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In the book “An Architecture of
Independence” Kazi Khaleed Ashraf writes “The College of
Arts and Crafts” (later named as the Institute of Fine
Arts) announced the beginning of a Bengali modernism
that deliberately stood away from both stigmatized
colonial and hybridized traditional forms.”Muzharul
Islam in a single stroke of genius was able to establish
clear guidelines of a Bengali modernism that would be
rooted in its rich heritage but “breaks away from the
forms of both its colonial and traditional antecedents”.
And as Ashraf writes in World Architecture a critical
mosaic, vol-8 “ It achieved an immediate iconic status
in Dhaka as a work employing the Modernist vocabulary
adapted to suit the local climate and context”.
Dhaka at that time was beginning to adopt bad examples
of “insensitive” international style and the work before
that was deeply influenced by its colonial heritage.
Even though the Bengal had a rich heritage for it’s
strong architectural characteristics and even It’s early
works had shown a rationalist thoughtful approach to
architecture, discontinuity had taken its toll and soon
we were adopting the styles of our colonizer. Literature
and music on the other hand had gone on to give our
society its true face of “modernity” in our own context.
Muzharul Islam in this seminal work laid down the
foundation to a modern movement in architecture. This
masterpiece was Muzharul Islam’s first architectural
endeavor. The site is located in the roman area apart of
Dhaka University Campus. The Roman area is well known
for it’s gardens and parks. Most of the buildings in
this area have been designed in the scheme of a “bagan
bari” (house in a garden). The site that was given for
the purpose of the institute was dotted with beautiful
trees with a large circular depression at the end of the
site. Muzharul Islam decided to come up with a design
scheme that will retain all the trees on the site (as
some of them were large beautiful trees that would have
require many years to grow). His scheme was also climate
responsive and had large continuous verandahs shading
the inner walls and windows of the classrooms and
studios. The design echoes the out house and inner house
scheme of rural Bangladesh. It also transforms ‘Jalees’
(lattices) and ‘beras’ (perforated screens) into
wonderful screens that separates and creates thresholds.
One enters into the front pavilion, a wonderful
structure that houses galleries on the ground floor and
teachers and common rooms etc on the first. A wonderful
sculptural stairs connects the two levels around a
wonderful internal courtyard. Past the pavilion are the
classrooms and studios and in the far end encircling the
round depression are the print studios. A lotus pond and
sitting area becomes the open heart of the whole
institute. The ground on the south both is a relief and
a place to gather. This ground and the whole structure
itself transforms to host many activities namely the
Bengali New Year ‘Pohela Boishakh’ and numerous art
classes and competitions for children. Bricks of the
project were also custom designed by Muzharul Islam as
so are the terracotta screens. Marvelous shading devices
and pergola type details brick our driving rain and
allows one to wonder at the wrath and beauty of our
monsoon. The trees are filled with the play of birds.
Their varied foliages and shades of greens at different
seasons continue to provoke the minds of young artists.
The true success of this institute lies in the fact that
it teaches art to an artist, without the need of the
presence of any instructor. It provokes, inspires in
countless ways, it allows the inhabitants, numerous
vistas from where one charm at the kaleidoscope of
nature’s ragas through out the different seasons.
As Kazi Khalid Ashraf writes “The pavilion-like openness
of the buildings, pathways through varieties of
enclosures, garden spaces, and a natural as well as
sensorial ambience, create a campus ideal for the
contemplation and learning.”
This masterpiece is a wonderful display of a harmonious
integration of architecture and landscape. Sensitive
response to climate not just ‘climate in negative role’
but to provide the scope to charm at it’s different
nuances. It is a proud statement of our rich building
heritage in brick and terracotta. In it’s lines and
forms it is a true reflection of a ‘Bengali Modernism’.
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