LOUIS I KAHN AND MODERNISM IN BANGLADESH Course: Modernity and Architecture of the City Presenter: Dilruba Ferdous Shuvra ( MaHS, KU Leuven)
MODERNISM IN ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM A. Constructing the Modern Movement
B. A new architecture, a new city for a new citizen C. Universalism and purism
Modernism in Architecture
‘tabula rasa’ Starting from scratch
Rejecting the existing
Modernism sinned by rejecting convention and tradition in favor of utopianism, functionalism and a cult of innovation and that architectural salvation will ensue once a new communication with tradition has been made. Little is said about the criteria that may be employed to judge the relevance of one tradition over another, or about the difference between bogus revival and valid transformation of precedent. -William J R Curtis
WHO IS LOUIS I KHAN FOR BANGLADESH • Architect of the Capitol Complex of Dhaka, Bangladesh. • A person who gave then nation a symbol of Identity and hope for the future. • His architecture made all Bangladeshi feel proud.
BACKGROUND • 1947: After the British rule was over, the Indian subcontinent was divided into two separate state_ India and Pakistan. • Pakistan again had to separate entities named East Pakistan and West Pakistan. • From the very beginning East Pakistan was dominated by West Pakistan and soon became a hotbed for the autonomy movement. • 1959: decision of a second capital at Dhaka to bridge the gap between the two part. • Secretariat at Islamabad General assembly at Dhaka • 1962: Louis I Khan was asked to make studies and plans for National Assembly for the 2nd capital, Dhaka. • 1964: Agreement was signed • 1966: Construction work started • 1970: Construction work slowed down because of the lack of fund.
• 1971: Construction work interrupted for Civil War. _Only Three Quarters of the building was finished. • 1971, 16 December: Bangladesh got Independent. _ Decision was taken to continue the work. _ Revision of Program that included 300 seat instead of 250. 500 seat for visitor and 100 seat for press in galleries prayer hall, post office, library, reception hall, lounge, office for President and Ministers • 1974: Louis I Khan dies – David Wisdom and Associates was engaged to secure the continuity of the design principles. • 1982: The first assembly session was held in the building. • 1983: The Building was completed
THE DESIGN CONCEPT Louis I Khan sought to convey • Notion of perennity • Social order • Human universalism
Under construction
Off course Kahn avoided creating an entirely western import Present condition
Order in design
Universalism of Geometry
THE MASTER PLAN
PRE WORK BEFORE DESIGN • Khan initiated a research program before starting to design. • To better understand local architectural style • Traditional buildings, Mughal-pre & Mughal Islamic and ancient architectures • To evaluate the climatic factors that influence the city. • Experimented numerous techniques to figure out the appropriate ones.
EASTERN INFLUENCE: • Outer perforated skin protecting inner structure and functions.
National Assembly Building, Dhaka
Tomb of Humayun, Delhi
Jantar Mantar, Delhi
National Assembly Building, Dhaka
Taj Mahal, Agra
• Raised Platform to create a base for monumental structure
The ceiling, National Assembly Building, Dhaka
Taj Mahal, central tomb chamber
The Assembly hall National Assembly Building, Dhaka
Taj Mahal, central tomb chamber
• Servant space surrounds the Served space. Servant space Servant space
Servant space
Central Served space.
Central Served space. Plan: Humayun’s tomb
Plan: Taj Mahal
Central Served space. Plan: National Assembly Building, Bangladesh
The South Plaza and the prayer hall entrance The courtyard/ plaza of Delhi Jam e Mosque and the entrance of the priest
The Presidential Plaza and the entrance of presidential square
National Assembly Building showing its relationship of concrete assembly to the brick hostels
Tajmahal, showing its relationship of white marble mausoleum to red stone cloister archades
CLASSICAL INFLUENCE:
Plan: Opera, Paris Charles Garnier
Plan: Sketch of Parliament Building Louis I Kahn
Plan: Centralized Plans
CLIMATIC RESPONSE: BIG WINDOWS • Outer skin was provided to cut the heat and maintain the privacy which was punched with geometric perforations to provide ample light and ventilation. • Most of the interior spaces were designed initially to be naturally ventilated
BUILDING MATERIAL • Considering the warm humid climate Building materials were chosen. • Wood shuttered rough concrete for the assembly building which requires almost no maintenance. • For the hostels, locally constructed handmade brick was used keeping them expose since the usual practice of lime plaster requires frequent white wash and also they don’t resist the heavy rainfall of the country
THE WATER • The whole Bangladesh is crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers. • Dhaka is again grown from rivers and its drainage was dependent on a natural system of khals( canals) connected to rivers, Jheels ( big water bodies) connected to khals, ponds and lakes. • Introduction of the artificial lake at the complex is a kind of representation of • The lake is off course connected with the drainage system with proper control. the deltaic land.
