On the outskirts of Bashundhara located at Apollo road, Rangs Courtyard is a project that brews the community concept and studio apartment trend in today’s urban landscape; where only Highrise apartments are the most recurring structures occupying Dhaka’s skyline. The residential space is a perfect place to wind up for nuclear families. The project has a rooftop sky garden, built-in gymnasium, an open-air swimming pool along with kids play zone with the idea of reviving the lost childhood allowing care and affection to foster within the bricks and boundaries of Courtyard. The cherry on top is the easy entry and exit in Bashundhara without having to face its routine and familiar traffic.

For decades as a nation, we Bengalis have always fancied plush, independent houses, and viewed them as a symbol of aristocracy and high-rank lineage and have always admired the lifestyle that came along with it. As time went on, we have adjusted from joint families to small nuclear families, from analog to digital smart televisions. We now no longer rely on words of wisdom; instead, we turn to google, who is our modern-day savior for every big or tiny query. Similarly, big independent houses are becoming a rare sight in this city, and smaller apartments have grasped the industry for its convenience factor over the years. Studio apartments are a recent addition to the Bangladeshi market, which is currently seeing a significant uprise in demand considering the country’s real estate market, which often focuses on addressing the top tier belonging to the slanted vertical of the consumer psyche pyramid.

What exactly is a studio apartment?
Studio apartments comprise a single large room, including a bedroom, living room, dining lounge, compact kitchenette, and attached restrooms. The square feet of a studio apartment can range from 250 sqft to somewhere 1000+ sqft. These studio apartments are ideal living spaces for single city dwellers, small families, frequent travelers and ex-pats, and even first-time investors.

What do the numbers tell?
Studies suggest that the rate of urbanization in recent years in Bangladesh has been at 1.9 %, which is the highest in South Asia, whereas the industry’s YoY growth was above 5% in 2019. It is safe to say that the annual housing demands linger somewhere around 120,000 units, whereas the yearly supply caters approximately upto25,000 companies. With rising urbanization, inflation plays a vital role in affording homes more challenging to the lower & middle-income groups and below. As big real estate names continue to be more inclined towards luxury, studio apartments are a giant leap lurking around the corner, waiting to emerge as the game-changer.

The Present & Future:
While studio apartments are the fastest moving products in the west in terms of real estate, even in neighboring countries like India, Singapore, China & Hongkong,
Bangladesh is yet to experience its next wave of massive demand, which is due in the upcoming days.
As land continues to become scarce, Dhaka is expanding exponentially at the eastern horizon. Since time is a great essence, studio apartments placed at the heart of the business hubs ensuring excellent connectivity within necessary amenities, make them the most lucrative spaces. Young professionals, students, couples from all over the country come to Dhaka to pursue their studies, career interests, etc. In the
coming years, this number is likely to go up significantly.

The scope on ROI & Way forward with Rangs Properties:
Looking at studio apartments from an Investor’s perspective, the return is quite profitable as small spaces get rented out the fastest. For smaller ticket price with the expected sky-high demand, it also makes it an ideal deal for the first-time buyers and for those prefer to own rather than renting spaces. Affordable housing has become a necessity today which will redefine the way this industry operates, starting from the way properties are valued. Challenging conventions has set the ground for brilliance where it becomes a norm-setting new benchmark at every phase. The ground-breaking creations by Rangs Properties are sculpting the future of the real estate industry with the pledge to provide more and beyond.
Taking consideration of the upcoming paradigm shift in the market, Rangs designed its very first studio apartments at Courtyard. Located at Apollo road, Rangs Courtyard focused greatly on its connectivity, social infrastructure of the neighborhood and being at the walking distance proximity from Apollo hospital, universities, schools and colleges it has redefined its own Perks. Individually styled apartments with inviting lounge spaces and assisted living services are another way to dig deeper to offer a detailed personalized experience for a more customer centric approach.

