Sustainable community center by Rameeza Tazyeen
MSc in Interior Design
Rameeza Tazyeen’s JDDA 2025 project—isn’t your boring old slap-some-solar-panels-on-it kind of “eco” community center. No, this is the place where you actually want to hang out, maybe even linger longer than you planned. Cities can make you feel like you’re always two steps behind. This place makes you want to sit and nurse a cup of tea.
It’s all about the pause. The building is designed so you can get off the hamster wheel for a bit, catch your breath, meet some people, learn stuff, or just stare at plants until your brain resets.
Flexibility is the magic word here. The whole setup’s got shape-shifting spaces that can go from a grumpy teens’ workshop to grandma yoga without breaking a sweat. Modular layouts, sliding boundaries, furniture you can drag around—it’s the Swiss Army knife of buildings, squeezing every bit of use out of every inch.
This is not your average “sustainable” space with soulless glass cubes. Rameeza went full Earth-friendly, digging into materials that feel nice to touch and are way easier on the guilt—bamboo, rescued bits of timber, compressed mud blocks. All the stuff that looks and feels grounded, literally and visually, with daylight flooding in and breezes cruising through.
It’s not just for show. The building scores serious points with rainwater harvesting, solar panels soaking up sun, and native plants chilling in the courtyards. These aren’t sad little patches of green—they’re buzzing with life and double as social hotspots. You’d probably come for the workshop and stay to make friends with a butterfly.
Around the site, there’s signage that’s really useful, nudging you to think about your impact without the eco-guilt trip. And that’s the core of it: the center isn’t just about recycling or saving kilowatts, it’s about weaving sustainability so deep into daily life you almost forget it’s there. To steal Rameeza’s line, it’s a place that takes care of you and the planet—no lectures needed, just living proof you can have both. Now if only the rest of the city would catch on.
It’s not just for show. The building scores serious points with rainwater harvesting, solar panels soaking up sun, and native plants chilling in the courtyards. These aren’t sad little patches of green—they’re buzzing with life and double as social hotspots. You’d probably come for the workshop and stay to make friends with a butterfly.
Around the site, there’s signage that’s really useful, nudging you to think about your impact without the eco-guilt trip. And that’s the core of it: the center isn’t just about recycling or saving kilowatts, it’s about weaving sustainability so deep into daily life you almost forget it’s there. To steal Rameeza’s line, it’s a place that takes care of you and the planet—no lectures needed, just living proof you can have both. Now if only the rest of the city would catch on.