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Home , Bashirul Haq, Culture of Bengal, Ehsan Khan, Jali, Khondaker Hasibul Kabir, Mahasthangarh

Bengal The Vibrant Stream Scene of 2 3 12 13 The Vibrant Architecture Scene of Bangladesh

Andreas Ruby

The fact that the Swiss Architecture Museum is had studied architecture at Yale in the US in the ’50s producing the first major exhibition on contempo­ and ’60s with among his professors. rary architecture from Bangladesh ever shown out­ Coming back to East (which was to become side the country begs a question or two. Such as: Bangladesh only in 1971), he re-read the traditional Why Bangladesh, of all places? And what makes ar­ building culture through the lens of West­ chitecture from Bangladesh particularly relevant ern modernism and construed a unique blend of to be shown in Switzerland, or in the Western world both Eastern and Western approaches to space. in general? When Dacca needed a new Assembly Building in A lot, actually. Bangladesh is not as far away 1962, he would have been ideally placed to design as it seems. You may even wear a piece of clothing it. Committed to enhancing the process of cultur­ produced in Bangladesh as you read this, since Ban­ al cross-proliferation, he however proposed to ap­ gladesh is the world’s second largest exporter of proach an international architect of renown to do Western clothing brands. But for a long time the the job. Kahn was elated to be chosen and immedi­ only moments we heard about architecture in Ban­ ately embraced the history of architecture of the gladesh was when one of its textile factories tragic­ Bengal region. Sensibly guided by the intellectual ally collapsed due to structural incapacities or fire company of , Kahn unearthed many inspira­ incidents. It seems a cynical association, but it illus­ tions that have left clear traces in his design. He trates only too well how much our western view seized the Assembly Building as an opportunity to of Bangladesh is conditioned by references such as absorb the building , appropriat­ poverty, precarious labour or natural catastrophes. ing local material and construction techniques to These phenomena are still real, but they also brand ground his own idiosyncratical architectural ap­ the global perception of the country in a stereotyp­ proach within the place he was invited to design. ical way and effectively obfuscate positive develop­ In that sense the Assembly Building became the ments that are under way as well. blueprint for a ‘horizontal’ type of cultural globali­ And architecture is one of them. Largely sation which considers all contexts as equally rel­ unbeknownst to the world, Bangladesh has devel­ evant, both worthy and able to inspire each other. oped a highly prolific contemporary architecture It marks a clear departure from the ‘vertical’, top- scene in the course of few decades only. A stunning down colonial application of a Western model in body of work has emerged, which can easily stand a developing context. When the building was fin­ the comparison to the architectural production ished in 1982/83 – after two decades of development, in the West both in terms of its quality, versatility construction, and politically motivated delays – and originality. The fact that we hardly know any­ the emerging architects of Bangladesh promptly thing about it (myself included, until a year and a picked up on this model of horizontal cultural ex­ half ago) says something about the post-colonial change and grasped it as an opportunity to articu­ blindfolds of architectural discourse in the West. late their local architectural approach in relation Build­ings from Bangladesh very rarely get pub­ to Western modernism. But instead of simply copy­ lished in Western architectural magazines or books, ing Kahn’s approach, they applied his technique of and even online it is difficult to find more than cultural absorption in reverse direction. Embrac­ piece-meal information. ing some of his construction methods and spatial The only exception to this rule is a build­ concepts in their own designs ultimately enabled ing by a Western architect: ’s Assembly them to modernise the rich architectural history of Building in . The building is clearly one of the their own country, rather than uncritically replac­ great mythical masterpieces of 20th century mod­ ing their local tradition with mechanically applied ernism, world-famous and yet visited by only a few. formulas imported from the ‘New World’. But maybe at least as interesting as the build­ing it­ This fascinating cultural dialectic has argu­ self is the cultural dialectics out of which it emerged ably empowered Bangladesh’s contemporary archi­ and how it eventually empowered the unfolding of tectural scene to unfold a highly distinctive archi­ contemporary Bangladeshi architecture. It is the tectural language of its own, which sensibly reso­ fruit of a most unlikely cultural dialogue that was nates with the agendas of global architecture. It is initiated by , who is considered to a very robust, simple, direct and sensual archi­tec­ be the first modern architect in the region. Islam ture, that makes do with often very limited mate­- 14 15

