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Evolution of House Form in Dhaka City

Nizamuddin Ahmed and Nayma Khan
Department of Architecture, BUET, Dhaka *

Abstract
The house form in the urban context is the physical manifestation of transformed sociocultural structure and changing values. Bangladesh as a region has experienced different political, religious and economic forces, which logically influenced the intellectual and cultural ideals of the society. The outlook of people towards the built environment went through continual changes with periodic exposure to new materials, innovative and adapting urban way of life. Accordingly urban house as well as architecture experienced modification with changing circumstances to become distinctly different from its indigenous inspiration. Nowhere has this change been more pronounced than in capital Dhaka, one of the largest cities in the world. To visualize the factors, which shaped the form and content of the architecture of house form in Dhaka, it is necessary to examine residential accommodation in the four hundred year-old city from as far back as possible in time to the present. The task of studying urban houses is made difficult because very few examples older than seventy to eighty years remain today; and that too with major addition and alteration to form and faade. Most are in a state of ruin because of general neglect and lack of maintenance, ravages of nature, effect of the wet climatic condition on the major building material brick, accommodating more users than designed for, as well as using the building for purposes other than residential. Owing to the invasion of ideas, often alien due to increased global travel and worldwide telecommunication network, migration of international styles and standards, new materials and technology, scarcity of urban land, Dhakas early urban house form, presumably the descendent of the rural house albeit customized by urban elements, is all but lost. As the design of past urban houses provide the basis of understanding present day house form, it is essential to record the changes as they took place and to conserve the buildings as historical evidence. Technological factors impact tremendously on a society and culture, bringing changes to the living pattern as well as to the dwelling. Due to the dynamic changes in the urban lifestyle, the urban house form experiences a series of alteration and adjustment in its planning, organisation and hierarchy of space, and faade treatment, that correspond to the changing habits and activities as opposed to traditional behaviour. The objective of this paper is to make an interim report on an ongoing study to identify the sources of ancient and prevalent house forms in Dhaka City, to determine correlation between the two even as the City expanded from the northern bank of River Buriganga to a staggering almost 400 square miles, to establish their relationship with architecture, and to discover means of overcoming the constraints of new forces to preserve the old entity.

Introduction
Architecture through the ages has been shaped by human need, matched by technological advances. Following an evolutionary course, from the past to the present, it encounters a number of sources, causes and phases of transformation; and continues to do so. In the urban area, the house form depends largely on physical limitations of the land, boundary conditions, materials and technology, climate, economic factors, changing social and cultural values that often have pastoral roots, and none of the factors are stagnant either in time or space. Technological factors have tremendous impact on the culture, affecting the living pattern as well as the form of residential buildings. Bangladesh as a region has experienced different political and religious forces, which ________________________________
*Ahmed:Professor, Khan:Lecturer. Dept of Architecture, BUET, Dhaka. Email: Nnizamarchitect@yahoo.co.uk raashed@citechco.net

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eventually influenced its intellectual and cultural base. Attitude of the people changed with exposure to alien thoughts and ideas. Accordingly, the architecture of the region, accommodative throughout history to new isms, has gone through changes. However, certain ethnic habits and practice deep within the psyche of the people have remained, helping to form an association between the houses of different periods. This is well reflected in buildings through the ages and becomes the essence of architecture of the house in Dhaka. This study has been undertaken under a BUET grant because it is believed that there exists a relationship between the rural past and the urban present, although materials and technology, family structure and lifestyle, occupation and values have changed. The study was also prompted by the urgent need to document citys some of the oldest buildings that today are threatened to extinction by the assault of commercial development. Given the countrys economics it may be unrealistic to attempt to preserve the oldest buildings in their entity, but without the ongoing endeavour to record what exists of the past, history may lose yet another of its chips. The ongoing research is essentially a search for the evolution of house form in Dhaka and to trace its journey through history.

