15th July marks the tenth death anniversary of the master architect Muzharul Islam, also regarded as the father of Bengali modernism. His architectural works laid the foundation of modern architecture in this region, and at the same time, was a source of inspiration that allowed one to look beyond ‘regionalism’. He was also a strong proponent of Marxist ideology, progressive values from a global repository, and a strong cultural identity. This disposition of Muzharul Islam united many architects, artists, thinkers, writers and politicians of his time to envision a better future.
On this occasion, we share a talk by Kazi Khaleed Ashraf, titled “Contrapuntal Modernism: The Architecture of Muzharul Islam and Louis Kahn”, recorded at FRAME Conclave 2019: Modern Heritage, held in Goa in August, 2019. Here, Ashraf talks about the works of Muzharul Islam and Louis Kahn as counterpoints within the modernist heritage of the Indian subcontinent. He also discusses how we can think about modernism and modernity, and the viewpoints taken by the two architects – Muzharul Islam and Louis Kahn – in their approach to practicing architecture.
FRAME Conclave 2019 – Kazi Khaleed Ashraf from Matter on Vimeo.
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