Aga Khan Award winner Kashef Chowdhury talks about his work.
Tell us about your thought process behind the Friendship Centre
Friendship is an NGO that mainly works with those living in riverine, remote locations, and I have worked with them before on a pro bono basis. The land the Centre is built on is very low-lying and at first, we thought it necessary to raise the entire complex to a height of at least eight feet to prevent flooding. I have some previous experience in building training centres, which can’t be just rooms – there has to be some breathing space for interactions and people to stay – and the budget was simply not enough for all this. We thought there was no way the project would happen, until one day I realised that instead of trying to raise the entire compound, we can build on the low ground and protect the area with embankments.
For me, the architecture needed to be simple and bare – a response to the economy of the region, with a quality of calmness and serenity that echoes the nature of its riverine landscape setting. This region also has many ruins of Buddhist monasteries, which influenced the design of the Centre. We worked with only local craftsmen and used local bricks, wood and other materials. A lot of people were involved in the process and it was very hectic! The project had many limitations and it was tough to make it all come together, but we did succeed and the Friendship Centre is the result.
Do you think architects have a social responsibility?
Absolutely. I’ve given a number of lectures on ‘the architecture of responsibility’, because I think it’s not about developing a signature style. If we just focus on what a project should be, there is a risk of being whimsical. Art is fine, but it is not utilitarian. For architecture, one has to understand the context and for whom you are building. If you are building a hospital, you have to think about creating an environment where one feels good, where you can lie in bed and listen to birds chirping. At a hotel, you want to project a stylish quality. For whom you are building and how is what’s important, and we try to find suitable and appropriate solutions.
With a new project, where does your process start?
The first thing is to go to page zero. Try to rethink the whole thing. For example, we are doing a university campus now, and the first question to my team is – how do we bring back that joy of learning? How do you make a space where learning is fun? We can give them a good view, good light, social interaction spaces for students, nice spaces for teachers and more. The basic is a given and that’s not interesting, but what is interesting is the plus.
What’s it like being an architect in Bangladesh?
Frankly, it’s difficult. There can be problems with a lack of organisation, lack of funds, unpredictable issues like the weather and we can also have problems with schedule – and all these little things add up and that makes many projects drag on. But at the end of the day, we are a small country with a huge population and a growing economy, and architecture is something we need. But it isn’t just about building, it is the art of making good buildings and spaces, and that is where our task is – to make people understand that we can make the same thing better, and not necessarily at a greater expense. The Aga Khan Award has given a lot of exposure to this kind of architecture in Bangladesh, but I must mention that we have had great architecture for a while now and the culture of architecture exists, and that also deserves recognition.