ri­al conditions, yet accomplishes exceptional re­ of us,’ he told me when we first met. Luckily for him sults. It is able for instance to accommodate the ex­ and us he then got introduced to a whole group of treme climatic conditions with very modest tech­ local architects and their buildings in and around nological equipment by using simple fans and ver­ Dhaka, which made him more hopeful again that nacular natural ventilation methods instead of ex­ there may be a life after Kahn after all. Their build­ tensive air-conditioning. It is quite the contrary to ings demonstrate how one could digest Kahn’s leg­ our Western culture of construction where build­ acy and construct a contemporary architectural ings deal with much more moderate climatic con­ thesis on its grounds. ditions through much more elaborate technologic­ After this initial visit he went back to Bang­ al systems. Additionally, architects in Bangladesh ladesh many times and developed a thorough un­ have only a few materials to build with. Since there derstanding of the local architectural scene. He are no resources of natural stone in the country, the brought his architecture students from Lucerne available material palette mostly consists of brick, University of Applied Sciences and Arts to Dhaka concrete, bamboo and mud – materials which can be and was later invited to be a visiting lecturer at locally sourced and manually applied by local work­ The Bengal Institute of Architecture, Landscape force. Because of this restrained access to technol­ and Settlements in Dhaka. Through years of contin­- ogy, architecture in Bangladesh has always placed uous curiosity and relentless research he has built more emphasis on sophisticated layouts of space up a unique knowledge base on contemporary ar­ and the smart use of natural resources such as light, chitecture from Bangladesh. He strongly feels that air, plants, and water. In that sense the con­ditions his architecture friends in Bangladesh, building of building have changed less over time compared under often most precarious conditions, somehow to the West, where rapidly changing tech­nological managed to dig deeper into the flesh of architec­ paradigms have often generated corresponding ture than architects in the West operating in much ‘-isms’, such as Californian case study architecture more advantageous circumstances. We agreed that of the 1950s that thrived on light airplane produc­ this paradox begs to be addressed critically, and af­ tion facilities, or the architecture­ of prefabricat­ ter he had shown me some photographs of crucial ed plastic modules from the 1960s made possi­ examples of recent architecture from Bangladesh, ble thanks to the easy availabili­ty of oil, or British the idea of an exhibition at S AM was born. This was high-tech architecture from the 1980s. While it is in March 2016. If only one-and-a-half years later easy to date Western buildings from these periods the Swiss Architecture Museum can inaugurate based on their material and constructive specifici­ this exhibition and present the catalogue, then this ty, buildings built in and later Bangla­ is first and foremost thanks to Niklaus Graber’s un­ desh in the same period have a lot in common with wavering passion and energy to explore and dis­ each other conceptu­ally and aesthetically because seminate this remarkable heritage of contempo­ they generally use the same construction process­ rary architecture, exposing the fact that Bangla­ es and materials. Thus, buildings from young ar­ desh is not a white spot on the world architectural chitects often do not ostensibly differ from build­ map, but in fact a highly cultivated and rich ter­ ings of older architects (and vice versa), which cre­ ritory from which we can learn a lot. We are also ates a notable absence of the fashion-based cycles grateful to the Bengal Institute of Architecture, of architectural expression which have become an Landscapes and Settlements for their valuable col­ increasingly recognisable phenomenon of Western laboration, which has been instrumental in the architecture during the past decades. production process of the project by adding their Interestingly enough, many of these quali­ resources, know-how and network. We feel this ex­ ties of Bangladesh’s contemporary architecture are hibition comes at a crucial moment, since architec­ increasingly sought after by young architects in ture from Bangladesh is getting more and more the Western hemisphere, too – particularly in Swit­ the international acknowledgement it deserves. In zerland – which in part answers the question why 2016, two of the six prestigious Aga Khan Awards it makes good sense to introduce this architecture for Architecture were given to two architects from to a Western audience. There is a growing interest Bangladesh. With this exhibition and the accompa­ in a language of form, whose historical half-time nying catalogue – the first comprehensive survey exceeds the pretence of its newness, and a certain of Bangladesh’s architecture in the Western world generosity of authorship free of the need to always – the Swiss Architecture Museum intends to fur­ outsmart one’s predecessors with a yet more rad­ ther the awareness of this outstanding work, and ical solution. As issues of sustainability today be­ we would not be surprised to see buildings from come increasingly important, architects are more some of the architects featured here to pop up also inclined to build with locally available construc­ outside of Bangladesh in the near future. tion materials, not without rediscovering vernac­ ular building techniques that had been half-forgot­ ten along the way in the name of progress, such as rammed-earth or traditional timber constructions. Wary of current technological solutions that pre­ tend to make buildings more sustainable yet often do not, such as exterior thermal insulation or con­ trolled ventilation, more and more architects are eager to employ common-sense techniques that had been in use for centuries prior to the industri­ al revolution. One of them is Swiss architect Niklaus Graber, co-founder of Graber & Steiger Architects based in Lucerne, who is the curator of this exhi­ bition. Initially, it was Kahn’s legendary Assembly Building that drew him, like so many architects, to Bangladesh. When he saw the building for the first time, he shortly pondered the option to stop work­ ing as an architect. ‘Everything you could possibly do in architecture seemed already done by him, so it felt as if there was nothing left to do for the rest 78 79

