Begin with what belongs.
Three existing trees, an east-facing street and a low seasonal water table. The building must negotiate with all three.
INDEPENDENT ARCHITECTURE STUDIODHAKA · WORKING EVERYWHERE
Architecture
begins
with a line.001
HOUSE BETWEEN TREES / DHAKA / 202690°24′ E
+ 02A WAY OF SEEING+
THE OBJECT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.
We do not design objects.
We design relationships
between , , , .
A STUDY IN / space
The room matters. The space between rooms matters just as much.
+ 03SELECTED WORK / 2025–2026+
Different places.
One curiosity.
From a single room to a piece of the city. Each project begins by listening to what is already there.
A fictional portfolio of architectural proposals. All projects are concept studies, not built commissions.
+ 04IN FOCUS / THE MAKING OF A PLACE+
House
Between Trees.
Dhaka, Bangladesh
420 m² / Residential / Concept, 2026
Architecture: DATUM
Team: A. Rahman / M. Sato
Consultants: Field environmental study group
Program: Family home + courtyard
Materials: Concrete / oak / glass
Illustrative project team
Let the site draw back.
Open north for diffuse daylight. Protect the west from afternoon heat. Keep a shaded route through the plot.
Two volumes. One conversation.
Long bars establish a quiet edge to the street while holding a shared outdoor room between them.
Make room for the sky.
Remove the center rather than fill the plot. The courtyard brings light and air deep into the plan.
Follow an ordinary day.
A covered route connects arrival, shared rooms and private spaces without crossing the central garden.
A clear way to stand.
A regular column grid supports deep spanning slabs. The ground stays open and the rooms remain adaptable.
Frame, filter, shelter.
Recessed glazing and generous overhangs control exposure while keeping the connection to the court.
Leave a trace of the making.
Board-formed concrete carries the grain of its temporary timber mold. Oak warms the surfaces we touch.
Let life finish the drawing.
A home with a generous center: open to the weather, grounded in its place, ready to be inhabited.
Scroll to develop / reverse to reconsider
+ 05RESIDENTIAL / A PLACE TO BELONG+
Architecture at
the scale of
daily life.
A window at the right height. A place to gather. A quiet room of your own. Large ideas, measured through small moments.
01/ 05 SCALES OF PRACTICE
House Between Trees / an inward-looking courtyard home.
Discuss a residential project ↗+ 06COMMERCIAL / A FRAMEWORK FOR CHANGE+
Spaces that move
with business.
Clear structures make room for uncertain futures. We design workplaces that can change without starting over.
08 / FLOOR PLATES7.2 m / STRUCTURAL GRIDCORE + FRAME / ADAPTABLE PLAN
Headquarters · Towers · Retail · Mixed use · Workplaces
View the commercial studies ↗+ 07HOSPITALITY / AN INVITATION TO STAY+
Some places
ask you to
stay a little longer.
Arrival, retreat, belonging. We shape the journey between public and private, open landscape and intimate room.
Hotels / Resorts / Restaurants / Lounges / Retreats
+ 08URBANISM / THE SHARED GROUND+
A building is
never alone.
Zoom out. Streets, water, movement and public life are the architecture of the city. Our work begins where these systems meet.
DRAWING LAYERS
ILLUSTRATIVE MASTERPLAN / 12 HECTARES / SYSTEMS STUDY
+ 09INTERIORS / THE NEAREST ARCHITECTURE+
Come inside.
Architecture meets the hand. The grain of a door, the sound of a room, the light above a table.
SELECT A LAYER TO ASSEMBLE THE ROOM
+ 10PROCESS / THINKING THROUGH MAKING+
From question.
To drawing.
To space.
There is no shortcut to a thoughtful building. There is a clear, collaborative path through the unknown.
Listen before drawing.
We define the people, ambitions and limits that will shape the project.
+ 11MATERIAL LIBRARY / HONEST BY DESIGN+
Made of
something real.
We choose materials for what they do, how they feel, and how they change over time.
SPECIFICATION / M—01
Concrete
Thermal mass holds the cool of night. Formwork leaves a record of how the building was made.
- Finish
- Board-formed
- Module
- 1200 × 3000
- Joint
- 10 mm
- Application
- Walls / structural slabs
+ 12ENVIRONMENT / PERFORMANCE IS A DESIGN DECISION+
Work with
the climate.
The most effective environmental strategy is often spatial: orientation, depth, shade, air, and the intelligence of doing less.
78%DAYLIT OCCUPIED AREA
62%NATURAL VENTILATION POTENTIAL
34%MODELED ENERGY REDUCTION
Illustrative design targets only. These are not verified building-performance results.
+ 13THE STUDIO / MANY HANDS, A SHARED TABLE+
A studio built around
questions, drawings,
and collaboration.
DESK 01 / Dhaka
Amina Rahman
Housing / public space
SELECTED STUDIESHouse Between Trees / Tidal House
Concept studio. Team identities and office locations are fictional.
+ 14ARCHIVE / IDEAS IN PUBLIC+
Beyond
the drawing board.
Exhibitions, proposals and printed conversations. Architecture grows through exchange.
Inhabiting the interval
Studio exhibition / Dhaka
The open school
Internal research shortlist
Drawing daily life
DATUM papers / Volume 01
Material conversations
Open studio / Tokyo
A room for the city
Independent design study
Ground work
Research journal / Issue 00
Illustrative archive entries. No real awards, publication credits, or professional recognition are claimed.
+ 15JOURNAL / NOTES FROM THE STUDIO+
Still thinking.
Observations on cities, housing, materials, construction and the culture of making.
+ 16NEW PROJECT / DRAWING 001+
Every project starts
with a conversation.
Let’s draw
the first line.
Tell us what you have in mind. A site, a question, an ambition. It does not need to be a finished idea.
CONCEPT SITE / LOCAL BRIEF PREVIEW
This form prepares a downloadable brief. Nothing is emailed, uploaded, or sent to a studio.