Figure 1. House of Asaduzzamzan

Figure 2. Courtyard of Ruplal House

Figure. 3. House of Anandamayi

Bangladesh is predominantly rural. The formal appearance of an urban house is substantially different form that of a rural house. However, a strong resemblance is found between the organisation of space in the urban domestic architecture and traditional rural house (Zahiruddin S.A. Imamuddin A.H. & Khan, M.M. Eds., 1990). Tradition, heritage, local craftsmanship, and the element of pride have their origin in the rural areas. The origin of urban life and house form lie in their rural counterpart. The design of traditional house provides the source and the basis for the understanding of present day urban houses (Mallick, 1987). Several important characteristics of the rural house, such as public and private zones, front and back, ventilation, land boundary, have been translated to shape the early urban form, inwardly and outwardly. Brick structures have been found as old as those in 6th century B.C. Mahasthangarh (near present Bogra), 8th century Somapura Bihar in Paharpur, (near present Joypurhat) and 8-10th C Shalban Bihar (near present Comilla) (Ahmed, N. 2000), but they were predominantly religious edifices, as were most of the buildings of the Sultanate period (13-17th C). In Dhaka, the Mughals constructed in 1678 the Lalbagh Fort, largely of plastered brick albeit with gardens and water bodies. It is assumed that residential houses in Dhaka even for the ruling class up until late 19th C were built of ephemeral materials, primarily mud and wood. Examples are extinct because of non-permanence of materials, general neglect, lack of maintenance and ravages of nature. Any linkage with rural house form and buildings up to the
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late 19th C will therefore have to be conjectural. The study has to begin from the time that examples are available. Architecturally significant buildings that are fifty to hundred years old, representing their time, and located in the older part of the City, have now become obsolete primarily because of economics, especially as owners have found it lucrative to sell off or build anew, and increasing demand, requirements being fulfilled essentially by multi-storied buildings, built commercially, as much and as high as possible, often violating buildings regulations.

Figure 4. Elevation of the house of Jatindra Kumar Saha Some of the oldest houses that remain today, because of the durability of materials, were built in the late 19th and early-20th C by the affluent, who could and did afford big plots of land and large intricately decorated palatial houses, relatively speaking. Having always been a densely populated City, (Far Eastern Economic Review, 1982) Dhaka was also home to another set of houses that had narrow frontals, were deep sidelong and high, and built in high-density area (Karim, 1964). These buildings took to a variety of elements and taste acquired often from the more prosperous parts of India and from as far as Europe, primarily Britain. Despite the variation in house form, the denotation, classification, arrangement and hierarchy of space within were basically conventional and largely traditional.

