The Architectural Works of Muzharul Islam: an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement in South Asia

Description

In 1965, Otto H. Königsberger, in an article in "Architectural Review", proclaimed that Muzharul Islam's works in Bangladesh are of global stature in establishing the systems and principle of Tropical Modern Architecture. This was two decades after independence from the colonial rule of the Indian Subcontinent and the formation of India and Pakistan. Amidst a new spree of nation-building activity, modern buildings started to appear in the region's architectural landscape. In Pakistan, which had two parts, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan, this was single-handedly done by architect Muzharul Islam. He was the senior architect of East Pakistan's government (1958 -64) before opening his own practice "Vastukalabid" in Dhaka.

During his active practice spanning almost four decades from the 1950s to 1990s, Islam had designed and built universities, large-scale housing, government buildings, institutions and numerous residences. His architectural production sought to derive place-oriented architecture through modern tectonics, environmentally-sensitive responses, and formed abstract cultural typologies overlaid with geometric order. His large-scale projects addressed the dichotomy of city and country and suggested alternative ideas of urbanity. The buildings are always in harmony with the natural surroundings while employing subtle abstraction in form and construction details to respond to the functional and social needs.

Throughout this journey, the ideals of Bengali Modernism have been the ever-present undercurrent, while oscillating between distinct expressions to establish an architecture for the tropics that transcends local boundaries.

Architect Islam attained the position of team leader and became a member of numerous prestigious international design competitions like the Grand Mosque, Islamabad (1970); Master jury of the 1st Aga Khan Awards, Geneva (1980); the Bangladesh National Martyr's Memorial, Savar, Dhaka (1980); the IDB HQ Building, Jeddah (1981); the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Riyadh (1981); the National Victory monument, Bangladesh (1987); etc. He received the prestigious Independence Day Medal (1999) of the Government of Bangladesh and the Institute of Architects Bangladesh’s (IAB) Gold Medal (1993). He also received a citation of the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) West Bengal Chapter as Outstanding Architect of South Asia (1989); J.K Cement Great Masters Award (1999) etc.

Justification of Outstanding Universal Value

The architectural works of Muzharul Islam from 1950 to 1990 is a series of buildings that illustrate the fusion of a unique understanding of context and modernist philosophy to create a new architectural language for tropical countries like Bangladesh in the post-colonial era. The components span almost forty years and are situated all over Bangladesh. The projects' chronology demonstrates an evolution of unique architectural solutions to create strong characteristics for the region's institutional buildings. The series showcases the adaptation of an open plan, blurring the boundary between interior and exterior and the use of industrially produced materials, which were not mainstream. The projects took inspiration from the region's cultural heritage and broke free from the colonial hangover to address the modern way of a living solution that influenced this region's architectural practice and which continue to do so to this day.

Components of the series include institutional projects of different scales, from the master plan of campuses to individual buildings. The substantial diversity of function, scale and setting in the series underscore both the consistency and the broad applicability of the architect's principles that can be termed as Tropical Bengali Modernism.

Criterion (ii): The architectural works of Muzharul Islam created a new way forward for a region that had just gained independence from colonial rule. The nominated components illustrate the evolution of this new approach. The dominant architecture language practised at that time neither had the authenticity of the Western system nor the continuity of Buddhist and Mughal cultural heritage. The work of Muzharul Islam was a fresh departure from this and pioneered a modern architectural style that was not stylistic but rather a derivation from the greater context. The components illustrate a deep understanding of the society, economy, climate, technology and culture while devoid of post-colonial hangover and overtone of regionalism.

These ideologies and the resultant architecture attracted attention among the architects and theoreticians. Louis I. Kahn, Paul Rudolph, Kenneth Frampton, William Curtis, BV Doshi are few architects who have at different times recognised the role of the architect for giving the regional architecture scene a global standard.

While plenty of characteristics of these series might seem like a direct adaptation of the modernist idioms and style, upon critical analysis and research, they appear that the generative forces of these are much more deep-rooted. The subsequent form or the sequence of space may seem very Western but subtle alteration of well-known building elements makes the building unerringly fit for the sub-continent. The legacy of this approach can be seen as a new school of thought within the discourse of modern architecture. The influence of Islam's architecture is also noticeable in many well-known local and Western architects’ works in the Indian sub-continent afterwards.

The 20^th-century architecture of Muzharul Islam demonstrates an important interchange in the discourse that remarkably influenced South Asian architecture and are an outstanding example of 20^th-century tropical architecture. The design considerations had strong references to the local climate, material, and culture. The buildings illustrate the architect's new approach to architecture, consciously developed a language on Tropical Architecture in the Delta. In their fusion of spirit and form, the resulting buildings evoked emotional responses suitable for the South Asian cultural context but were universal in their appeal. Islam's influence is also noticeable in the works of some important architects in the Indian sub-continent. The architectural work of Muzharul Islam exhibits an unprecedented interchange of human values in South Asia, over half a century, in relation to the South Asian Modern Movement's birth and development. It revolutionized Bengal's architecture by demonstrating, in an exceptional and pioneering manner, the invention of a new architectural language that made a break with the past.

