WOHA Architects are creating a new campus for BRAC University in Dhaka, Bangladesh, that will be set in a park and offer a variety of spaces for culture, recreation and social interaction.

The vision is for an inner-city campus that is sustainable and sensitively integrated with nature, employs tropical design strategies to accommodate the climate and provides students with an innovative environment for learning and leisure.

When it's completed in 2021, the 5ac (2ha) site will be split into upper and lower sections, inspired by the Sunderbans mangrove area that has separate ecosystems above and below tidal level.

The upper, Academia level of the campus will contain admin, building service and student union spaces, while below will be the main Campus Park area.

The park is designed to be a tropical oasis set on a lake and surrounded by bamboo. A promenade along the water's edge will link spaces within the area, like outdoor restaurants, open spaces able to be used for breakout sessions and mini jetties.

There will also be commercial and retail units, an exhibition gallery, a 700-seat auditorium, a multipurpose hall for events, an amphitheatre arena that doubles up as a space for casual social gatherings and a prayer and meditation space.

WOHA say they are using a variety of design elements not only as a means of powerful placemaking, but to create strong images of the campus that will remain in the memories of students.

"The design's tactile architectural expression of living green walls upon a pedestal of terracotta brick recalls the ancient Paharpur transposed into a forward-looking, innovative and sustainable 21st-century tropical campus, while its strong architectural language of linear blocks with social interaction spaces set in-between frames memorable vistas of student life and landscape," explained the studio.

"At its heart, this is a campus set in a park - a lush green oasis emerging from within the harsh urban jungle offering much-needed respite, refreshment and inspiration under a canopy of learning."