Riverside Office Block after three monsoons
The Riverside Office Block in Narayanganj was finished in 2022. This spring we spent a day there with the building's facilities manager, to see how it has held up after three monsoons and what the tenants have changed.
What worked
- The raised plinth kept the ground floor dry in 2024, when the river reached the top step of the walkway
- The balconies are used every day, for meetings, lunch and phone calls
- The covered walkway along the river is busiest when it rains
What we would change
The west end gets too much afternoon sun. Tenants on the upper floors have added blinds and film to the glass, and fixed sunshades should have been part of the design from the start. We also underestimated how many people would cycle to work: the twelve bicycle spaces were full within a year, and part of the car park has since been given over to bicycles.
Tenants asked about the balconies when they first viewed the floors, and they still mention them now.
That came from the facilities manager, who has run the building since it opened. We are now drawing up fixed sunshades for the west end with the owners, to be fitted before next summer.