A Healing Space………
A Design Competition by Claymire, in association with Placemaking in Bangladesh
2025
International Idea Competition
Rethinking Space for People, Communities, and the Planet
Recent global challenges have reframed how we perceive space. During the pandemic, access to nature became a form of survival;
amid climate crises, streets and rooftops transform into sites of resilience. A Healing Space emerges from this context — not merely
as a design brief, but as a critical question:
How can space itself become a medium of care?
This competition invites you to rethink space not as static background, but as an active agent in healing — for the individual, the
collective, and the ecological. The goal is not only to design places, but to reshape relationships between people and the world they
inhabit.
The Triple Focus The High Line by Diller Scofidio + Renfro
A healing space operates across three
interdependent realms:
People: At its core, space influences human
well-being — offering refuge, comfort, ritual,
and joy.
Community: When space becomes a
shared canvas for care, memory, and
gathering, it forms the foundation of public
life.
Planet: Every spatial intervention is also
ecological. Healing must include
environmental repair, climate resilience, and
respect for living systems.
Design solutions that engage all three scales Friluftssykehuset by Snøhetta
— personal, communal, planetary — are not
just aesthetically powerful. They are ethically
essential. Some examples of spaces that HEAL ……
Chapel of Sound by OPEN Architecture
Healing through Space: A Scholarly Lens
The competition is informed by placemaking theory, environmental psychology,
and urban resilience literature. Decades of research have shown that spaces can
profoundly affect our mental health, social cohesion, and ecological footprint.
Concepts like therapeutic landscapes, biophilic design, and citizen-led placemaking offer
insights into how we design with intention, care, and depth.
This brief draws not from a singular ideology but from a body of evolving spatial thought: from
Jane Jacobs’ defense of the sidewalk to contemporary studies on climate-adaptive commons. We
encourage participants to ground their work in both theory and empathy.
What Counts as
Healing?
Healing can be personal — a
moment of stillness under a tree.
It can be communal — a square
animated by memory and protest.
It can be ecological — a wetland
restored, a concrete rooftop reborn as
green canopy.
A healing space does not have a fixed
form. It may be a bench in an alley, a
reimagined staircase, or a site
marked by silence and loss. What
matters is how it transforms — and
what it offers.
Your space may grieve, gather, rest,
or regenerate.
Your space may heal through beauty,
or through use.
Choose a Site That Resonates…
Participants have full freedom to choose their own site —
Real, Symbolic, or Emotional.
A riverside abandoned yet remembered
A rooftop where young people gather
A street once filled with protest
Whether urban or rural, interior or open-air, the site
should support a narrative of transformation. It
may be a physical intervention, a symbolic act, or a
speculative reimagining.
Scale, too, is open. The smallest detail — a repaired step,
a patch of grass — can hold the weight of healing when
rooted in intention.
Key Lenses to Explore
Participants are encouraged to interpret “healing” through diverse entry points.
Proposals may engage one or more of the following themes:
• Urban & Rural Transformation – reclaiming spaces through care
• Memory & Emotion – exploring trauma, ritual, grief, or nostalgia
• Nature & Human Connection – rewilding cities, restoring balance
• Inclusivity & Accessibility – ensuring everyone belongs
• Ecological Renewal – designing for resilience and climate justice
• Play & Interaction – embracing imagination, learning, and rest
These themes are not categories, but invitations — to dig deeper, think wider,
and feel more.
What Should the Design Aim to Do?
Your proposal should reflect intentional care — for the people it holds, the
memories it echoes, and the environment it inhabits. Consider the following
questions as design prompts:
• Who is this space for? Who was it not for — and can that change?
• What pasts does the space remember or reconcile?
• How does the design respond to environmental crisis, decay, or opportunity?
• What form of healing is offered — individual, communal, ecological?
• The most compelling submissions will balance vision with reflection —
proposing not just what could be built, but why it matters.
Submission Guidelines:
1. Presentation Sheet (Mandatory)
• Format: 1 Poster
• Size: A2 (420mm x 594mm), Portrait orientation
• Content Requirements:
o Title of your project
o Concept Statement / Text embedded in the sheet
o Diagrams, Plans, Visualizations or any illustrations that best
explain your design
A2 A4 o Any additional graphic or visual element relevant to your proposal
• Clarity is key: The entire design concept should be understandable within this
420 millimeters by 594 millimeters
A4
210 x 297 millimeters
(mm) or 8.3 x 11.7
single sheet.
