Muzharul Islam

Muzharul Islam

Born December 25, 1923
                Murshidabad, British Raj
Died July 15, 2012 (aged 88)[1]
                 Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nationality Bangladeshi
Alma mater University of Oregon
                        Yale University
                        AA School of Architecture
Parents Professor Omdatul Islam
               Mrs.Zakia Khatoon
Awards Grand Master Award, South Asian Architecture Award Ceremony
                Independence Day Award
Buildings Art Institute Dhaka
                        Jahangirnagar University Master Plan and designs
                       Chittagong University master plan and designs
                       Bangladesh National Archive

Bangla Nagar, Dhaka. Muzharul Islam was given to design Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban (National Assembly Building of Bangladesh). But, he brought his teacher Louis Kahn into the project to do a significant work for future generation. Islam worked closely with him from 1965 to Kahn's death in 1973.
Along with Kahn, he also brought Paul Rudolph and Stanley Tigerman to work in Bangladesh, and three of them came to be known as the American Trio. Apart from the Trio, it was Islam's monumental style that dominated Bangladesh architecture from 1950s onwards.
His major works include — Jahangirnagar University, Chittagong University, Central Public Library, Charukala Institute, the Azimpur Estate, Rangmati township, and a number of Polytechnic Institutes. Islam designed the master plan of Dhaka City. He also created the logo for the government of Bangladesh.

Early Life

Muzharul Islam was born on December 25, 1923 in Murshidabad. He went to the United States in 1950 where he received his Bachelor degree in Architecture from University of Oregon. In 1956, he received a scholarship to study tropical architecture at the AA School of Architecture, London. In 1961, he completed his post-graduation under Paul Rudolph from Yale University. At Yale Stanley Tigerman was one of his classmates, and there he came in touch of Louis I Kahn. Muzharul Islam began his career by designing two buildings in the Shahbag area in 1955 - Dhaka University Library and Institute of Arts and Crafts(Art Institute Dhaka). Between 1958 and 1964, Islam was the Senior Architect of the Government of East Pakistan.

Career

His most important work was borne when the Governor's Conference of Pakistan decided in 1959, under the leadership of President Ayub Khan, that Dhaka will be second capital of Pakistan. The government decided to build a capital complex at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka. Muzharul Islam was given to design Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban (National Assembly Building of Bangladesh). But, he brought his teacher Louis Kahn into the project to do a significant work for future generation. Islam worked closely with him from 1965 to Kahn's death in 1973.
Along with Kahn, he also brought Paul Rudolph and Stanley Tigerman to work in Bangladesh, and three of them came to be known as the American Trio. Apart from the Trio, it was Islam's monumental style that dominated Bangladesh architecture from 1950s onwards.
His major works include — Jahangirnagar University, Chittagong University, Central Public Library, Charukala Institute, the Azimpur Estate, Rangmati township, and a number of Polytechnic Institutes. Islam designed the master plan of Dhaka City. He also created the logo for the government of Bangladesh.
You have to be a world man and a Bengali. It’s impossible otherwise... When I mention standing on one’s own soil... it is to find oneself, but not to find oneself and become stagnant. What I am seeking is to stand on one’s own feet and then to proceed forward. If for that reason I have to take two steps backward to go one step forward. I have no problem with that. I think that there is no other way of moving forward.

Awards

Institute of Architects, Bangladesh Gold Medal, 1993
He was awarded the Honorable Fellowship, American Institute of Architects at the National convention of the Institute at Dallas, Texas in 1999.
He was an honorable member of the Master Jury of the First Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Geneva, 1980.
Islam has been a jury member for several national and international design competitions and awards including:
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture
design contest for Faisal Mosque competition in Islamabad
design contests for the headquarters building of the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah
Headquarters building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building at Riyadh, which won Aga Khan Award for Architecture
He was awarded Independence Day Award in 1999, the highest state award of Bangladesh.
A documentary film on Mazharul Islam named Tini(The Architect) was released by Institute of Architects Bangladesh in 2000, which was directed by Enamul Karim Nirjhar.

Notable works

Year	Project	Location	Image
1953-54	The Institute of Arts and Crafts /Art Institute Dhaka	Shahbag,Dhaka
1953-54	Dhaka University Library	University of Dhaka
1953-54	Bangladesh National Archives and Library	Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka
1962	Housing for class IV Employees	Azimpur Estate, Dhaka
1963-64	Railway Rehabilitation Zone	Khilgaon, Dhaka
1963-64	Rangamati Town	Rangamati, CHT
1963-65	BCSIR Laboratory Buildings	Dhanmondi, Dhaka
1964	National Institute of Public Administration Building	Shahbag, Dhaka
1965-71	Headquarters Building, Agricultural Development Corporation	Motijheel, Dhaka
1965-71	5 polytechnic institutes	Rangpur, Bogra, Pabna, Sylhet and Barisal
1965-71	EFU Building (Jiban Bima Bhaban) Project	Motijheel, Dhaka
1965-71	Road Research Laboratories	Dhaka, Bangladesh
1968-71	Chittagong University master plan and designs	Chittagong University,Chittagong
1968-71	Housing for Ruppur Atomic Energy Complex	Savar, Dhaka
1968-71	Jahangirnagar University Master Plan and designs	Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka
1980-84	Jaipurhat Limestone and cement Project	Jaipurhat, Bangladesh
1980-84	National Library	Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka
1987	Office Building for the World Bank	Dhaka, Bangladesh
1995	Garden City Project	Dhaka, Bangladesh

Publications

Some publication featured Muzharul Islam:
Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 22, 15th Editions 1986, page- 99.
Architectural Review, London, April 1960, Page-155.
Environments, Volume 19, Number 2, 1988, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, Page-55 to 60.

For more detail visit here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzharul_Islam

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