Rafiq AzamArchitecture for Green LivingSkira – Bengal Foundation, 2013Milan In his 1851 classic, Moby-Dick, the great American novelist Herman Melville makes his meditative and depression-prone narrator Ishmael ponder on mid-nineteenth century Manhattan and its citizens and then exclaim, “but these are all landsmen; of week days pent up in lath and plaster—tied to counters, nailed…

Designing Dhaka: A Manifesto for a Better City. By Kazi Khaleed Ashraf Loka Press, 2012Dhaka Stuck in one of dysfunctional Dhaka’s horrendous jams, gridlocked by traffic, and with the minutes ticking away, what would you do? a) curse fate that you were born in the city/country; curse the government, and make plans to leave this…

a conversation organized by the Institute of Architects, Bangladesh (IAB)Bengal Gallery, Dhaka, May 3, 2014 Dhaka city is undergoing the most rapid and explosive transformation in its entire history. With such changes come crises and challenges. Panelists invited to a conversation organized by the Institute of Architects, Bangladesh (IAB) were asked to respond to the…

There is always an architecture without architects that display an impromptu aesthetics and surreptitious sensibilities. Colorful buildings and meticulous details made by neighborhood masons and painters create the urban landscape for another Dhaka. Buildings featured here are from Lalbagh, Mirpur, Banasree, Tejgaon, Shonir Akhra, Jatrabaari, Shantinagar, and Badda. Research was conducted and photographs were taken…

2008 was an important year for planet earth as for the first time its urban population reached fifty percent of its total population. It is now estimated that by 2050, seventy percent the figure will go up to indicating that the world is becoming increasingly urban. 2008 was an important year for planet earth as…

“Well, here we are at last in Chittagong. I am glad we are to live here instead of Dacca. Where Dacca is a bit larger and has all the old British government buildings, it is hot and level. Chittagong is on the Karnafuli River and is a city of “A Thousand Hills.” There is always…

A conservation architect and historic buildings consultant ardently worked to conserve some of the historic and significant structures of Kolkata: residential houses, churches, chapels, and the historic city centre of Dalhousie Square. The conservation of the house of Vidyasagar, St James Church, and Tagore Hall are three projects featured. I am attracted to the special…

A featured team project of the McKinley Futures Graduate Design Studio, University of Washington, Spring 2014: Jared Luther, Alden MacKey, Matthew Rothlisberger, and Monica Sarker, conducted by Daniel Friedman. “The oceans cover over 70 percent of the planet and are critical to life on Earth. The oceans drive almost every natural system on the planet,…

Each year, Philadelphia architects Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake travel with their students from the University of Pennsylvania to Dhaka as part of a unique design research laboratory in which deep investigation is undertaken to stimulate design and planning interventions that can interact dynamically with the urban systems in place and promote positive change. One…

This text accompanies Naeem Mohaiemen’s project ‘Rankin Street, 1953’ based on photographs taken by his father that year. The project was shown at Art Basel (2013), Dhaka Art Summit (2014), and in the ongoing solo show of Mohaiemen’s work, ‘Prisoners of Shothik Itihash,’ at Kunsthalle Basel. After a few weeks of interviews, the retired officer…