Bashirul Haq

Bashirul Haq (24 June 1942 – 4 April 2020) was a Bangladeshi architect, town planner and visiting professor of MIT. He was regarded as one of the most influential architects in South Asia in terms of environmentally and socially responsive design.

Early life
Haq was born in Brahmanbaria (now a district of Bangladesh). His father was a deputy collector from the Sylhet district and for that reason, Haq spent the majority of his childhood there. He completed his Bachelor of Architecture from the National College of Arts, in Lahore, Pakistan in 1964. He received John Heinrich Tuition, Scholarship and Teaching Assistantship at University of New Mexico, United States in 1971 and completed his master's in architecture from the university in 1975.

Career


After completing his master's degree, Haq started working for the firm Kallmann McKinnell. He was interested in returning to his homeland. However, another Bangladeshi-American engineer, Fazlur Rahman Khan, discouraged him from returning to Bangladesh citing a newly independent war devastated nation. Khan, who was then the partner of SOM instead interviewed and advised Haq to join there. Khan suggested he visit Europe and return to the United States. But Haq flew to Bangladesh from Europe and started practicing architecture. He established Bashirul Haq & Associates in 1977. After several years of not visiting the United States, in 1989, he visited Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an invited visiting professor of design.

In his 46 years of professional career, Haq has designed more than 300 buildings. According to Haq, the works of Alvar Aalto and Aldo Rossi inspired him most.

Residential

 * Architect's Family Home and Studio, Indira Road, Dhaka
 * Bhatshala House (Architect's village home), Brahmanbaria
 * Ramna Apartment Complex, Moghbazar, Dhaka
 * Century Apartment Complex, Moghbazar, Dhaka
 * Century Tower, Moghbazar, Dhaka
 * Lake View Apartment Complex, Dhanmondi, Dhaka
 * Segunbagicha Apartment Complex, Segunbagicha, Dhaka
 * Kalindi Apartment Complex, 36 Indira Road, Dhaka
 * Gulshan Pride, Gulshan, Dhaka
 * Dhanshiri Apartment Complex, 35 Indira Road, Dhaka
 * Asra Apartments, Dhanmondi, Dhaka

Office

 * 20-storied Association for Social Advancement (ASA) Head Office Building
 * 20-storied Head Office Building of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), Dilkusha C/A., Dhaka
 * 20-storied Head Office Building of People's Insurance Company Ltd. (PICL), Dilkusha C/A., Dhaka
 * Projects under Cyclone Related Disaster Preparedness Programme
 * Community Development Centre at Kutubdia, Moghnama and Moheshkhali and Cox's Bazar
 * German Red Cross Community Based Multipurpose Cyclone Shelters at Tolatoli, Kachubunia and Khandkar Para, Teknaf, Cox's Bazar
 * Cyclone resistant Housing in 6 Locations at Cox's Bazar district
 * MIDAS Center, Dhanmondi, Dhaka

Physical planning

 * Physical planning of three upazilas under Kishoreganj Distriction, namely Katiadi, Kuliarchar and Bajitpur
 * Physical planning of three upazilas under Faridpur District, namely Nagarkanda, Alphadanga and Charvadrashan
 * Physical planning of Faridpur District

Institutes

 * Facilities for American International and Secondary School, Baridhara, Dhaka
 * Hostel cum-Seminar Facilities Hosted People's Health Assembly
 * Shabuj Shona Center, Manikgonj
 * Training Center for Nijerakori, Bogra
 * Chhayanaut Bhaban, Dhanmondi, Dhaka
 * Sunbeams School, Uttara, Dhaka
 * East West University, Dhaka
 * Drik-Pathshala, Panthapath, Dhaka

Consultancy

 * Central Diesel Workshop and Housing Project for Bangladesh Railway
 * US Chancery Building, Dhaka. Kallmann McKinnell & Wood, United States
 * Rail II Project for Bangladesh Railway. Dhaka, Parbatipur, Pahartali, Ishurdi. International Rail Consultant, Canada
 * GMP Standard Factory Design at Tongi for Beximco Pharmaceutical Ltd. Tongi. CMPS&F Pty Ltd. (Egis Group), Australia

Awards and honors

 * Aga Khan Award for Architecture, shortlisted in 1980, 1992 and 2001
 * Member, Board of Trustees, Fazlur Rahman Khan Foundation, Dhaka
 * Became part of an International Exhibit Entitled 5000 years of Pakistan
 * Chairman of the jury board, Holcim Green Built Bangladesh Award
 * Works exhibition at Swiss Architecture Museum in Basel, Switzerland; 2017
 * Works exhibition at "Bengal Stream: The Vibrant Architecture Scene of Bangladesh" in Basel, Switzerland in 2017, and later on in Bordeaux, France in 2018 and in Frankfurt, Germany in 2019

Publications

 * 1994 "Battling the Storm – Study on Cyclone Resistance Housing". Published by the German Red Cross, 1999.
 * Bashirul Haq: Architect. Monograph edited by Iftekhar Ahmed and Sheikh Rubaiya Sultana, was published in 2019 by Copal Publishing with the Department of Architecture of BRAC University.