The project is a camp house for a French archae- House ological team in . It is located in the immedi- ate vicinity of , one of the earliest urban archaeological sites discovered in Bangla- of Orient desh. The village Mahasthan in Shibganj Thana of contains the remains of an ancient city called Pundranagara. A limestone slab dis­ covered in 1931 dates Mahasthangarh to at least the 3rd century BC. The fortified area was in use until the 18th century AD. The camp house is a one- storey brick structure containing office space, workshops and accommodation facilities for an archaeological team. The team from Lyon spends nearly three months in the winter there doing ex- cavation work and carries out research both in France and in Bangladesh during the rest of the year. The workspaces and living area are designed around two courtyards. Greenery and water bod- ies are found throughout the complex. The main materials being used are brick and concrete. Over- hangs provide protection from the sun and rain while the one-room depth facilitates cross venti- lation. Open stairs lead up to the flat roofs on vari­ ous levels, all interconnected and making refer- ence to the nearby archaeological findings. Section

Architect: / Diagram Architects with Salma Parvin Khan, Jalal Ahmed Location: Bogra Design: 1994 Construction: 1994 – 1995 Client: Jean-François Salles / Maison de l’Orient Méditerranéen Structural engineer: Sheikh Mohammad Ismail Contractor: Golam Mostafa

Roof plan

Ground floor plan

1 5 10 20 m 80 81 104 105

Sylhet with its hillocks, forested lands and tea es- Shuktara tates with ethnic communities is unique. Drawing inspiration from the many resorts we experienced during our travels, we wanted to make a resort Nature showcasing the natural beauty of Bangladesh, uti- lising the products and skills of our people and re- storing a property that had been vandalised. The Retreat footprint of the buildings was directed by the land- scape – building on slopes with care, retaining the limited flat areas. We wanted to provide an undis- turbed and inspiring environment­ for people to re- lax and appreciate nature. The general layout is conceived in such a way as to provide privacy and intimacy to the guests, with the buildings blending in with the surrounding forest. The buildings are adapted to the sloping landscapes, some connect- ed by bridges, offering spectacular views and spa- cious balconies­ overlooking the tea estate. Some buildings featuring slanted roofs are made of met- al, making the monsoon rains an extraordinary ex- perience. The flat roofs on the others are used as vegetable and flower gardens. Locally made and sourced products have been used – concrete bricks made near the location, red clay bricks and stone, and bamboo for the top-roof ceilings and landscaping. Most ceilings were left exposed to the imprints of shuttering material and jute bags on concrete. All cane furniture and soft furnish- ings are locally made with Bangladeshi products.