Rangs Lake Placid, situated at the prestigious locale of Gulshan road 35, offers it all to its residents. Lake Placid stands tall with one of the best views where the greenery jewels the concrete jungle, like a breath of fresh air in Dhaka’s skyline. It is the perfect and exquisite blend of picturesque natural beauty along with metropolitan connectivity.

Gleaming in the Gulshan vicinity, Rangs Lake Placid has been designed by Inspace Architects and developed by Rangs Properties Limited. With the panoramic views of the Banani lake, this premium residence apartment projects a tasteful masterpiece of aesthetics and modernity. From panoramic living rooms to the luxurious bedrooms, with vertical greens as the living wall on each floor, this exclusive edifice is within an arm’s reach of the region’s destinations of shopping, dining, healthcare, schools, and universities. Standing tall on a 9 katha land, Rangs Lake Placid features an array of green spaces and waterbodies; which makes it a sanctuary for nature lovers. Designed with a magnificent spatial quality, each apartment is an exuberant representation of modern craftsmanship. A thoughtful allocation of space, as well as intricate details that create a difference, makes the resident’s experience an embodiment of luxury redefined. Flawless till the last detail with luxurious fixtures, fittings and finishing, every corner of Lake Placid oozes with a celebration of artsy lifestyle.

The inception of the design idea was more simplistic and sophisticated, largely monolithic and functional i.e. neo-modernist approach. Towards a straightforward way to interpret the core architectural study, art was blended with articulation in the most contemporary manner. The edifice stands by the calm, quiet, and profound lake, giving an impression of a floating monolith.
The prolonged terraces, protruded as part of the converging vertical surface, function as a linked space that connects the interior space of each floor to the exterior nature, and the roof being on top offers a pleasant resting space for the residents.

This neo-modernist style of the house is highly characterized by rough, raw, and pure surfaces of concrete that defines the essence of the substances. This is a worldwide vision adopted by architects to create contextual variations within this modern approach. The indoor-outdoor relationship being one of the most important criteria of architecture, this contemporary structure has its highest priority to maintain this issue. Windows used in between the transition point are double glazed low-E glass to protect the structure from heat gain and reduce the emission as well. Vertical green at the terrace of each floor also works as a “Breathing Wall” and allows cool breeze coming from the lake and enters along the north-south direction.

Here in Rangs Lake Placid, luxury and convenience come hand in hand. This iconic edifice has been thoughtfully designed to facilitate an active lifestyle, hence situated in the vicinity of the throbbing Gulshan-Banani neighborhood. Lake Placid brings together all the best amenities at one place to offer its residents a one-of-a-kind-living-experience which stands true to itself. With a premium touch of elegance, an urban location, contemporary design, luxury finishes, and a host of amenities, Lake Placid promises a lifestyle that you have always wanted.

Architect Profile:
Inspace Architects provides contemporary architectural solutions, ranging from buildings of all types and sizes to interior design and visions in all around Bangladesh. Within a short period, since it was established, it has already come out with some of the exemplary architectural designs that engage our cities with a contextual landscape in an urban scale.
It’s a collective effort of all the creative people starting from the very youngest apprentice to the most experienced one. A consistent overview of design that involves the Group Managing Director’s experiential knowledge and the young, energetic, and experienced design team, excels towards the outcome that goes beyond expectation.

Inspace Architects, led by Architect Md. Wahidur Rahman Adib along with the experienced team members – Ar. Himel Kumar Saha, Ar. Wahid Ahmed Lincon, Ar. Monir Hasan Dipu and many more talented individuals, is setting a signature mark in today’s architecture in Bangladesh through their state-of-the-art designed buildings. The design approach is mostly functional and other elements including longevity and expression of materials, vertical greens, and landscape that comes in the way of design and blends with simplicity to achieve a satisfactory solution.

