BRAC Reception

The reception is the first space thousands of visitors meet each year, so it had to carry the authority of one of Bangladesh’s most recognised institutions while putting people immediately at ease. The design works the full height of the atrium, holding the volume together with a restrained palette of dark timber, fair-toned stone, and warm fabric-panelled screens that soften the glazed façade. At its centre, a curved reception desk wrapped in fine vertical timber fins rises and fans outward like an instrument — a single, unmistakable gesture that anchors the hall. Around it, clusters of rounded tub chairs and low glass tables break the large floor into human-scaled waiting rooms, while slatted screens divide without closing off and full-height drapery filters Dhaka’s daylight into a calm, even glow.