#dhaka

National Assembly Building of Bangladesh - Part II

During my second trip to Dhaka I had a chance to revisit the Assembly Building, as my first stop was just a few snapshots from the outside. Luckily for us our driver's cousin worked within the complex and we breezed through the security checkpoint without even slowing the car down. After entering we were able to sign up for the standard tour of the interior, and unfortunately photos are not permitted. The stillness, the monumental scale, and the effect of the light streami

Architecture of Muzharul Islam

With my second trip to Dhaka wrapping up today I had a bit of time to go see a building by architect Muzharul Islam. Islam is known as the father of “Bengali modernism” and was one of the most influential architects of South Asia in the 1960s and 70s. In fact it was Islam who was originally commissioned to design the National Assembly Building of Bangladesh, but he deferred this honor and invited his former teacher Louis Kahn to assume the role of master architect. The Fin

National Assembly Building of Bangladesh

OK...one more upload on Bangladesh! At the end of the trip we were able to pass by the National Assembly Building of Bangladesh one more time so I was able to get some nice shots on the lake side. We didn't have the time to take a tour of the inside, but it will leave me something to look forward to next trip. Hopefully will be there again in November... #architecture #design #dhaka #travel

Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College, Dhaka

Nothing could have prepared me for the experience of visiting Louis Kahn's Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College. After seeing so many images of this buildng in textbooks it was indeed an experience to walk through it in person. Not only the large scaled geometric openings, layering of spaces, and framed views, but the overwhelming presence of humanity of the people using it was very moving. A young doctor was very happy to see us visiting the building, and graciously took th

People and Traffic in Dhaka...

I have learned that traveling in Dhaka means sitting for hours in traffic. There is never a dull moment gazing out the window, with everyone vying for space to inch forward. Has givem me lots of time to people-watch, and thank goodness for instagram. #travel #society #dhaka

A Wedding in Dhaka

Well it has only been our first night and this trip to Dhaka has already come up with some surprises! Before going out to dinner my colleague asked a hotel employee at the front desk if he could recommend a nice restaurant. It turns out that the gentleman we asked was actually the hotel owner, and instead of suggesting a restaurant he said we should join the wedding banquet of one of the hotel staff. So we piled into the hotel van with lots of other staff, and ended up hav