Recently Inspace Architects has designed RK Square jointly with Vistaara Architects, one of the tallest commercial buildings in Bangladesh at a prime location of Dhaka; FS Vega-a luxury of its own standard and an added dimension to the exclusive apartment culture; Torukabbo-an indigenous interpretation of multi-layered apartments; to name a few of the ongoing and upcoming mentionable projects.

Developer Profile:
Rangs Properties Limited, a name that has been in the forefront of the capitals’ downtown renaissance since decades has been relentless in pursuit of excellence without compromise for 24 long years and is still working on shaping Dhaka’s urban landscape with their premium projects in Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara, Bashundhara, Uttara, Dhanmondi, Rokeya Sarani, and other locations.

The ingredients of creating a healthy lifestyle does not comprise of physical well-being only, our mental health plays a bigger role than we address, admit and realize. Since the beginning of the official quarantine lockdown (March 26, 2020), people have been anxious, worried and unsure of issues like losing loved ones, economic instability, livelihood, upcoming recession and what not.

The absence of sufficient online counselling services in a city like Dhaka has opened the doors of despair for many with open-ended questions about tomorrow as we speak; causing rises in the levels of anxiety and depression. Here’s a short article comprising a handful of tips to keep your mental wellbeing in check for a productive today and a better tomorrow.

Inability to focus

When you are thrown off your everyday schedule, and you find yourself working from home, doing online classes, it obviously becomes more difficult to deliver as per the deadlines; drawing inspiration for work leading to declining productivity with every passing day specially when corona virus has taken all your focus away. Kindly limit yourself from absorbing too much information about COVID -19 from television, social media and everywhere else. It is good to stay updated but overthinking about it will only cause more and more distress & distractions.

Battling bad temperament

If you find yourself throwing a fit for no reason and experience sudden turbulences in your relationship, please understand this is normal and a temporary phase. Such situations can often trigger panic attacks, paranoia, sudden drug/alcohol abuse and depression. Please know that the best thing you could do right now is to extend support so that the other person feels heard and accepted. Instead of constant nagging and complaining, please find a way of calming yourself in times of heated arguments like listening to music, reading, contributing in house hold chores, talking to a friend, any physical activity, basically anything that helps to practice giving each other much needed individual space.

Distorted diet and sleep cycle

Netflix binge and lying on the sofa while feeding yourself junkies for hours to the throat sure sounds tempting. However, this might lead to distorting your diet and food habits for good making you more prone to excessive weight gain or weight loss unlocking the underlying health issues. Lazing around for most of your active hours stripes you of physical and mental exhaustion, which is good enough to bid farewell to a good 8 hours sleep. Try having 1 hour of no screen time before going to bed and drinking warm milk at night which shall help with the quality of your sleep. Please, stick to a proper routine and get your things done on time to save yourself the trouble.

Unveiling your creative soul

You might end up feeling sad when you see many of your friends uploading singing, dancing, painting, and entertaining videos which only pushed you to the point of realization that you might not have any creative speck within you. Please try to see this setback as an opportunity. Creativity has many ways and forms and are not limited to the above-mentioned activities only. Try your hand at writing, video editing, origami, creating DIY crafts, solving puzzles, indoor board games, learning calligraphy and the list goes on and on. As much as it is needed for your quarantine survival also appreciating others’ efforts and talent is equally important. Please try the suggested activities if the quarantine lockdown has not yet turned you into a master chef.

Lastly, let’s all admit the fact that being in quarantine is difficult and we still have a long way to go. In this desperate time, let’s not forget to be kind and helpful to yourself and to others around to keep our psychological well-being intact.

