Louis Kahn in Dhaka: ruin as method Maryam Gusheh A thesis in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2013 School of Architecture and Design Faculty of the Built Environment University of New South Wales PLEASE TYPE THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Gusheh First name: Maryam Other name/s: Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: PhD School: Architecture and Design Faculty: Built Environment Title: Louis Kahn in Dhaka: ruin as method Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE) The capitol complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh, designed by Louis Kahn, resists a neat positioning in architectural history. An iconic example of American modern architecture in a non-Western, newly independent context, this project straddles binary yet interdependent categories: East–West, Pakistan–Bangladesh, modern–postmodern. If Kahn represents a transitional figure within twentieth-century architectural history, then at Dhaka this liminal status is uniquely amplified. This thesis examines the particular manifestation, in the Dhaka commission, of the architectural tropes that are central to Kahn’s attempt to rethink the meaning of a modern monument during the late 1950s and 1960s. The research method is informed by recent trends in critical historiography, in which non-Western, typically postcolonial, modernism is identified as a key agent in the internal critique, revision and ongoing development of mid-twentieth century modernism. The capitol complex of Dhaka presents an important yet hitherto unexamined case for this critical perspective. This occurs through a historiographic analysis of the literature on the project combined with a close architectural reading of the building design. The reception of the project includes distinct and at times contradictory interpretations. It is seen as a key work of American modern architecture, as a precursor to postmodernism, as a neo-colonial practice and as an expression of Bangladeshi modernism. This thesis investigates how these diverse readings are differentiated in the critical literature, yet linked through the metaphor of the “ruin”. The “ruin” serves both as a critical lens for historiography and as a framework for a close reading of the building. This metaphor underlines the tension between form and use identified in this project. The architectural analysis explores how this tension is inherent in the capitol complex across three scales: the building in relation to the city, the thresholds within the building, and the relationship between “centre” and “periphery” as mediated through the spaces of circulation. It is argued that the ambivalence between form and use in this building renders the work particularly open to multiple interpretations, enabling its persistence as a vital monument, both in Dhaka and in architectural history. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). …………………………………………………………… ……………………………………..……………… ……….……………………...…….… Signature Witness Date The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award: THIS SHEET IS TO BE GLUED TO THE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THE THESIS COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ‘I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.’ Signed ............................................................................ Date .............................................................................. AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT ‘I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.’ Signed ........................................................................... Date .............................................................................. Originality Statement ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed: Date: May 29, 2014 Acknowledgement This dissertation has been realised with the assistance of many people and several institutions. Significant among these is Dr Peter Kohane, my primary supervisor throughout the candidature. It was in relation to his seminar courses on Louis Kahn that this project was first conceived and he has since responded to my work with exactitude. I am grateful for the support of my secondary supervisors. I thank Dr Catherine de Lorenzo, for her mentorship, humanity and humour and Dr Harry Margalit who with optimism structured my path towards completion. For their unwavering intellectual and personal camaraderie I thank my friends and academic colleagues Dijana Alic, John Gamble, Paul Hogben, Catherine Lassen, Naomi Stead and Paul Walker. I am especially indebted to Justine Clark, Gevork Hartoonian, and Katrina Simon, for the time they took to read the thesis, and for their support and challenging questions. I acknowledge Justine Clark for editing the manuscript. I have received institutional assistance from Faculty of Built Environment at UNSW throughout the course of my postgraduate studies and am particularly grateful to Dr Christine Steinmetz for her support this year. I extend my thanks to the staff at the Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania and Public Work Department in Bangladesh who have generously assisted my study. I would like to thank Jacki Dupuis and Rowena Robertson for between them copy-editing the document. Finally, I am grateful to my family; my sister, parents, parents in law, my partner Matthew Rogers and my daughter Uma. Without their care this project would not have been possible. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Illustrations .............................................................................................................................. ii Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Part I – Capitol Complex: Critical Reception Prelude “Form and Design” .................................................................................................. 18 Chapter 1 Vincent Scully: Roman Ruins as Modern Buildings ........................................... 21 Chapter 2 Capitol Complex at Dhaka: Institution? Spectacle? Landscape? ...................... 50 Part II – Capitol Complex: Architectural Reading Prelude “The Development by Louis I. Kahn of the Design for the Second Capital of Pakistan at Dacca” ...................................................... 98 Chapter 3 The Problem of the City: City Within a City ..................................................... 100 Chapter 4 The Problem of the Wall: Hollow Wall, Hollow Column .............................. 154 Chapter 5 The Problem of the Circulation: Between Centre and Periphery .................. 219 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 246 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................