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.[1]
Career
Haq (4th from right) at SUST jury sessionFrom left; Haq, Ken Yeang and Kazi Ashraf
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.[2] 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.
Architectural works
Chhayanaut, Dhaka
MIDAS Tower, Dhanmondi, Dhaka
Asra Apartments, Dhanmondi, Dhaka
East West University, Dhaka
Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation Building, Dhaka
Selected works
Residential
Architect's Family Home and Studio, Indira Road, Dhaka
Bhatshala House (Architect's village home), Brahmanbaria
Became part of an International Exhibit Entitled 5000 years of Pakistan
Chairman of the jury board, Holcim Green Built Bangladesh Award[4][5]
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.