আবাসন খাতের সবচেয়ে বড় মেলা ‘রিহ্যাব উইন্টার ফেয়ার-১৯’ এ প্রতি বছরের মত এবারও র‌্যাংগস প্রপার্টিজ লিমিটেড (স্টল নং ১৩) অংশগ্রহণ করছে। প্রতিষ্ঠানটির এবারের চমক নতুন সব আকর্ষণীয় প্রকল্প। বঙ্গবন্ধু আন্তর্জাতিক সম্মেলন কেন্দ্রে (বিআইসিসি) অনুষ্ঠিত এই আবাসন মেলা চলবে ২৮ ডিসেম্বর। মেলা প্রতিদিন সকাল ৯টায় শুরু হয়ে শেষ হবে রাত ৮টায়।

র‌্যাংগস প্রপার্টিজ লিমিটেড এবারের ‘রিহ্যাব উইন্টার ফেয়ার ২০১৯’ এ ১৩নং স্টলে অংশগ্রহণ করছে মিরপুরের শেওড়াপাড়া সংলগ্ন অত্যাধুনিক এপার্টমেন্ট কমপ্লেক্স ‘তরুকাব্য’ নিয়ে। ২৮ ডিসেম্বর পর্যন্ত চলা আবাসন মেলায় এই নতুন প্রকল্পে বুকিং দিলে থাকছে বিশেষ প্যাকেজ।

এদিকে, দেশের আবাসন খাতের সবচেয়ে বড় মেলার উদ্বোধন করেছেন গৃহায়ণ ও গণপূর্ত মন্ত্রী শ ম রেজাউল করিম। উদ্বোধনের পর শুক্রবার (২৭ ডিসেম্বর) দুপুর ২টা থেকে দর্শনার্থীদের জন্য উন্মুক্ত করে দেয়া হয় মেলাঙ্গন।

জানা গেছে, মেলায় আবাসন খাতের ২৩০টি প্রতিষ্ঠান স্টল দিয়েছে। এসব স্টলে সরাসরি ফ্ল্যাট ও প্লট বুকিং দেয়ার সুযোগ রাখা হয়েছে। বুকিং দিলে নগদ অর্থ ছাড়সহ মিলছে আকর্ষণীয় নানা সুযোগ। কিস্তিতে ফ্ল্যাট-প্লট বুকিং দেয়ার সুযোগও রাখা হয়েছে। এর বাইরে ৩০টি নির্মাণসামগ্রী উৎপাদক ও সরবরাহকারী প্রতিষ্ঠান অংশ নিয়েছে মেলায়। বৈদ্যুতিক সামগ্রী, গৃহ সাজানোর সরঞ্জামাদি, টাইল্স ও সিরামিক্স পাওয়া যাচ্ছে ওই সব স্টলে।

আবাসন খাতে ঋণ সরবরাহকারী ১৪টি প্রতিষ্ঠানও অংশ নিয়েছে মেলায়। গৃহঋণের পরিমাণ ও প্রক্রিয়া সম্পর্কে ধারণা দেয়া হচ্ছে এসব প্রতিষ্ঠানের স্টলে।

একসময় যানজটে স্থবির ঢাকা শহরই ছিল সবুজের স্বর্গ। এই শহরই একসময় ধান চাষের জন্য বিখ্যাত ছিল। মিরপুর, কুর্মিটোলা, পল্টন এবং তেজগাঁও যেমন চারটা বনের নাম। সেখানে পাখি ছিল, ছিল আরও অনেক প্রাণী। তখন বুড়িগঙ্গাও ছিল স্বচ্ছ পানির নদী।

সে কবেকার কথা! এরপর মানুষ ধীরে ধীরে গাছ, প্রাণী আর পাখি ধ্বংস করে কেবল আবাসন করতে লাগল। যখন সব জায়গা দখল করা শেষ, তখন উল্লম্বভাবে বাড়তে লাগল দালানকোঠা। ঢেকে গেল আকাশ। এখন এই ঢাকা শহর ইট, পাথর আর কংক্রিটের।

