Finding post-colonial identity through vernacular and climate responsive adaptations: the architecture of Bangladesh from 1947 to 1971
ISSN: 0168-2601
Article publication date: 19 July 2023
Issue publication date: 2 May 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Fresh out of the two-century-old British legacy, Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan from 1947 to 1971, was searching for a post-colonial architectural style. Colonial architecture in the region in general often imposed imported European elements, ignoring the preceding legacies of the Sultanate and the Mughals. The critical challenge was to find a balance between the prevailing high modernism in architecture and the local vernacular and climatic forces. The Pakistani government invited international architects to fill the gap left by a non-existent local architectural industry. Unfortunately, their work has rarely been properly analyzed. With selected case studies, this paper analyzes their work in an attempt to explore their contribution to creating a national architectural identity.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a case study approach with selected architectural projects from the period. It uses research tools such as systematic analysis of drawings, volumes and photographs and archival research.
Findings
The international architects took inspiration from the strong vernacular and climatic forces of the region. The resultant expressions of the two-decade-long search in their combined body of work are some of the finest examples of vernacular and climate-responsive architecture in the region. They transcended the regular international style and became context-specific and unique. The quest for East Pakistan's post-colonial architectural identity was partially met by the newly found identity through vernacular and climate-responsive adaptation in architecture.
Originality/value
This study explores how a unified vernacular and climate-responsive adaptations potentially shaped the post-colonial architectural identity of the region. No prior study exists on this issue for the time period.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the studio instructors and students of ARC501: Design IX of the Department of Architecture at BRAC University for the in-depth study materials and for allowing the authors to use them. The authors are also grateful to Photojournalist Noor A. Alam from The Business Standard, Bangladesh, for allowing the authors to reuse Alam’s photographs.
Citation
Ahmed, I. and Khan, T. (2024), "Finding post-colonial identity through vernacular and climate responsive adaptations: the architecture of Bangladesh from 1947 to 1971", Open House International, Vol. 49 No. 2, pp. 384-408. https://doi.org/10.1108/OHI-03-2023-0064
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited