COUNTRY :

BANGLADESH
BUILDING: JATIYO
SANGSAD BHABAN
ARCHITECT:LOUIS I
KAHN
MADE BY:
KAVYA JAIN
III- A

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY,DHAKA
(1962-1974)
Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban (National Assembly Building) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is perhaps the most

important building designed by Kahn. Kahn got the design contract with the help of Muzharul
Islam, his student at Yale University, who worked with him on the project. It is the centrepiece of
the national capital complex designed by Kahn that includes hostels, dining halls, and a hospital.

Louis Kahns National Assembly Building of Bangladesh in Dhaka is an extraordinary

example of modern architecture being transcribed as a part of Bengali vernacular
architecture.

Kahn's key design philosophy optimizes the use of space while representing Bangladeshi
heritage and culture. External lines are deeply recessed by porticoes with huge openings
of regular geometric shapes on their exterior, shaping the building's overall visual
impact.

In August 1963, Kahn received a telegram

from the Pakistani department of public

works asking him if he was interested in a
commission to build the new National
Assembly building in Dhaka, East
Pakistan. Kahn accepted the commission.
He was given a tour of the thousand-acre
site of open farmland and was also given
the design program from the Pakistani
government.
The project was designed in two phases.

The first phase included the National

Assembly Building, a prayer hall, and
dormitories. With the expectation that eight
hundred more acres would be acquired, the
complete master plan included courtrooms,
a hospital, a museum, schools, and lowand high-income residential areas.

The lake on three sides of the Bhaban,

extending up to the Members' hostel adds to
site's aesthetics and also portrays the riverine
beauty of Bangladesh. The assembly building
received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture
in 1989.

With this project, Kahn

first focused on the

National Assembly
Building itself, which was
to include a two-hundredseat chamber for the
legislature to convene in,
a prayer hall, a dining
hall, and numerous
offices. He started his
design process with rough
sketches of a large square
structure with four corner
towers. Then he went on
to make rough sketches of
the entire site, including
secondary structures, such
as dormitories and hostels,
to the east and west of the
National Assembly
Building.

After he finalized his

concept for the National

Assembly Building, Kahn
reconsidered the Prayer
Hall. Originally, this
space was not to be
significant in size or
scale. But the more Kahn
thought about the nature
of the space (designated
for prayer and reflection),
the more strongly he felt
that it should be a
significant part of the
design. Kahn decided that
the Prayer Hall should
serve as the main
entrance for the National
Assembly Building

PLAN
The National Assembly Building sits as

a massive entity in the Bengali desert;

there are eight halls that are
concentrically aligned around the
parliamentary grand chamber, which is a
metaphor for placing the new democratic
government at the heart of the building.
This central assembly chamber consists
of only one column.
It also is part of Kahns design objectives
to optimize spatial configurations where
the supporting programs (offices, hotels
for parliamentary officials, and a
restaurant) project out of the centre
volume.

 The entire complex is fabricated out of

poured in place concrete with inlaid

white marble, which is not only a
modernist statement of power and
presence, but is more of a testament to
the local materials and values. No
paint or plaster was used to maintain
the purity of the surface.
The sheer mass of the monumentally

scaled National Assembly and the

artificial lake surrounding the building
act as a natural insulator and cooling
system that also begin to create
interesting spatial and lighting
conditions.

FRONT ELEVATION

The main building(the Bhaban) is divided into 3 parts;

1. The Presidential Plaza
Area- 6,000 sq.m.
2. The main plaza
Area- 76,000 sq.m.
3. South plaza
Area- 21,000 sq.m.

Presidential Plaza
1. Lies to the North and
faces the Lake Road
2. Functions an intimate
plaza for the MPs and other
dignitaries
3,Contains marble steps, a
gallery and an open
pavement

THE MAIN PLAZAAVG. HEIGHT- 117 ft

Consists of the Parliament
Chamber, two platform and
two galleries for VIP
visitors with Parabolic shell
roof.
The roof was designed with
a clearance of a single story
to let in daylight. Daylight,
reflecting from the
surrounding walls and
octagonal drum, filters into
the Parliament Chamber.
The efficient and aesthetic
use of light was a strong architectural
capability of Louis Kahn.

SOUTH PLAZAFaces the Manik Mia Avenue

Gradually rises to a 20' height
Beautiful exterior
Also contains
1. controlling gates;
2. a driveway;
3. a main mechanical plant room;
4. a large car parking space;
5. a telephone exchange;
6. offices of maintenance engineers;
7.equipment stores; and
8.an open plaza with steps and
ramps leading directly to the main
building.

 The full panoply of beaux arts planning

rhetorical devices- primary and

secondary axes, sense of climax,
variation in size and shape-was
employed to reinforce the sense that this
building is the head of the social order.
Similarly, le Corbusier used grand axes
for the parliament building in
Chandigarh.
Kahns Innovations
Kahn's complex may be credited with more
than one innovations :
1.The scale of the building
2.The use of caste concrete
3.The use of exposed brick masonry
4.Franki pile foundation
were not attempted in Bangladesh before

The Bhaban (Main Building) design

The Bhaban consists of nine individual blocks: the eight peripheral blocks rise to a
height of 110' while the central octagonal block rises to a height of 155'. All nine blocks
include different groups of functional spaces and have different levels, inter-linked
horizontally and vertically by corridors, lifts, stairs, light courts, and circular areas. The
entire structure is designed to blend into one single, non-differentiable unit, that appears
from the exterior to be a single story.

 The geometric shapes found on the

different faces of the faade add a

dramatic impact to the overall
composition of the building.
The geometric shapes are abstracted
forms found in traditional Bengali
culture that are meant to create a
marriage of old and new cultural
identities, as well as, serve as light wells
and a natural environmental control
system for the interior.
For Kahn, light was an important aspect
in the design of a building, not just as a
way to illuminate a space, but rather
conceptualizing light as a creator of
space.

 Kahn and his team also considered the

placement of the structures within the

cardinal (directional) points. Eventually
they decided to shift the Prayer Hall
east, to face toward Mecca.
Kahn felt strongly that the structures he
designed for this site should not just
stand for the political nature of the
National Assemblys activities but also
for their spiritual nature
Once the design was complete, Kahn and
his team began to plan the construction
phase of the project. Kahn worked with
his long-time colleague, August
Komendant, structural engineer.

 Construction was held up in 1971 by

war, as East Pakistan (Bangladesh)

sought independence from West
Pakistan. Many feared that the site
would be bombed during the conflict,
but enemy pilots bypassed the site,
thinking it was an ancient ruin.

Conclusion
1. The most interesting thing is, there is not a single column in the
entire building. Hollow columns that are parts of space enclosures
have been adapted as structural supports.
2. One of the important considerations in designing the building was
protection from the sun and rain. The structure provides a visual
impression or a majestic edifice. It avoided the conventional method
of placing windows in the exterior and the disadvantages of
monumental composition were removed by the provision of core walls
with small gaps in between. Architecturally, the complex marks a
distinct departure from the rest of the modern buildings in Dhaka.