Figure 5. House of Advocate Mosiur Rahman Figure 6. House of Azadur Rahman Although the mansions of the period can hardly be compared in enormity, height, splendour of materials, spaciousness of setting or grandeur of scale with contemporary examples of the building type elsewhere, in contrast to the humble urban descendant of the Bengali rural house, they were monumental, inspired perhaps by alien royalty, with perceivable outward appearance, high ceilings and large floor spaces that were adorned by magnificent plasterwork reminiscent of and as a matter of continuity with antecedence. Indeed the British, the longest enduring colonialists and logically the main builders, were largely responsible for
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introducing a European style, fundamentals, elements and technology included, that responded to local climate to emerge as a hybrid. In the changing urban environment due to commercialisation, densification, and occupation etc. the value object in defining the domestic space has been subjected to change. The introduction of new occupation during the colonial period influenced the urbanities to lead a dual life (King, 1977) -- the outer, and thereby public, zone incorporating the Western system of formal living while the private zone within a house was reserved for the deep-rooted practice of local lifestyle. In the newer parts of the City, Segun Bagicha and Dhanmandi for example, some residential buildings seventy-five years old have survived the insatiability of the modern development. These give us an idea of the transformation of architectural characteristics from the lordly mansions of the early 19th C to residential accommodation for the upper middle class. Although such houses are built no more because of changing lifestyle and attitude, family structure and expansion, multiple ownership among a family, independence of the self, spiralling cost of land, and other socio-economic causes, the buildings represent the architectural characteristics of a particular time, that of a stepping stone of the lineage from the lost past to the present. Today the old single-family houses are being replaced by multi-storied apartment buildings. Planning laws had also to be changed, for instance in Dhanmandi, in order to allow twentythirty households to occupy one big (14400 sft) plot of land that was initially allotted to one person and then to a maximum of five families. The contemporary urban residences of Dhaka City are the outcome of a series of transformation and adaptation that are still continuous. They are the resultant of various urban forces generated at different time and in phases in the growth of the city. In the words of B.V. Doshi, the built form conveys total harmony with the life style in all its daily as well as its seasonal rituals, unifying the socio-cultural and religious aspirations of the individuals and the community (Doshi, 1985). In the context of the city, the urban house is the outcome of certain forces socio-cultural values, economics, politics, religious beliefs and historical influences, as well as the continuous pouring in of influences from other parts of the world (Kulterman, 1997). Through out the history, inputs of alien culture have been accommodated in the local society being imposed by the foreign rulers. With time it has become a part of the culture. The present pace of cultural import from the dominant cultures is so rapid that society is not getting enough time to absorb them. The attempt of mimicry has made our architecture superficial and a mere product of commercial enterprise (Kulterman, 1997). The urban house form in Dhaka in 1990-2000 is vastly different from that of the houses of the late 19th and early-20th C. The courtyard, traditionally central to social and cultural activities, often employed to provide climatic solutions, has long vanished. From an uncovered central light-well (larger houses had more than one), around which rooms were grouped, a direct transformation of the courtyard of the rural archetype, there was a transition period during which urban houses had a corridor, first external and then internal, abutted by rooms on the sides. The internal corridor later evolved into the indoor family living and/or dining room, which is the centre of most activities of the modern house. The corridor, dark and unventilated as they were, and considered a waste of space, was done away with. Instead,
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spatial relationships between the spaces were considered more functional, and the new style was in keeping with Cubism and the ensuing Modern Movement of the West, well-timed with its technological advancement. Plain rectangles sans ornamentation, and the inclination to express function through appropriate materials were the order of the day. Ornamentation, often out of context and limited to only the road-front faade, however has crept back in over the past few years. Throughout this conversion from a rural epitome (huts around a courtyard) to the urban model (rooms around a central area) via Azimpur Housing Estate1950s (multi-storied government flats, facing away from a court, some facing West), some living spaces were oriented in the north-south axis, exposing them to the intensity of the hot sun in the West as well as depriving them from the prevalent monsoon wind (Ahmed, Z.N., 2002). Deep verandas could give reasonable protection from the sun but the wind could not be manipulated to flow favourably. The recent trend of air-conditioned homes with tinted glass is adding a new dimension to the urban house, although Mans ancient yearning for light is still alive. Due to the dynamic changes in the urban life style, the urban residence experienced a process of transformation in its planning, organisation of spacer, physical expression, etc. In the organisation of the interior spaces, the urban house has to conform to the socio-cultural patterns of the urban society and at the same time it has to satisfy the environmental needs. Opposite pulls of tradition and Westernisation have resulted in adaptation of dual life style by the urban dweller, more so among the upper and middleclass people. Their dichotomous values found expression in the domestic design and living (Imamuddin, 1982. p.27). The demarcation of the site is the first attempt to create an urban house. It introduces the boundary wall to demarcate the territory. The accessibility into urban site acts as a vital phenomenon in forming the urban house. The house form as it is more compact due to the limitation of site exhibits the privacy within the limited area. The old residential houses in Dhaka City were less affected by scarcity of urban land. At that time the rural archetype could have been transplanted into urban archetype. In later days, the regular plot demarcation, road layout, etc. due to densification forced the house form to adjust itself also with climatic and functional consideration. The concept of front (formal receiving of guests) and back (family and service) in rural archetype house form was thus reshaped to form an urban archetype (Khan, 1982). The spaces in urban house are composed in the tripartite relationship between formal, family and service zones, each having its clear physical distinctions (Imamuddin, 1982. p.28). These zones are created in consideration to privacy and to the nature of the use of the spaces. The formal and family areas resemble the inner and outer domains in the house which are formed on the basis of their functional and symbolic meanings. Traditional taste and preferences find expression in the inner house while the acquired Western taste and attitude find priority in the outer house (Imamuddin, 1982. p.24).

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Figure 7. Lal Mohan Thakur Figure 8. Delowar Cottage Bari