A4
(mm), or 16.5 inches by 23.4 inches
inches • Media Attribution (Mandatory):
Every image, drawing, or visualization must clearly mention the media or tools
used, such as:
o Hand sketch
o Photoshop collage
o 3D modeling (e.g., SketchUp, Rhino, Blender)
Presentation Board Doc File
o Mixed media
Portrait Portrait
(jpg format & pdf format) (pdf format)
2. Project Description
• Word Limit: Maximum 250 words
This should summarize your chosen negative space, the intended healing
transformation, and the key design idea. It must be submitted in a separate
text file (PDF or Word format).
Eligibility & Registration Awards & Recognition
• Excellence in Community Impact
Open to: Prize: 50,000 BDT / 500 USD + Certificate
Awarded for the most impactful transformation of a real-world negative
Individuals and teams up to 4 members
space based on community needs and engagement.
All backgrounds and disciplines
• Excellence in Scalable Design Innovation
All nationalities
Prize: 50,000 BDT / 500 USD + Certificate
Awarded for a product or design solution with strong potential for reuse or
For Participants from Bangladesh adaptation across diverse healing spaces.
Early Bird Registration Ends: 25th June 2025 — 1200 BDT
Special Recognitions
Standard Registration Ends: 15th July 2025 — 2000 BDT • 3 Commendation Certif icates
For entries demonstrating exceptional design thinking, storytelling, or
Last Minute Registration Ends: 10th August 2025 — 3500 BDT
sensitivity to context.
• Top 30 Shortlisted Entries
For Foreign Participants Shortlist Certificate + Featured on Official Website & Exhibition Gallery
Recognizing high-quality submissions with thoughtful design narratives
Early Bird Registration Ends: 25th June 2025 — 25 USD
and execution.
Standard Registration Ends: 15th July 2025 — 45 USD
Participation
Last Minute Registration Ends: 10th August 2025 — 75 USD
• All Participants will receive an official Certif icate of
Participation as acknowledgment of their contribution to the global
For Registration Visit: https://www.claymire.site/a-healing-space/registration dialogue on healing through design.
Juror Panel
Tanzil Shaf ique
A. K. M. Saleh Ahmed Anik
Tanzil Shafique is a Lecturer of Urban Design
and Director of the Postgraduate Programmes A. K. M. Saleh Ahmed Anik is an Academician
at The University of Sheffield School of and Architect based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He
Architecture. Previously, he taught at the completed his Bachelor’s degree in
University of Melbourne, Australia and the Architecture from the Bangladesh University of
University of Arkansas, USA. Tanzil’s research Engineering and Technology (BUET) and went
looks at southern urbanism, pluriversal on to earn a Master’s degree in Urban Design
architectural practice and informal planning, from The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.
particularly by climate change-impacted With nearly eight years of professional
communities. He co-convenes the Platform for experience in architecture and urban planning,
Just Housing (Najjyo Abashon Moncho or NAM) he has established a significant presence in the
and Bangladesh Climate Alliance, working field. Currently, he is a full-time faculty
towards climate justice with local activists and member in the Department of Architecture at
citizens. Tanzil’s upcoming monograph is titled: North South University. Outside academia, he
City of Desire: An Urban Biography of the is the co-founder of Onushongo Bangladesh and
Largest Slum in Bangladesh (Bloomsbury, serves as an architect and partner at Cactus
2024). Consultant.
Evaluation Criteria
• Originality and conceptual clarity
• Social and ecological relevance
• Quality of storytelling and visual communication
• Alignment with theme (people, community, planet)
• Site-specific response (real or symbolic)
• Potential for publication or real-world impact
Recognition & Rights
Recognition, not ranking
- Featured in publication and social media
- Select actionable ideas may be curated further
Intellectual property
- Designers retain copyright
- Claymire may use materials (with credit) for non-
commercial promotion/publication
Non-refundable fee
Disqualification if plagiarism or submission violations occur
Join us in rethinking how space can support
People, Communities, and the Planet!