Architect: Zarina Hossain with Mustiafiz Al-Mamun, Anjuman Ara, Salzar Rahman and Tamjid Farhan Mogno Location: Khadimnagar, Design: 2009 – 2014 Construction: 2010 – 2015 Client: Zarina Hossain and Mahmud Hossain Murad Contractor: Khokhon Site plan 106 107 152 153

The project was inspired by traditional houses in Loom Shed Bangladesh shel­tering ordinary people built by those with no architectural training but who are more concerned with fulfilling their needs and for what was suitable for the climate. The building is placed within a natural setting located at a facto- ry premise in the outskirts of Dhaka. The layout Amber Denim was kept as simple and open as possible to house several loom machines, a buyers’ lounge, and din- ing for workers, prayer space, and toilets. The in- troduction of a water body, bamboo screen, high ceiling and other vernacular elements substantial- ly reduced electricity costs by eliminating the need for air conditioning and ar­tificial lighting and makes the space cool and comfortable to work in while keeping the running costs low. Most of the materials used are by their very nature durable: concrete walls, handmade concrete roofing tiles, bamboo for screen and wall, neat cement-finish floors, and are used in ways and places that allow them to show their wear and provide easy repair and replacement. This project is an attempt to achieve or address the contemporary idea of prac- tice in a recent period-of-time frame in the tropic under the domain of traditional modernism, follow- ing basic vernacular principles in design, using lo- cally available materials, both natural and crafted, with modern amenities inside.

Architect: Archeground Ltd. / Md. Jubair Hasan, Nabi Newaz Khan, Lutfullahil Majid, Tahmida Afroze Location: Gazipur Design: 2014 Construction: 2014 – 2015 Client: Md. Showkat Aziz Russell Engineer: Saiful Bari Detail section 154 155

Section

Ground floor plan

1 2 5 10 20 m 198 199

The plot for this was very small but never- Gulshan theless the mos­que was to accommodate a large congregation. This necessitated re-imagining the mosque typology into a vertically stacked volume. Society The limitation meant the entry-court prayer-hall sequence had to be substituted for a pragmatic approach. The entrance, for example, is immediate: Mosque a flight of steps from the walkway directly leads to the main vestibule and prayer hall. All floors are accessible by generous stairs and elevators, tak- ing visitors to six upper levels. All interior spaces benefit from good penetration of natural light and ventilation. The latter is made possible by the em- ployment of a jali or screen structure, which wraps the building – generating its unique form and fa­ çades. The jali is an abstraction of ‘La-ilaha-illallah’ – a fundamental declaration in Islam – in the thou- sand-year old script, which runs continuous- ly in bands on all four sides. The structure is held entirely in white cast concrete, giving it the ap­ pear­ance of a monolith in the city. The topmost floor is left entirely to a library and meeting room, so that members of the community may spend time here outside of prayers. The mosque thus be- comes a venerable centre for a modern and dy- namic society.

Architect: Kashef Chowdhury / URBANA Location: Gulshan, Dhaka Design: 2009 – 2011 Construction: 2011 – 2017 Client: Gulshan Society Contractor: Beximco Engineering Ltd

Typical floor plan

1st floor plan

1 2 5 10 20 m 200 201 234 235

The twelve-storey residential block is located in Comfort Banani on the main north-bound artery of the city. After a decade of unwillingness to design for de- velopers, this project was taken up by the architect Reverie as the building regulations were revised and new rules came into effect on allowable ground cover- age. The new regulation allowed a generous set- Residence back area around the building to let it breathe. Thus the project was attempted as an expression of a tropical vertical living. The hot humid summer calls for breathing façades. Fins are added to the open- ings on the east and west to channel the direction of air, as well as shading against the hot blazing summer sun. The playful arrangement of the fins on the west façade gives the building an interest- ing expression with changing perspectives from the busy road and a unique lighting experience in the interior. Brick creates the skin of the building. A lime and brick dust paste smeared over the ex- posed brick gives the brick façade homogeneity in appearance.

