On July 14, Rizvi Hassan, the 2025 WOJR/Civitella Architecture Fellow and an award-winning architect from Bangladesh, presented t r a n s i e n t t r a c e s, a temporary installation created in collaboration with the other Fellows of Group 2 and a team of Rohingya artisans. The evening began with an Architect Talk in the Castle Gallery where Rizvi discussed the installation, the latest iteration of Born in a Camp, an entity born within the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. From there, Fellows Caroline Davis and Kheng Sonam Dorji played their instruments as they led attendees outside towards the installation. There, Fellows Raymond Antrobus, Elisa Gonzalez, and Sara Daniele Rivera led the rest of the Group’s Fellows and Civitella staff Diego, Greta, Ilaria, and Rizvi’s assistant, Isabella Bambagioni, in a poetry performance they wrote and scored together. The audience was then free to explore the installation, which included paintings by Fellows Marcellina Akpojotor and Mavis Tauzeni and photographs by Lara Baladi, with music from Fellow Charles Uzor playing in the background.
The installation comprises eight distinctive units made of wood from Bangladesh—Akashmoni and, predominantly, Gamari—with each unit containing 18 panels or chambers. It holds letters, memoirs, stories, and poetry from the Rohingya artisans, to tell the stories of this community to the world. It travels around the world and nests in places like Civitella—to collect, exchange, and share. This artwork can be collapsed into four suitcases, an essential aspect of its design—underscoring both the need for portability when forced to leave one’s country and expressing the aspirational idea that anyone can rebuild.
Civitella sat down with Rizvi to discuss his experience in residence:
Civitella Ranieri Foundation: Has there been anything particular about the process of developing Born in a Camp at Civitella compared to other settings the installation travelled to?
Rizvi Hassan: I felt Civitella was a perfect place for the installation to nest and bloom. We could design a space that surrounded the installation in the Civitella ground. And also it was stacked/installed differently in different spaces of the castle during these six weeks. Which communicated to the fellows and audiences in different ways. In short, the beautiful castle offered the installation to explore and express different moods and spatial experiences.
CRF: Do you feel this experience gave you any insight into Italian craftsmanship and traditions?
RH: Absolutely! Along the journey, we met such good energies from Umbria and Perugia. John with his carpentry work. Martha with her beautiful tapestries and her magical studio. Luca with his unbelievable metal bending capacities. Isabella and Jervasio with their studio where you can learn how to loom and all! We learnt from them, we came with pieces from each, and we made a space. The conversations and collaborations with them quite offered me some insight on the past & present practices of Italian craftsmanship. How craftsmanship is merged with art practices, what are the struggles, and what are the driving forces etc.
CRF: Can you describe the multidisciplinary aspects of the installation?
RH: Designing & building a temporary space along with the other Fellows, and local artists, artisans, craftspeople was a rare experience the residency offered. I travelled around Perugia & Umbria along with my assistant to find out local inspiring practices and potential collaborators. There was this writing exercise with the fellows, called exquisite corpse which produced a piece of writing that added to the spirit of the space and was performed at the end of the presentation.
The connections and conversations that we made during this time, was quite important as there were people from so many other disciplines and we got to know each other’s work. We also got to collaborate on projects which were meant to be individual but somehow became collective. I think this opened up possibilities for so many future collaborations too. Looking around so many places and practices offered us new visions and ways of practices. In short it helped us understand the wider spectrum.
CRF: What’s next for Born in a Camp and for you?
RH: Born in a Camp will travel to other places and people, till it finds a nice resting place. For us, we keep working for the earth, for people. We keep looking for ways to contribute, as people contribute in our life, we try to give back to the world. Through awareness, activism, and goodwill hunting.
CRF: How was your experience as this year’s WOJR/Civitella Ranieri architect?
RH: The WOJR Architecture Prize really helped shape my time at Civitella. It gave me the support I needed to design and build a temporary space that brought people together. Thanks to the fellowship, I was able to travel around Perugia and Umbria with my assistant, meet amazing local artists and craftspeople, and learn from their practices.
Working with people like John the carpenter, Martha with her beautiful tapestries, Luca the metalworker, and Isabella and Jervasio with their weaving studio was a special part of the experience. Each of them shared something unique, and together we created a space that felt full of life and meaning.
The residency also gave us time to connect with other Fellows from different fields. Even though we all came with our own projects, many of them turned into collaborations. One highlight was a group writing exercise called Exquisite Corpse, which ended up being performed during the final presentation and added a creative layer to the space we made.
This experience helped me see new ways of working, new ways of thinking, and gave me ideas for future collaborations. It really opened up my view of what’s possible in design and art.