Day: March 16, 2025

Rabiul Hussain in Architectural Narratives

On February 28, 2025 Bangladesh Institute of Architects (IAB) and the Bangladesh Liberation War Museum organized a day-long program to tribute architect Rabiul Hussain through visiting 3 of his projects-  Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC),  Jalladkhana Killing Ground and Jahangirnagar University. and taking a vow to protect the diversified works of the architect. Architect Rabiul Hussain (January 31, 1943 – November 26, 2019) was a prominent Bangladeshi architect, poet, art critic, short story writer, essayist, and cultural activist. A person of multifaceted talent, honored by the Government of Bangladesh with the Ekushey Padak for his contributions to language and literature in 2018, received the Bangla Academy Literary Award for his contributions to poetry in 2009, and the Bangladesh Institute of Architects (IAB) awarded him the Gold Medal for his outstanding contribution to architecture in 2016. He served four times as the President of the Bangladesh Institute of Architects, Vice-Chairman of the Architects Regional Council of Asia (ARCASIA), Vice-President of the Commonwealth Association of Architects, and President of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation of Architects. In addition, he was a trustee of the Liberation War Museum, an executive member of the 1971 Ghatok Dalal Nirmul Committee (Committee for Elimination of Martyrs’ Assassination), and made significant contributions to the preservation of the memories of the Independent War of Bangladesh. Although he was born in the village of Ratidanga in Shailkupa Upazila, Jhenaidah District, he completed his secondary and higher secondary education in Kushtia District. Later, in 1968, he earned his Bachelor degree in architecture from the then East Pakistan University of Engineering (now Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology). After obtaining the graduation, he began his professional career as an architect working with architect Mazharul Islam and later joined Shahidullah Associates. Alongside his architectural practice, he also maintained a strong passion for writing. Throughout his career, he served as a life member of the Bangla Academy, and was involved in various organizations, including the Central Kachi-Kachhar Mela (a children’s and youth organization), the National Poetry Council, the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum, the International Film Critic Association of Bangladesh, and the Bangladesh Institute of Architects. Notable buildings designed by him include the Jalladkhana(Execution House), the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council building, the entrance gate of Dhaka University, the Liberation and Independence Arch, the Jahangirnagar University gate, the Bhashani Hall, the Bangabandhu Hall, the Sheikh Hasina Hall, the Khaleda Zia Hall, the Wazed Mia Science Complex, the auditorium and academic building complex of Chittagong University, and alongside architect Mazharul Islam, the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute in Gazipur, Haji Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University in Dinajpur, and polytechnic institutes in Chittagong and Khulna, among others. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) was established in 1973 with the aim of conducting agricultural research and coordinating various related institutions in Bangladesh. Almost a decade after its founding, in 1982, architect Rabiul Hussain designed its current building. The design process, which began in 1978, spanned nearly four years. In a remarkable way, he crafted a unique architectural design using red brick masonry that harmonized with Bangladesh’s climate, nature, and way of life. This building is a symbol of post-independence architecture, reflecting a search for an architectural style; that is free from the burden of colonization in a newly liberated land. Each detail of the building echoes the same vision. The regional architectural influence of Maestro Mazharul Islam, the pioneer of Bangladesh’s regional architecture, is evident in the design, which he was fortunate to experience starting from his third year of architectural education. The building, located on a site shaped like the letter ‘L’ in the English alphabet, is easily noticeable among surrounding roads and structures. It stands at the junction of Airport Road and Khamar Bari Road, near Farmgate and Bijoy Sarani. The design symbolizes various aspects of aesthetic gravity, marking an early effort in the evolution of post-independence Bangladeshi architecture and the search for a Bengali “identity” in the country’s-built environment. The location of the building, near the capital’s main international airport at Tejgaon, limited the building’s height to four floors. The rectangular building, measuring 223 feet in length and 63 feet in width, has a total built-up area of 32,700 square feet. It is aligned along the east-west axis and is equipped with optimal provisions for cross-ventilation and prevailing south winds. The three-story building is vertically divided into three functional zones. The first floor is allocated for administrative offices; the second floor houses the executive branch. The third floor features a 7,500-square-foot conference room with seating for 280 people at its center, along with a 1,350-square-foot library and a meeting room. The first and second floors are organized along a double-loaded corridor, with two staircases at the eastern and western ends of the building. In harmony with local traditions, the roof was projected to protect the building from torrential rain and scorching sun. The BARC building essentially consists of two parts: one is the brick-clad inner shell that spans the main area, while the additional levels moderate the harsh tropical sun and protect the building during the monsoon season. Architect Mazharul Islam’s office- Vastukalabid was a key influence in experimenting with such a critical combination of climate consideration and modernist aesthetics along with that of brick mason for architect Rabiul Hussain and many young architects in the early 1970s. To give an example, his designs, including the National Institute of Public Administration (1964), encouraged a generation of architects to explore “critical regionalism” through a lens that considered climatic aspects in the visual language of architecture. Since stone is rare and fired bricks can be produced in abundance from local clay, architects saw bricks as an unprecedented symbolic representation of the delta and its culture. Representing the soil of the riverine country, bricks were the purest or most organic building material believed by the Bangladeshi architects. The “poetry” of bricks is hard to miss in the concept and construction of the BARC headquarters building. Also, the influence of