Architect: Marina Tabassum Architects Location: Banani, Dhaka Design: 2006 Construction: 2007– 2011 Client: M. A. Motaleb Engineer: Shafiul Bari

East elevation

1 2 5 10 20 m 236 237

Typical floor plan

Ground floor plan

1 2 5 10 m 438 439 Contributors

Afroza Ahmed completed her Masters Degree in Archeground Ltd. is a design studio-based plat- Urban & Regional Planning at BUET in 1990. She form founded in 2006. Partners Nabi Newaz Khan, obtained her PhD from the Civil & Building Engi- Lutfullahil Majid and Md. Jubair Hasan graduated neering Dept. of Loughborough University, UK, in from BUET in 2006 and 2008, respectively. Md. Ju- 2011. Since 2012, she has been the chairperson of bair Hasan worked with Vitti Sthapati Brindo Ltd. J. A. Architects Ltd. Afroza Ahmed has been in- until 2010 and continued collaborating on various volved in different research activities particularly competitions with from 2010 to 2012. on low-cost housing upgrading, slum reconstruc- 152 – 159 Loom Shed for Amber Denim tion and land tenure issues. 160 – 163 Amber Denim Mosque 221 – 227 Reconstruction of Karail 192 – 197 DIU Library Building and Saattola Slums

Bashirul Haq (*1938) did his undergraduate course Ahammad-Al-Muhaymin obtained a B. Arch. from at the National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan BUET in 2011 and subsequently worked as a lec- before pursuing his graduate degree at the Univer- turer at the Faculty of Architecture. He worked for sity of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA. He worked Saif Ul Haque in 2011. Beside his independent re- as a junior architect in Kallmann Mckinnell & Wood search and work, Ahammad-Al-Muhaymin serves in before starting his professional career as design advisor to GHORAMI.JON. back in his homeland in the late ’70s. 84 – 88 Emergency School Shelter at 262 – 269 Architect’s Family Home & Studio S. R. Government Girls High School 270 – 277 Kalindi Housing Complex 365 – 369 Low-cost Resilient Char House 414 – 419 PRISM Community Development Centres & Cyclone Shelters

Andreas Ruby (*1967) studied art history at the University of Cologne and spent time in Paris and Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and as a researcher. He has worked as an ed- Settlements in Dhaka is a transdisciplinary forum itor and resident correspondent for various archi- for the study and design of the environment. It was tecture journals. With Ilka Ruby, he founded ‘Text- launched by Bengal Foundation under chairperson bild’ and later, in 2008, ‘RUBY PRESS’ in Berlin. Abul Khair in 2015. Innovative cross-disciplinary Andreas Ruby has taught architectural theory at programmes integrate architectural and design re- various institutions such as Cornell University in search, investigation of cities and settlements, and Ithaca, New York. Andreas Ruby has been the di- the study of larger regions and landscapes. Its fac- rector of S AM Swiss Architecture Museum since ulty consists of influential Bangladeshi and inter- May 2016. national architects and thinkers. 13 – 14 The Vibrant Architecture Scene of 111 – 112 Next Sylhet Bangladesh 205 – 206 Next Dhaka: Buriganga Riverbank 207– 208 Next Dhaka: Gulshan Avenue