CRITICAL REALITIES
• Disorientation for the layering of spaces • Big windows allowed light and wind but failed in response to wind driven heavy rain.
• Spaces that were designed to work under natural ventilation lastly had to come under conditioned that increased the construction cost more. • All the other materials - cement, marble, aluminium, hardwood for windows and extensive internal panelling, lifts and air-conditioning plant - were all imported. • PWD could not provide the exact amount of total cost though the figure given was US $ 53 Million. • US $650 per sqm where average usual cost of construction was US $260 per sqm. • Annual maintenance cost was estimated US $2million. • This enormous amount of cost was all paid from government fund where there were urgent social and economical priorities. • At the time of its construction, the energy required for its 16 lifts and air-conditioning equalled half that available for the rest of city. • Calculations carried out by a local architect show that the ratio between the total built-up area and the usable floor space is as low as 41 per cent.
CRITICISM ON DESIGN • With its vast blank bare concrete walls and the willful circles, triangles and slits, Louis Kahn labelled the National Assembly building as a ’Citadel for Assembly’ which created question of relevancy for a country struggling to develop democratic institution after a long period of foreign control. (Taylor 1979) • Dhaka’s Assembly Building is designed as a extravagant monument. But there comes a point “at which the sensual enjoyment of masonry can begin to sicken from over indulgence and lack of controlling force of reason. One could well argue that the circular and triangular openings lack reason, that they are decorative because they do not reflect the character of the spaces behind” (Dunnett, 1980).
POSITIVE AFTEREFFECT • National Assembly building had a direct hand in helping the formation of country’s 1st school of Architecture, inaugurated in 1960. • And also over the formation of Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB) that started its journey in 1972. • Encouraged Renaissance of architecture as a profession where most of the building design and constructions used to be done by untrained individuals or construction engineers.
1st architecture school in EPUET
• Though concrete is too expansive a material for majority, but after this building, the use of bricks flourished. • alone in Dhaka, 8 to 9 new brick fieds were established. • New job market was opened. • The high cost was justified as a symbol of betterment for future. • A number of young students got interested to study in architecture and thus a new professional practice of architecture was created. • People started to become aware of architecture and overall the national assembly building stood as the nation’s pride.
• Even it started to appear as a subject of art at the back of auto-rickshaw and rickshaw by the urban folk artists.
• The park at the north still is one of the most active green open spaces of Dhaka. • The south plaza along with the field was open for public access till 1990 and after that its been restricted in the name of security and fenced as well.
Before public access was restricted
after public access was restricted with the fence
• The south plaza today is used for taking oath of ministers, namaz e janaza.
• Also a platform to practice culture, like exhibition, musical concerts, art workshops etc.
• It created a platform to practice democratic rights like to protest something.
• Present Situation
Bibliography • n.d. <http://www.akdn.org/architecture/pdf/0075_Ban.pdf>. • Curtis, William J. R. "Authenticity, Abstraction and the Ancient Sense: Le Corbusier's and Louis Kahn's Ideas of Parliament." Perspecta 20 (1983): 181-194. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1567073>. • Dunnett, J. "City of the Tiger." Architectural Review. 1980. • James-Chakrabortyn, Kathleen. "ReinforcedconcreteinLouisKahn’s National Assembly,Dhaka:Modernity and modernism in Bangladesh iarchitecture." Frontiers ofArchitecturalResearch (2014): 81-88. • Ksiazek, Sarah. "Architectural Culture in the Fifties: Louis Kahn and the National Assembly Complex in Dhaka." Journal of Society of Architectural Historians 52.4 (1993): 416-435. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/990866>. • Malik, Ayyub. "Post-Colonial Capitals of South Asia: A Critical Analysis of Chandigarh, Dhaka and Islamabad." Global Business and Economics Research Conference. 2003. 68-80. • Taylor, Brian Brace. "Visions of Grandeur." MIMAR-6 October December 1982.
Thank you