformed rooftops into vibrant public spaces, including Rotterdam, Shenzhen, Amman, Basel, and London.
"The main challenge is not technology or finance. It lies in people's mindset. We can manage technology and finance to implement many things, but whether people will accept them depends on their way of thinking. If they don't accept it, the implementation will fail to serve its purpose," his supervisor Dr Khandaker Shabbir Ahmed told The Business Standard.
"Here, people are reluctant to accept something out of the box. But it doesn't necessarily mean illogical — one can think outside the box while being logical," he noted.
A question may arise: if public spaces are designed on rooftops like this, will it pose any challenges to the buildings' sustainability?
"Yes. It can increase stress on some buildings but there is an architectural solution. There is a technique called retrofitting, which is used to increase a building's capacity without compromising on safety and sustainability," Dr Ahmed said.
Nafis said that the thesis output could spark small, follow-up research projects. Based on these outputs, a physical pilot project could then be implemented on a real-life scale. It could be in a part of the city or a single building. Gradually, it could expand from there.
"It's a process. The problem is, we never really get it started. The government should at least take the initiative to run a pilot project based on such ideas," he concluded.
