In the flood plains of Bangladesh lies an architectural masterpiece that would be a jewel anywhere in the world. It seems especially luminous in a poor country like Bangladesh. The design was architect Louis Kahn’s last opportunity to explore a timeless form of architecture that marries the modern and traditional.
The capital buildings of Dhaka represent the justice system, government and prayer life of the country, founded in 1971 as a parliamentary democracy. Kahn worked on the 900 acre site in the decade before his death. The commission permitted Kahn to design at a large scale, incorporating his ideas about monumentality and spirituality in architecture.
Finished in 1982 in spite of war and instability, the National Assembly Complex or Sher-E-Bangla Nagar as it is called, is a vision of the new country. Like the medieval cathedral which was conceived as a microcosm of heaven on earth, and the great Buddhist stuppas, replicas of the universe which symbolize man’s journey to enlightenment, Kahn’s design is about an ideal community which is just, governed wisely and at one with the universe.
Monumental Design with Traditional Materials and Technologies
The approach to the capital complex in Dhaka is a study in contrasts. Poverty is endemic in Dhaka, but having once crossed the densely-inhabited city, the visitor to the National Assembly Complex finds herself in parkland looking across a man-made lake to the assembly site. The country has a history of political unrest, but at Sher-E-Bangla Nagar, Kahn designed a shimmering stretch of water that reflects the complex’s buildings and creates an aura of peacefulness.
Earlier in his career, in projects like the Trenton Boathouse in New Jersey, and the Yale Art Gallery extension, Kahn had experimented with monumental forms and simple construction materials, such as brick and concrete. His goal was to realize contemporary buildings with a universal quality. For the national assembly project, he deployed a red brick produced by local craftsmen. Indigenous technologies were used to build the various parts of the complex, from the assembly hall to the mosque.
As a complement to this local knowledge, the scale of the building is humane. Kahn believed that architecture was the thoughtful making of places, and pedestrians making their way through the complex experience his solicitude. Elevated interior streets are crafted in local materials, and artfully-placed windows ensure comfort for building occupants in a hot climate.
Form and Light in the Service of Democracy
Drama and monumentality go hand-in-hand at Sher-E-Bangla Nagar. Kahn was a master at designing with light. In the assembly hall, which accommodates 300 delegates, he used natural light to transform the space and engage the senses. The space is lit from above by an octagonal opening with an umbrella-like ceiling suspended within the aperture. As the sun moves overhead during the day, the quality of the light shifts and changes.
Kahn was a mystic whose intention for the parliament buildings was to produce an ideal expression of a new democracy using perfect forms: the circle, half-circle, square and triangle. In his lifetime, his design philosophy was misunderstood by most of his peers in the International Style of architecture, yet his vision for an ideal community continues to inspire and hold tremendous power. Sher-E-Bangla Nagar is the ultimate combination of form and intention. It has no modern architectural peer.
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