Nationalism and Modern Institutional Buildings of Bangladesh, 1947-71

Written By Tanzil Shafique

By:

Mohona Reza | Doctoral Fellow and Adjunct Faculty, University of Edinburgh, UK

Abstract:

The paper aims to discuss the institutional architecture involving Bangladesh, Pakistan, and other countries during the postcolonial cold war period between 1947 and 1971. From the different periods of past in Bengal to the development phase of rebuilding one nation with two halves of Pakistan, this paper will attempt to unravel the connections between geopolitical tensions, socio-economical concerns, and culture-religion perplexities through a prototype model of one institutional organisation known as Five Polytechnic Institutes. The study focuses on the spaces of the functioning institutional organisations. The discussion of the architectural entity continues with viewing the instance as a part of political and cultural process. The paper will explore how institutional buildings were produced by negotiating urban spaces that was intertwined with modernism and seeking national identity. Overall, it will offer a specific approach to study the transformation of architectural practices in global cold war period and a methodological proposition for spatial and architectural research in general.

Keywords:

Modernism, Postcolonial, Cold War, Nationalism, Architecture

Author bio:

TBC

Tanzil Shafique

Tanzil Shafique, Assoc AIA, is a PhD researcher at the Melbourne School of Design. Previously, he was the Design Research Specialist at the Office of the Dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design at University of Arkansas, where, he worked also as a Project Designer at the University of Arkansas Community Design Center and was a faculty for the Urban Design Studio, leading the Urbanism Seminar. He graduated at the top of his M.Arch in Ecological Urbanism class from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York in 2014. His thesis was awarded the Faculty Graduate Award. He was practicing architecture in NYC before moving to Arkansas. Previously he taught undergraduate studios in BRAC University in Bangladesh. As part of the UACDC, his work has been awarded numerous AIA awards. He writes and lectures on design philosophy around the world. In 2016, he co-founded Estudio Abierto / Open Studio with Paco Mejias. 

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