Kazi Khaleed Ashraf
Bangladesh

Member of the Master Jury 2022


Kazi Khaleed Ashraf is the director-general of Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Bengal Institute focuses on challenges of the contemporary city, and the organization of land, water and settlements, in the critical ecological dynamics of a terraqueous landscape.

 

As an architect, urbanist and architectural historian, Ashraf works at the intersection of settlement-form, landscape architecture, and architectural theory. He is involved in townscape and urban design


for several cities and towns in Bangladesh, and currently directing a multi-disciplinary research project on the River Padma, the last leg of the Ganges, that involves historical, settlement and ecological investigations of the largest delta in the world.

 

After teaching at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and Pratt Institute in the US, Ashraf became instrumental in establishing the Bengal Institute as a major centre of urban investigation and architectural activism. Ashraf received a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and his Masters from MIT and BArch from BUET in Dhaka.

 

Ashraf has authored several books and numerous essays on various historical and theoretical topics, including architecture in India and Bangladesh, and the city of Dhaka. His writings on  the architecture of Bangladesh have provided a theoretical ground for understanding both the historical and contemporary forms of architecture in the region. Ashraf’s publications include: The Hermit’s Hut: Architecture and Asceticism in India; Designing Dhaka: A Manifesto for a Better City; An Architect in Bangladesh: Conversations with Muzharul Islam; and Louis Kahn’s National Capital in Bangladesh. His articles and essays have appeared in numerous publications, including The Architectural Review, Architectural Design, Journal of Architectural Education, RES, MIMAR and Economic and Political Weekly. Ashraf has established an international publication series called Locations: Anthology of Architecture and Urbanism that presents works and features from around the globe.

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