Figure 9. House of Radha Sham Saha Banik

Privacy is in a dilemma in present residences. Nowadays the urban woman is to a large extent equally exposed to the outside world. As a result the idea of strict segregation between the male and female in the house plan, a dominant aspect of space organization in the traditional house, has become loose. Early urban houses are characterised by interconnected rooms, but the issue of privacy soon saw the introduction of an internal corridor that connected the separate rooms, providing each room with maximum privacy. The concept of corridor as a circulation space, linking different rooms has become almost redundant. The trend over the past decade or two has been to have a single uninterrupted space, usually the common dining space or the family room, which provides a circulation space for the other more private rooms under an arrangement where the original zones (front and back, public and private) can be identifiable. This development provides a wide and spacious feeling, as there always is the scope to add some other semipublic/semi-private rooms to the common space. This has obviously reduced the scope of providing privacy within a house. A new dimension to lack of privacy has been added by adjacent buildings of the last two decades or so being located too close to each other and windows facing opposite, defying setback rules, if not on the planning papers approved by the development authority but on the more damaging stage of construction. Early urban houses had thick brick walls (25-30 inches) to meet structural requirements. Optimum window openings in the wall for light, ventilation and view were a traditional criterion. Thick walls, openings and high ceilings (up to 15 feet) were favourable responses to the hot-humid climate. In later houses, structural brickwork was reduced to ten inches but with the introduction of reinforced cement concrete frame structures, the curtain walls became thinner (5-10 inches). The ceiling today has come down to plus-minus ten feet. Extension of the roof as well as shading devices provided protection to the walls, openings and verandas in rural houses, features (cornice, sunshade) that are seen also in the urban counterpart, albeit in different and varying forms. High parapet on the roof was an urban innovation to protect. The early urban windows were shaded by slanting windows, emulating the form of the rural predecessor.

The study
In order to document urban houses, fast becoming extinct, and to study their characteristics with the hope to establishing a link between the past and the present house form, the following case studies have till date been recorded:

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Sl
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Const Title . Year

18801890 18801900 18801900 18801910 18801910 18901910 18901910

Location

Material
Brick/Plas ter Brick/Plas ter Brick/Plas ter Brick/Plas ter Brick/Plas ter Brick/Plas ter Brick/Plas ter

Structure system
Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Load bearing Beam Column Load bearing

House of 105, KP Ghose Asaduzzamzan Street, Armanitola House of Radha Sham 223 Lal Mohan Saha Banik Street, Tipu Sultan Road Ruplal House Farashganj House of Madhu Shaha 222 Lal Mohan Street, Tipu Sultan Road Thakur 38 Tipu Sultan Road

19101920 9. 19101920 10. 1911 11. 19201930 12. 19201930 13. 19201930 14. 19301940 15. 19301940 16. 19351940 17. 19501960 18. 19501960 19. 19651970

Lal Mohan Bari House of Jatindra 3 Mohini Das Lane, Kumar Saha (Jatin Farashganj Babu) House of Anandamayi 130 Lal Mohan Street, Tipu Sultan Road House of Abdul 8/1 Gopi Kisan lane, Hossain/ Anchorage Wari House of Bihari Lal 39 Rankin Street, Bhowmik Wari Chameli (Chumery) 17, IN NCS House House of Dhalar 38 Rankin Street, Zamindar Wari House of Advocate 30 Nawab Street, Mosiur Rahman Wari House of Azadur Nawab Street, Wari Rahman Delowar Cottage 4 Gopi Kisan Lane, Wari, Mukti Juddha Museum Segun Bagicha

Brick/Plas ter Brick/Plas ter Exposed Brick Exposed brick Brick/plas ter Brick/Plas ter Brick/Plas ter Exposed Brick House of Md. Ismail 8 Segun Bagicha Brick/Plas Hossain ter Tet House Type 01 4 Elephant Road, Brick/Plas Eskaton ter Tenement House 2 Elephant Road, Brick/Plas Type 02 Eskaton ter House at Dhanmandi Road No. 27, Brick/Plas Dhanmandi ter

The urban houses located in the old City have clearly defined outer and inner, that is public and private, zones. The residences of the late 19th C are organised around interconnected multiple courts of varying sizes and shapes, depending on the functions located around them and formed by inward facing living spaces. Reminiscent of their rural precedent, services and support facilities of the residences were almost always set to the back of the house with