সেই ক্রমবর্ধিত শহরের নির্মাণযজ্ঞ তো এখন চলছে। ইট-বালু-সুরকির ভার বাড়ছে ঢাকার বুকে। আর নির্মাণযজ্ঞ মানেই যান্ত্রিক কোলাহল। খোঁড়াখুঁড়ি আর নির্মাণ যন্ত্রপাতির বিরামহীন আওয়াজ। ইট-বালু-সিমেন্টের সেই রাজ্য তো ধুলোমলিন। এমন ধুলোমলিন নির্মাণাধীন প্রকল্পকে আড়াল করতে আমরা দেয়াল তুলতে দেখি। সে দেয়ালও কখনো ইট-সিমেন্টের কখনো বা ইস্পাতের। তবে বিশ্বের বিভিন্ন দেশে সবুজের শান্ত ছোঁয়া রাখতে গ্রিন ফেনসিং বা সবুজ বেষ্টনীর প্রচলনও রয়েছে।

সহজ ভাষায় গ্রিন ফেনস হলো সবুজ বেষ্টনী। চীন, যুক্তরাষ্ট্র, স্পেন, মেক্সিকো প্রভৃতি দেশে এই সবুজ দেয়াল ব্যাপক জনপ্রিয়। ভবনের নির্মাণকাজ আড়াল করতে ইট-সিমেন্টে বা ইস্পাতের নির্মিত দেয়ালের পরিবর্তে এটি তৈরি হয় গাছ দিয়ে। এই প্রচেষ্টা পরবর্তী সময়ে ল্যান্ডস্কেপিং ও ভবনের বিভিন্ন স্থানে বাগান তৈরির মাধ্যমে ভবন ও আশপাশেও প্রতিফলিত হয়।

স্থাপত্য পরামর্শক প্রতিষ্ঠান ভলিউমজিরোর মুখ্য স্থপতি মো. ফয়েজ উল্লাহ বলছিলেন, ‘গ্রিন ফেনস আমাদের দেশের জন্য নতুন হলেও বৈশ্বিক প্রেক্ষাপটে এটা তেমন নতুন কিছু নয়। গ্রিন ফেনস নির্মাণাধীন সাইটকে একটা ভিন্নমাত্রা দেয়। এই সৃজনশীল চিন্তার ফলে নির্মাণাধীন ভবনটি দেখতে আর একঘেয়ে লাগে না, বৈচিত্র্য আসে। এর ফলে সবুজের প্রতি মানুষের সচেতনতা বাড়ে।’

বছরখানেক আগে এমন একটি প্রকল্প শুরু করেছে র‌্যাংগ্স প্রপার্টিজ লিমিটেড। বিভিন্ন উদ্ভিদ দিয়ে এই বেষ্টনী তৈরি করা যায়। তবে প্রতিষ্ঠানটি ব্যবহার করেছে ফার্নগাছ। ঢাকার বনানীতে তাদের একটি নির্মাণাধীন প্রকল্পের দেয়াল দেখে মনে হয়েছিল ফার্নের বাগান। শুধু বনানীতেই নয়, প্রতিষ্ঠানটি রাজধানীর গুলশান, বসুন্ধরা ও ধানমন্ডির নির্মাণাধীন প্রকল্পেও এমন সবুজের সমারোহ ঘটিয়েছে।

