Architecture is not just something made placing brick after brick. It is a poem composed by an artist’s own melody. In that sense, architect Bashirul Haque is a poet, an artist and a creator. The use of local and folk elements in modern architecture has glorified his creations. For this the Bangladeshi architect is equally appreciated abroad.
This is how some of the country’s best architects described Haque at the publication ceremony of his biography “Bashirul Haq Architect”, authored by Dr Iftekhar Ahmed and Shekh Rubaiya Sultana of the Department of Architecture of Brac University.
The department organised the ceremony at Chhayanaut in the capital’s Dhanmondi on 18 July 2019.
Delivering the welcome address, the department Chairperson Professor Zainab Ali Faruki said Haque gave breadth to her knowledge, teaching how to extract inherent significance from a subject.
All leading Bangladeshi architects learned their trade working under either Haque or Muzharul Islam, so they owe them a great deal, she said.
The department Dean Fuad Hasan Mallik said, “I wish this book had been published earlier so that more students could have learnt about him. Hopefully this book will give students a new level of education.”
“Many of his installations, including the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation and Asa buildings, are an inspiration for young people. His thinking and dexterity on every subject is extraordinary,” he added.
Architect Nuru Rahman Khan said, “His architecture is not about being visual. It is about content. He is a modernist and a rationalist. His integrity, competence and dedication towards architecture are unparalleled.”
“He has not created the luxury iconic image for you in this city but wonderful places for families, for children and it is all about creating that community which is important in a housing complex,” he said.
Dr Iftekhar Ahmed said, “We have to admit that there is a serious lacking in documentation of architects’ works in Bangladesh.”
“There are about 23 architecture schools in Bangladesh, mostly focusing on Western architecture in their curriculum. Reference books on architecture in the context of Bangladesh are much needed,” he said.
“It is vital for the profession and industry to absorb philosophies and insights from architectural practices and disseminate it in a way so that it may lead to building a repository,” said Ahmed.
“Hopefully this book will enrich the curriculum of local architecture education as well as practices,” he added.
Haque said, “I hope that it proves to be an invaluable document for architectural unity in Bangladesh.”
“I've always tried to draw a link between my life experiences and my designs from childhood in rural Bangladesh to my architectural training and modernism and to see how this can manifest itself in a kind of regional practice,” he said.
“I would also like to mention the need for the development of the discipline of architectural history and criticism in Bangladesh,” he added.