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reception area and the more important living rooms circumscribing the major court, such as those existing at Armanitola, Tipu Sultan Road, and Farashganj. Visible outstanding features of these impressive buildings were application of floral ornamentation in plaster, column and surface treatment by shaped bricks and employment of imported classical orders in the form of freestanding decorative columns, but in the organisation of space there was an uncanny reflection of rural images and values, as exemplified by the location of long and wide verandas on both sides of the living spaces. These common verandas did not provide privacy to the occupants of the different rooms. Typical examples are Ruplal House and House of Jatindra Kumar Saha. Perhaps the most prominent external feature in the House of Jatindra Kumar Saha is curved plinth protruding out from the building and conveniently serving as a foyer. Load-bearing walls and columns were constructed of clay bricks bonded and plastered with lime surki1. Walls were much thicker compared to present day and ranged usually between 15 to 24 inches. The thickness served to position windows deep into the wall such as to provide with some protection against the elements of nature, excessive sunlight and typical Bengal rain, albeit with the generous veranda and cornice. Windows were often embellished with multiple arches and did not have glass, but were of horizontal wooden planks, designed to open or shut by a lever mechanism according to the need. In the 1920s concurrent to plastered houses, buildings were being rendered with exposed red brickwork as in the House of Dhalar Zamindar at Wari. The buildings of the early 20th C almost did away with the traditional courtyard and excessive decoration, displaying rather greater influence of the ruling British. These complexes, set in a plot of land well-demarcated by a boundary wall, as existing at Wari and Segun Bagicha, are composed of a one- to two-storied principal building that houses all the major functions with verandas on both sides of the longer axis and a detached one-storied smaller service building containing the kitchen, store and servants area. The major building would be set back sufficiently to allow for a front garden. The two buildings would be standing apart well enough to form an inner courtyard as in Delowar Cottage and House of Azadur Rahman. The House of Advocate Mosiur Rahman is also demonstrative of the period.

Characteristic features of studied buildings

From the study, it is clear that most of the residences of the late 19th C are of the enclosed introvert type. Externally these buildings used extensive ornamentation and classical orders but in planning and organisation they demonstrated traditional values and discrimination. The House of Jatin Kumar Saha is organised with three courtyards of different sizes, around which the public, private and service zone are arranged. All the courtyards have an inner veranda running all around. The courts are connected with each other through corridors. Freestanding fluted decorative circular columns with decorative capital are an important architectural feature. The inner courtyard is encircled by cast iron columns. The upper floor veranda is shaded by a louvered wooden drop-wall with latticework. The wall is of brick and lime surki mortar. The roof is of brick tiles supported by wooden rafters and purlins. Perhaps the most prominent external feature in the mansion is the convex-shaped plinth projecting out from the building facade acting as an entrance lobby. Windows are 7 in height starting from the floor to the lintel level. Wooden shutter is used in the window and doors. The skirting of

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the inner court is of decorative tiles 26 in height. The railing of the upper floor veranda was designed at a later phase. Some rooms were added to the building to suit the need of the user. Presently this building is being used as a hostel. The House of Radha Sham Saha Banik at Tipu Sultan Road is the smallest among the studied buildings of the period. The two-storied building once extensively decorated now has the colonnaded entry facade on ground floor walled up. The most important feature of this building is the open roof terrace. The shading device in the exterior windows is a wooden shutter having two parts. The House of Madhu Shaha has two courtyards. Around the formal courtyard all the habitable rooms are arranged. Later additions have been toilet facilities in the rear court, which contain the service zone. The most important feature of this building is the double circular columns around the formal courtyard. Multi-foil arched over upper floor windows and semi-circular arches in the ground floor are its distinguishing features, as is the entry door. Presently the colonnaded windows are filled with brick-wall. In the House of Lal Mohan (Thakur Bari), there is one large courtyard having colonnaded veranda around which all the rooms are arranged. The exterior faade is highly decorated with different type of elements. The entry of the building features two freestanding circular columns having decorative base and capital. The colonnaded veranda has multi-foil arch supported by thin circular column posts. In the upper level exterior faade an extended veranda is supported by brackets has cast iron double post columns and railing. Kiosks at the parapet level have been constructed as embellishment. The House of Anandamayi with two courtyards is an example of the design of corner plot building of the late 19th C. The entry is approached from the corner where a circular veranda has been added. Externally the building has a veranda running all around it. An extended veranda with cast iron column posts and railing run around the upper level of the front court. All the liveable rooms are arranged on the two sides of a wide corridor. The building has two staircases, one at the front and the other at the rear. In the exterior faade rectangular columns are striking features. The side elevation is decorated with trefoil arch and the front elevation with semicircular arches on the ground level. The buildings of early 20th C located at Wari and Segun Bagicha have a different layout. These buildings are freestanding compact houses without any courtyards, but having front and rear yards. Examples are Delowar Cottage, House of Azadur Rahman, House of Advocate Mosiur Rahman and House of Dhalar Zamindar. The House of Advocate Mosiur Rahman at Wari is placed in the middle of the plot forming an entrance green lawn. A colonnaded veranda having elevated plinth and approached by steps serves as the entrance lobby. Windows are 7 in height starting from the floor to the lintel level. Wooden shutter is used in the window designed in two parts. The exterior faade on the ground level has rectangular columns with decorative capital. But on the upper level the rectangular columns are highlighted with circular double columns with decorative base and capital. The cornice in this building is decorative. In the rear part of the building some additions have been made in the later phase to meet the users requirement. In the House of Azadur Rahman at Wari, cantilevered pitch roof emphasizes the front faade with a colonnaded veranda going around the building. The parapet of the building is also highly decorated.