Statements of authenticity and/or integrity

Through their chronological development, the selected buildings express the Outstanding Universal Value of Muzharul Islam’s works. The buildings include all the necessary elements to express the characteristics of this sub-genre of modern architectural language. The sensitivity towards the ecology and topography is constant in the master planning of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University and in Jahangirnagar University, Chittagong University and Joypurhat Girls' Cadet College (formerly Jaipur Limestone Factory Housing Project). Still, the execution is radically different in terms of geometry and architectural expression. The climate responsive approach of the pavilion form is best demonstrated in the Faculty of Fine Arts, Central Library (Old Building) and the Faculty of Business Studies (formerly the National Institute of Public Administration) at the University of Dhaka, as well as Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) and the Bangladesh Road Research Laboratory. But the climatic adaptations are made through the masterful articulation of form and material in Jahangirnagar University, Joypurhat Girls' Cadet College and the building for National Library. The versatility of the domestic arrangement in large master planning projects caters to the socio-cultural needs and optimum living of the people in this context. Though some master plans were left incomplete, they powerfully demonstrate the salient features' impact and have endured the test of time.

The OUV-defining attributes of the architectural works of Muzharul Islam remained unaffected. The OUV of the Architectural works, as recognized in criteria ii, is credibly expressed through form & design; use & function; and location & setting. Moreover, the existing structures ensure the complete representation of the features which convey the property’s significance.

Comparison with other similar properties

When architect Muzharul Islam came into the scene with the Faculty of Fine Arts building (1953-55) and Central Library of Dhaka University (1953-55), there was hardly any example of modern architecture in South Asia. These buildings, when placed besides the then-under construction works of Le Corbusier in Chandigarh, distinguish themselves as true examples of South Asian modernist architecture. Charles Correa and B.V. Doshi in India came into the scene with their modernist approach a few years later. Even in Sri Lanka, Geoffrey Bawa started his tropical modernism in practice at the end of that decade. Their works were either a direct adaptation of the Western modernist style or not free from regional symbolism and spiritual references. The works of Muzharul Islam also stand apart in their own right from those of notable foreign architects such as Le Corbusier, Louis I Kahn, Paul Rudolph, Constantin Doxiadis and Richard Neutra, who worked on this subcontinent during that time. The works' uniqueness is better understood when they are acknowledged by architects like Paul Rudolph and Luis I Kahn.

The architectural expression of modernist philosophy for the Western world was strongly propagated through Le Corbusier's works. His early modern building became a stylistic icon of the modern architectural movement using pilotis, freeform, ribbon window etc. The raised form on pilotis of Villa Savoye was primarily to accommodate the automobile, the emblem of the industrial world. The same strategy of freeing the ground was employed by Muzharul Islam in the Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University, but to create an un-ceremonial barrier-free pedestrian entry of the building, making a subdued but universal statement. Dhaka University Library building became a symbol of tropical modernity using a ramp under the shade in a free space that extends to the surrounding landscape, a proper threshold between indoor and outdoor spaces and sophisticated jali works. Placement of the ramp in the tropics' quintessential space, the semi-open space, makes it even more rooted in its climatic context. The more obvious ramped entry can be found in the Mill Owners Association Building, a work from the same time by Le Corbusier in Ahmedabad. The engagement of people with the building to create a lasting memory was done through the careful placement of artwork throughout the library building which also is a response to the socio-political context.

In the later part of modern development in the West, the focus shifted towards the expressive use of the material and the structural optimisation of it, but modernism was also garnering criticism for being ignorant of local culture and memory. The second phase of works by Muzharul Islam addressed these two issues. The striking similarity between the Sodhan House and the Mill Owners Association Building by Le Corbusier in Ahmedabad with that of the NIPA Building, Bangladesh Road Research Laboratory, ends in the Parasol form and use of material. Muzharul Islam's departure from Corbusian Modernism happened in the careful responsiveness towards climatic adaptation and the internal space planning which is the direct expression of Bengali culture. In the NIPA building, the structural and material optimization of the concrete was taken to almost a Miesian sophistication. In contrast, the brutalist expression of concrete was the primary style in the work of Le Corbusier and Paul Rudolf in the subcontinent.

Jahangirnagar University, National Library, and the buildings at Jaypurhat, with their stereotomic earth hugging characters, differ sharply from the earlier projects' skeletal quality. Working in parallel with Louis Kahn in this period in Bengal helped Muzharul Islam find himself and understand how to approach architecture with proper language. As Kahn mentioned about 'Architecture of 'Land' for this special landscape through his masterpiece in Dhaka, Muzharul Islam has elaborated this thinking with a more sensitive geometric establishment that highly compliments all-season climatic considerations. And Islam's work was highly admired by Kahn when he encountered a few projects with respect to Western practice. These projects, as well as others from this period, brought a different quality of geometric and spatial complexity. The buildings also evoke the age-old tradition of masonry and terracotta work of the great Buddhist viharas and Mughal mosques architecture in an abstract manner, which is a hallmark of a truly modern building.