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Kongjian Yu is invited to give a speech in the upcoming EngageDhaka 2015

2016-08-31

EngageDhaka seeks to promote the vibrant culture of international architecture in Dhaka. The fist and inaugural edition of engageDhaka is PlacePresence- a focus on the important notion of “place” in architecture. The event is being held at the Army Museum on BijoySharani, Sher-E-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka, between January 15 and January 17, 2015. The time of inauguration: Thu 15 Jan 2015 at 02:30 PM.
 
The conference has been convened by Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury, architect and principal of URBANA. An eminent body of 16 speakers has been invited from all over the world to share their ideas, discuss their works and deliberate on issues related to Place Presence. Dr Kongjian YU is invited to attend this event and will give a speech, the theme of which is ‘The Big Feet Revolution and the Art of Survival---- For Place Making and Sustainable Dwelling’. Dr Kongjian Yu is one of the world’s leading landscape architects. The Harvard graduate is the founder and dean of the Graduate School of Landscape Architecture at Peking University, and the founder and president of Turenscape –the first and largest private landscape architecture and architecture firms in China. Dr Yu has won numerous international awards.
 
Mr. AMA Muhith, Honourable Minister for Finance, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, has kindly consented to be the Chief Guest and inaugurate the Conference on Thursday 15 January, at 3 pm. The Honourable Minister for Information Mr. HasanulHaqInu, MP, and the Honourable Minister of State for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Nasrul Hamid, MP, will be present as Special Guests.
 
The launch of the Bengal Architecture and Design Institute- a parallel initiative of Bengal Foundation – will be announced at the conference. Headed by Professor KaziKhaleed Ashraf, the Institute will seek to provide a forum for both understanding the built environment as well as developing programmes aimed at improving the conditions of architecture.
 
The architectural heritage of Bangladesh is rich and diverse. From Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic monuments and settlements of the past to the ushering in of 'Bengali Modernism' by Muzharul Islam, to the works by international masters like Louis Kahn, Paul Rudolf, Stanley Tigerman and others, Bangladesh has claimed a certain prominence in architecture on a global scale and this promises to only grow with notable works by contemporary practitioners.
 
Parallel to practice, Dhaka in particular has enjoyed a vibrant culture of discourse on built environment, from the days of ChetanaSthapatyaUnnoyon Society, initiated by Muzharul Islam in the eighties, to the efforts by the Institute of Architects Bangladesh and other forums to constantly review efforts and responsibilities of architects operating in the historic, climatic, cultural and socio-political contexts of a fast emerging economy.
 
Building on these active traditions, Bengal Foundation is presenting an international architecture conference Engage Dhaka. I am most pleased to be associated with this initiative, to invite some of the foremost thinkers in this field to converge in Dhaka to deliberate on the theme of the inaugural edition: Place – Presence. 'Place' relates to the all-important notion of 'place-making' in architecture and urbanism, in conjunction with the significance of the spirit of 'presencing' architecture.
 
 
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