PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

AJO, in bangla is often used to describe something old, left out or irrelevant to its time. The word was coined by the restaurants Founder and ideator Khaled Mahmud, as it was his idea to convert a left over space and turn it into a unique cafe near an art gallery. It was a very’ popular hangout space for artist, thinkers, designers as well as common people, It acted as a platform where anyone could meet and talk with artists and intellects. But the project was shut down in early 2015 as the property lease expired. It was difficult to find a similar setting. They finally found an empty plot of 234sqrn in Uttara, which is at the northern end of Dhaka. It is small residential street with a beautiful park connected at its back.

Apart from being a Cafe and restaurant, Ajo’s Owner wanted to create an ‘Eastern place, where people subconsciously could feel connected and instantly find an attachment to the space, The japanese idea ‘WABI SABI’ was continuously discussed to generate the essence of the new Ajo. The challenge was to find out what constituted the memory of the previous restaurant and how it could be recreated in a completely different context.

The final Structure has been designed as a pavilion, which is the basic character of this region. To have a roof over your head casting shadow while the landscape and wind flows through. The only controlled volume was the kitchen, The dining areas have been placed on top and around two sides Of it at ground level. This whole arrangement has been covered with a prefabricated metal vault. This allowed free movement of air and light. A punch was cut open in the vault to place a large tree inside the dining area.. The details in the interior were done in a very loose manner with modest furniture, to subconsciously make people feel relaxed around the new space. The top floor has been kept open largely to encourage weekly gathering of community adults/ children for discussion on contemporary topics and cultural ethics. The restaurant works as a creative gathering space where people come to dine relax and talk about their Ideas. Inspired by the events, this new premise has been named as ‘Ajo Idea space’.

MATERIALS OF CONSTRUCTION DETAILS:
Foundation: RCC
Super structure: Composite as follows.
1. Structural slab: Floor slab and main stair RCC.
2. Partition wall: Kitchen, store and toilet partition walls Brick masonry,
3. Frame: The Frame is made of Metal I section,
4. Roof: a vault is made of prefabricated engineered steel sheet.
5. Glass Partition: 10 mm Tempered glass
6. Screen: double layered (3″ apart) perforated metal mesh (5 mm perforation)
7. Fence: The boundary is made of reused steel net.
8. Service lines: Surface connections with exposed wiring.
9 Furniture: Reused timber from shipwreck.
IO. Floor finish: Terrazzo
11. Doors and windows: Reused Metal sheets and angles have been used.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
1. Natural ventilation: The complete restaurant is naturally ventilated, Larger inlets in south and east side and outlet in the west road face allows ample air flow.
2. Day lighting: The volume has been carefully proportioned to avoid deep areas, the entire place is lit with ambient day light. The vault has been used as reflector to minimize use of light fixtures at night.
3. Energy efficiency: The entire project has a very minimal energy consumption compared to similar scale restaurants as it is completely non air-conditioned and uses full day light reducing the energy consum ption for lighting,
4. Material Source: Construction in general has been kept to a minimum. The concreting has been done with reused wooden shutters, and reused steel sheets, rods and angles have been used for doors and windows.
5 Construction Process: Most of the details have been done in such a way that structural elements can be knocked down and reused
6. Landscape: Local plants have been selected and arranged both inside and outside the shell, with a special screen to allow day light and air movement to help grow them properly.
7, Volume configuration: The vault was considered mainly to reduce weight and create a large span. Also to take up the hot air above the occupants level and be easily pushed out through natural air movement from the central void that has been cut open.
8. Screen: special screen was designed with two perforated metal mesh that allowed air and light,broke the rain water and made it flow on its surface while it rains heavily.
9. Crafted details: most of the handles and details were custom made by local metal workers, with a conscious aim to generate value for their services and skill.
IO: Furniture: All furniture and fixtures are made from reused or left over materials from shipwrecks and other 2nd hand retailors. The idea was to give value to things that was once considered barren or out of use.