Muzharul Islam (1923-2012) is widely acclaimed as the most influential architect of Bangladesh. His pioneering work from the 1950s onwards not only signalled the advent of Modernism in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), but almost overnight introduced a fresh culture of architecture in the contemporary scene hitherto populated by lesser examples of international style.
Teacher, Architect Activist, and Politician, Islam set to course architectural practice in the country not only through his own many varied works, but contributing to the architectural education in the country and also through being instrumental in inviting the likes of Louis I Kahn, Stanley Tigerman and Paul Rudolph to work in Bangladesh. The summation of his oeuvre is impossible without an understanding of Muzharul Islam’s deep seated concern and commitment to societal change and the strength of ethics of practice, which results in his work and thinking being considered as a vehicle for transformation rather than as an end in itself.