এই প্রকল্পের সঙ্গে যুক্ত কয়েকজন স্থপতির সঙ্গেও কথা হয়েছিল উপকারিতা নিয়ে। তাঁদের কাছেই জানা গেল চারটি বিষয়। গ্রিন ফেনস নির্মাণাধীন প্রকল্পের দূষণ কমায় ও সৌন্দর্যবর্ধন করে। দ্বিতীয়ত, দেয়াল রং করতে হয় না। কারণ, এটি তো গাছের তৈরি। আর রং করার প্রয়োজনীয়তা নেই বলে রং থেকে বাতাসে ক্ষতিকর উপাদান নিঃসরণ হওয়ার কোনো সুযোগ নেই। তৃতীয়ত, নির্মাণাধীন প্রকল্পের চেহারাই বদলে যায়। দারুণ নান্দনিক আর রুচিশীল দেখাবে প্রকল্পের স্থানটি। চতুর্থত, বায়ুদূষণের এই শহর থেকে কার্বন ডাই-অক্সাইড শোষণ করে আর অক্সিজেন দিয়ে পরিবেশের দূষণ কমাবে। অল্পমাত্রায় হলেও কমাবে শব্দদূষণ। সর্বোপরি, বিষণ্নতা, দুশ্চিন্তা দূর করে মানুষকে মানসিকভাবে প্রশান্তি দেবে। আরও একটি সুবিধা হলো, পরিবেশের কোনো ক্ষতি না করেই এটি রিসাইকেল করা সম্ভব। অর্থাৎ, নির্মাণকাজ শেষ হওয়ার পর এই গ্রিন ফেনসিং তুলে নিয়ে অন্য কোনো প্রকল্পেও ব্যবহার করা যায়। এই গ্রিন ফেনসকে আবার বলা হচ্ছে ভার্টিক্যাল গার্ডেন বা উল্লম্ব বাগান।

বাংলাদেশ প্রকৌশল বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের (বুয়েট) স্থাপত্য বিভাগের সহযোগী 
অধ্যাপক শেখ আহসান উল্লাহ মজুমদারও বিষয়টিকে ইতিবাচকভাবে দেখছেন। তাঁর মতে, ‘উদ্যোগটা আমূল পরিবর্তন 
সাধন করার মতো কিছু হয়তো নয়। তবে ভালো।’

 সবুজায়নের এমন ছোট ছোট উদ্যোগেই তো সবুজ হবে প্রিয় রাজধানী।

In a crowded marketplace, fitting-in is a failure. In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible.” -Seth Godin. Doesn’t that perfectly resonate the present-day Real Estate scenario of our country? I say it does. More than ever, our clients are now highly mindful about their investment; focusing on Quality, Time, and Innovation. Question is, what does that mean for us? How does that influence our Business Strategy? How does that impact us on an individual level? These are important questions we should be ready to answer.

Real estate sector of Bangladesh is growing steadily on the back of rapid development of the country, rising demand for housing, expanding the middle class and soaring per-capita income. In addition to that, modern technology has enabled the free flow of information and knowledge, empowering the clients to make better decisions. All that boils down to one simple fact- Modernization and Innovation has become critical for business success.

This is where the Power of Knowledge comes into play. Again, thanks to modern technology, all the information in the world are available at our fingertips. So, in the end, the winner will be the one who utilizes this opportunity to explore, and to learn.

There is no alternative to learning; no shortcuts, and no quick-fix. It is important, thus we must find time from our busy schedule to learn; learn more, more and more. Whatever our specialization is e.g. Civil, Architecture, Sales, Marketing, etc., we must continuously keep learning about the modern developments in our respective areas. Only this will help us to remain up-to-date and meet client demand.

Every little contribution matters. Therefore, let’s continue learning and let’s encourage our team members to do the same.

Rangs Properties Limited has recently launched a new campaign called ‘Poytrishe Pochashi’ in the REHAB fair where they are offering easy home loan solutions where one has a chance to pay BDT 35,000 per month and get the apartment key only in thirty six months. The project is located in Bashundhara link road, adjacent to Apollo hospital, Bashundhara. The Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) has organised the five-day fair at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar where Rangs Properties has participated this year as a co-sponsor. The apartment is designed by Inspace Architects Limited, which is known to be one of the most eminent architecture firms within the country. The overall area of this property will comprise 18.34 katha land offering 80 apartment units ranging between 1318 to 1325 sft. Apart from the above mentioned facilities, this project also bears the luxurious signature amenities of Rangs Properties like the life size swimming pool, a club lounge and also a gymnasium to suit and address to the ease of the residents .In the five day fair Rangs properties is also highlighting high end commercial and residential projects to cater to different customer segments respectively. Different financing options are also on the from Rangs Properties.