Anna Heringer (*1977) lived in Bangladesh for al- most a year at age 17, where she had the chance Ehsan Khan (*1964) obtained his B. Arch. from to learn from the NGO Dipshikha about sustain­ BUET in 1991. From 1994 to 2010 he was a director able development work. She studied architec- of Vitti Sthapati Brindo Ltd. and founded his cur- ture at the University of Arts Linz from 1999 to rent practice Ehsan Khan Architects (EKAR) in 2004 and founded Studio Anna Heringer in 2005. 2010. He is a visiting faculty member at the Univer- Her diploma project, METI School, was her first sity of Pacific and at BRAC University. realised building. She has been a visiting faculty 187– 191 Playpen School member in many universities across Europe and 243 – 249 Integrated Development of the US. 316 – 321 Mohila Samity Complex 49 – 54 METI School 420 – 426 Nishorgo Oirabot Nature Interpreta- 55 – 56 DESI Vocational Training Centre tion Centre 440 441 Image FRAMEWORK was founded in 2016 by Md. Faysal graduated with a B. Arch. scapes and Settlements in Dhaka. He is the cura- Stha.Ni.k. was founded in 2008 by Saiqa Iqbal Kabir Himun and Anup Kumar Basak. Both partners from BUET in 2000, and later obtained a Master of tor in chief of the exhibition ‘Bengal Stream’. Meghna and Suvro Sovon Chowdhury as a received a B. Arch. from BUET in 2004 and subse- Architecture from the University of Sheffield, UK. 17– 32 Bengal Stream research-oriented studio to incorporate tradi- credits quently worked with Kashef Chowdhury and As a landscape architect and sustainability advo- tional design procedures and construction Rashidul Hassan before starting their own practice. cate, he has worked with Bangladeshi develop- techniques with contemporary design process- 93 – 94 Resort at Birishiri ment agencies such as BRAC and Grameen in ru- Paraa is a design and architecture studio focusing es. Both partners are graduates of BUET. Saiqa 345 – 352 Site Accommodation Facilities for ral and sustainable architecture. He joined BRAC on enhancing spaces with the communities in Iqbal Meghna is a lecturer at BRAC University Foreign Construction Staffs University in 2005 as a lecturer. Bangladesh through multi-disciplinary practice. and Stamford University, Bangladesh. 211 – 216 Ashar Macha Platform of Hope The studio, based in Dhaka and London, was found- 322 – 327 Shomaj Biggyan Chattar 370 – 377 City-wide Community Upgrading ed by Ruhul Abdin and Kazi Arefin, who serve as Landscaping GHORAMI.JON was established 2013. Partners directors along with Abbas Nokhasteh. Md. Fuad Abdul Quaium, A. S. M. Shahedur Rah- 340 – 342 Design Build Play man, Md. Mizanur Rahman Mishu, Soniha Nuzrat Marina Tabassum graduated from BUET in 1994 353 – 354 Transitional Shelter for Urban Street Syed Manzoorul Islam (*1951), a Bangladeshi aca- and design advisor Ahammad-Al-Muhaymin focus and then worked with architect Uttam Kumar Saha Children demic, writer, novelist, translator, columnist, and crit- mostly on the development of sustainable, resil- from 1993 to 1995. She was a partner at URBANA ic, completed his graduate and post-graduate de- ient and ecologically responsive habitat and set- from 1995 to 2005. In 2005, she established her grees from in 1971 and 1972 tlements of marginalised communities. own practice, Marina Tabassum Architects, and graduated from BUET in 2006 and es- respectively. He received a PhD from Queen’s Uni- 84 – 88 Emergency School Shelter at she serves as its principal architect. She has taught tablished his practice KSHITI STHAPATI in Sylhet versity, Kingston, in 1981. He has published several S. R. Government Girls High School at various universities in Bangladesh and the US. in 2008 with the aim of re-establishing vernacular collections of short stories and novels and is current- Currently she is a visiting faculty member at GSD in features and integrating socio-cultural arche- ly a professor of English at the University of Dhaka. Harvard. types of the Sylhet region in his work. 217– 220 Culture, Architecture and Conver­ Baan (*1975) is a Dutch photographer who 170 – 179 Bait Ur Rouf Mosque 114 –117 Liberation War Monument gence: A View from Bangladesh studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague 234 – 238 Comfort Reverie Residence and worked in publishing and documentary pho- 239 – 240 Competition for RAJUK HQ tography in New York and Europe. In the ’90s, he 308 – 315 Museum of Independence Raziul Ahsan (1954 – 1997) received his B. Arch. Timmy Aziz studied architecture at The Architec- lived and studied in Dhaka for several months. and Independence Monument from BUET in 1979. He was a member of Chetana tural Association, London, and Cooper Union, New Iwan Baan has worked with many of the most in- 378 – 385 Panigram Resort Society. Raziul Ahsan was a partner and later prin- York City, where he received his professional de- All photographs, unless otherwise noted, are fluential architects of our time and has collaborat- cipal of C. A. P. E.(Consulting Architects Planners gree in 1990. He was a principal at DOMA Archi- courtesy of Iwan Baan. ed on several international book projects. Iwan and Engineers) from 1980 to 1997. Besides his tecture in from 1995 to 2005. Since Baan’s work is published in architecture maga- Md. Rafiq Azam graduated from BUET in 1989. In work as architect, he was a talented artist. 2006 Timmy has taught at the Maryland Institute 16 Louis I. Kahn Collection, University of zines across the world. May 1995, he founded his practice SHATOTTO ar- 71 – 77 SOS Children’s Village and Hermann College of Art (MICA), Baltimore, USA, and is also Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Historical chitecture for green living. As a visiting faculty Gmeiner College a visiting professor at the Bengal Institute for Ar- and Museum Commission member he has taught in various universities in 250 – 255 SOS Youth Village and Vocational chitecture, Landscapes and Settlements, Dhaka. 17 1 Claudiabasel Jalal Ahmed (*1959) graduated with a B. Arch. from Bangladesh and across Asia and has served as an Training Centre 284 – 289 Aziz Residence 2 PMO Library Peoples Republic of BUET in 1983. He is a member of Chetana Society. international juror. 256 – 261 SOS Hermann Gmeiner College Bangladesh From 1983 to 1997, he was part of Diagram Archi- 290 – 295 Meghna Residence 18 3 Niklaus Graber tects. He founded his current practice, J. A. Archi- 302 – 307 South Zahir Paradise Residence Vitti Sthapati Brindo Ltd. is an atelier founded in 4 NASA tects Ltd., in 2005. 328 – 333 Azam Residence Saif Ul Haque (*1958) obtained a B. Arch. from 1991 as a design studio under the guidance of Mu- 5 Sultans and , The Early Muslim 59 – 64 Disappearing Lands: BUET and established Diagram Architects in 1983, zharul Islam. In 1993, the atelier transformed into Architecture of Bangladesh, I. B. Tauris Supporting Communities Affected by where he was a partner until 1996. He later found- a limited company Vitti Sthapati Brindo Ltd. led by & Co Ltd, London 2007 River Erosion Mohammed Rezwan graduated with an architec- ed his own architectural practice, Saif Ul Haque Md. Ishtiaque Zahir, Ehsan Khan and Iqbal Habib. 6 From to Sherebanglanagar, 146 – 151 Subornodighi Weekend Home ture degree from BUET in 1998. The same year, he Sthapati. He is a member of Chetana Society. Saif Currently the team consists of 64 members. At Chetana Society, Dhaka 1997 221 – 227 Reconstruction of Karail founded Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, a practice­ Ul Haque is a notable scholar and educator and present the team is lead by Md. Ishtiaque Zahir and 7 Niklaus Graber and Saattola Slums specialising in developing, expanding and sustain- has widely published on the history of Bangla- Md. Iqbal Habib. 19 8 Niklaus Graber 386 – 393 Banchte Shekha Training Centre ing floating schools. desh’s architecture. 243 – 249 Integrated Development of 9 From Pundranagar to Sherebanglanagar, 399 – 405 Govinda Gunalanker Hostel 89 – 92 Floating Schools 78 – 83 House of Orient Hatirjheel Area Chetana Society, Dhaka 1997 123 –131 Arcadia School 420 – 426 Nishorgo Oirabot Nature 10 Niklaus Graber 357– 362 The Evolution of Bangladesh’s Interpretation Centre 11 Kashef Chowdhury / URBANA Kashef Chowdhury graduated from BUET in 1995. Nahas Ahmed Khalil (*1958) holds a B. Arch. from Architecture between 1947 and 1997 12 Niklaus Graber After working with architect Uttam Kumar Saha, BUET. Since his graduation 1982 he has been prin- 386 – 393 Banchte Shekha Training Centre 13 Niklaus Graber he established the practice URBANA in 1995 and cipal designer of his own practice ARC Architec- 399 – 405 Govinda Gunalanker Hostel Viviane Ehrensberger (*1988) studied architec- 14 Nurur Rahman Khan / Muzharul Islam from 2004 has continued as the sole principal of tural Consultants, collaborating occasionally with ture at ETH Zurich. She worked at the CCA Cana- Archive the firm Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA. He is also a other firms such as C. A. P. E. / Raziul Ahsan and dian Centre for Architecture in Montreal and in ar- 15 Niklaus Graber professional photographer and his work has been & Associates. He is a member of received his Masters Degree in chitecture practices in Switzerland and Canada. 16 Marina Tabassum Architects featured in several exhibitions and publications. Chetana Society. Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. Since 2016, Viviane has been Assistant Curator at 20 18 Niklaus Graber 35 – 44 Friendship Centre 100 –103 M. A. Rashid Eye Hospital From 1997 to 1999 he worked with Robert Ventu- S AM Swiss Architecture Museum. 19 Kashef Chowdhury / URBANA 65 – 68 Raised Settlements 137– 138 Bengal Museum of Contemporary ri and Denise Scott Brown. In 2001 he started At- 20 Friendship NGO 119 – 120 Samdani Art Centre and Sculpture Arts and Crafts elier Robin Architects in Dhaka and has since 22 Niklaus Graber Park 228 – 233 Aakash Prodeep Residence worked independently and in collaboration with Zarina Hossain is an architect and human settle- 21 24 Constantinos A. Doxiadis Archives, 198 – 204 Gulshan Society Mosque 406 – 413 Osban House other local and international artists and architects. ment planner. She worked for several architecture © Constantinos and Emma Doxiadis 308 – 315 Museum of Independence and 180 – 185 Istiaq Residence firms in and as town planner before be- Foundation Independence Monument 278 – 283 Café Mango ing appointed Director of Space Planning at the 25 Richard E. Vrooman, Texas A&M Faculty 394 – 396 Cyclone Shelter with Primary School Naim Ahmed Kibria (*1972) graduated from BUET 334 – 339 M. Sultan & Sons Paintshop Asian University for Women in 2006. Zarina Hos- of Architecture Archive with a B. Arch. in 2007. He is a principal architect sain is currently chairperson of Shuktara Nature 26 Iftekhar Ahmed at Indigenous. He has continuously expanded his Retreat Sylhet and works as a self-employed de- 27 K. Shahid Rab in: First Architecture received his B. Arch. from expertise by further education in Australia, Europe Shamsul Wares (*1947) received his B. Arch. in sign and planning consultant. Faculty in Bangladesh, Rafique Islam, The BUET in 1983 and went on to complete a Masters and Asia. 1968 from BUET. He was a junior architect under 104 –110 Shuktara Nature Retreat Book Patch at MIT and a PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. 97– 99 Bidyabhuban School Muzharul Islam with Vastukalabid before founding 22 28 Archive Robert G. Boughey An architect, urbanist and architectural historian, his own practice Shisrikkhu Sthapati. Shamsul 29 UMass Dartmouth / Clair Carrey Library he has taught at University of Hawaii, University of Wares was Professor and Dean at University of 30 Permissions courtesy Dion Neutra, Pennyslvania, Temple University and Pratt Institute. Niklaus Graber (*1968) studied architecture at ETH Asia Pacific and he is Dean of the School of Envi- Architect © and Richard and Dion Neutra Kazi Khaleed Ashraf is the author of numerous Zurich and at Columbia University, New York. He is ronment and Design at the State University of Papers, Department of Special publications, essays and articles and the direc- a co-founder of Graber & Steiger Architects, Lu- Bangladesh. Collections, Charles E. Young Research tor of the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Land- cerne and taught at the Lucerne University of Ap- 132 – 136 Housing for Bangladesh Library, UCLA scapes and Settlements. plied Sciences and Arts between 2008 and 2015. Livestock Research Institute 23 31 Family Archive Muzharul Islam 429 – 433 Building Bangladesh: From In 2016 he was invited to be a visiting faculty mem- 141 –145 Vacation House 32 Niklaus Graber Pavilion-form to Landscape-form ber at the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Land- 296 – 301 Kamal House 33 Niklaus Graber ‘Bengal Stream’ is devoted to the architecture of Bangladesh, which has gone largely unnoticed on the architectural world map to date. Thanks to a vibrant architecture movement with excellent works, this situation may change very soon. With imaginative spatial approaches and innovative detailed solutions, Bangladesh’s architects demonstrate that architecture is able to provide responses to major societal, economic and eco- logical issues. This richly illustrated publication brings together over sixty projects by established as well as emerging architects. Iwan Baan has photographically documented their work, and es- says by Niklaus Graber, Kazi Khaleed Ashraf, Syed Manzoorul Islam and Saif Ul Haque offer a view into the fascinating world of contemporary architecture in the .

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