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In Delowar Cottage at Wari, an octagonal form has been added as a building element. The building is approached by a front garden. A simple colonnaded veranda serves as an entrance lobby on the ground floor. But on the upper floor veranda colonnade is not used, rather a triangular form is added above the middle column. The present owners renovated the building extensively in 1974. They used mosaic work in the front faade to clad the wall and columns. It is assumed that extended shading device has been added in the later phase. In the house of Asaduzzamzan at Armanitola, the entrance lobby is octagonal. Rectangular columns and semicircular arches decorate the exterior facade. Decorative cornice is used around the building. In the front of the building some structure is added in the later phase for commercial purpose. In the house of Ismail Hossain at Segun Bagicha also, an octagonal form serves as an entrance lobby. At present the high boundary wall hides the exterior faade of the ground floor. The special feature of this building is the kiosk type extended veranda on the upper level of the exterior faade. Decorative cornice and parapet are important features as are windows with shading device. The House of Dhalar Zamindar is an exceptional example of early 20th C in which exposed red brick is used on the exterior facade. The building is rectangular. Pointed arch is used on the ground floor and multi-foil arches on the upper floor. The staircase of the building is made of wood and is visible from the front. There are kiosks at the parapet level designed in jali2 pattern. The railing of the veranda is designed in brick. Red brick is used in the cornice, to decorate the rectangular columns and in the rear to decorate the arch. After 1930, the overall planning of the building changed much due to the technological advancement. The compact extrovert type developed as a more appropriate urban house form. This represents the flat typology in which the living and service part of the house are grouped into a single mass. The study found examples in a house at Eskaton Road and in a house at Dhanmandi. Beam column was introduced as a new structural system. Brick was used as the main material but the wall thickness was reduced to 5-10. Windows now had the sill level at 26 to 3. Strong shading device were introduced to protect the building from the sun and rain.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Urban house form has resulted from forces as varied as technology, home appliances, globalisation, occupation, family size and structure, and changing lifestyle. Due to ever emerging forces, urban houses have undergone a series of transformation and adaptation. The morphology of house forms of the present day is not independent products. Rather they are the resultants of various urban forces generated at different phases of growth of the city (King, 1984). The older buildings, few examples that exist in Dhaka, besides being dilapidated due to age and lack of maintenance, are now being threatened by a surge of multi-storied development that has overtaken the City over the past decade or so in view of rising population and high price of land. Several old buildings have already changed ownership and/or the owner has contracted developers to demolish the existing building, an icon of antiquity, and make room for a towering block of apartments or office rental space.

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In order to conserve at least a few of these old buildings as a reminder into the future of what was the past, it is necessary to garner sufficient public support by publicising the importance of the buildings in the Citys history such as to make preservation economically feasible through government backup, the initiation of which may be marked by declaring a few of the old buildings as heritage sites. Fund may also be arranged by seeking the assistance of international agencies which support similar heritage projects across the world.

Notes
1 2

Surki is Bengali for brick-dust jali = latticework

References
Ahmed, N. (2000) Kishore Biswa Sthapatya (A childrens book on World Architecture in Bengali). Dhaka, Bangla Academy. p.164 Ahmed, Z. N. (2002) The Effects of Room Orientation on Indoor Air Movement in the Warm-Humid Tropics: Scope for Energy Savings, Journal of Energy and Environment. Dhaka, Centre for Energy Studies, BUET, pp 78-79 Doshi, B.V. (1985) Cultural Continuum and Regional Identity in Architecture, Regionalism in Architecture, Proceedings of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture Regional Seminar, Exploring Architecture in Islamic Culture 2, Dhaka, Singapore, Concept Media Pte Ltd., p.87 Far Eastern Economic Review All Asia Guide 1982 (1982). 12th edition, Hong Kong, p.33 Imamuddin, A.H. (1982) Bengali House in Urban Context, BUET Technical Journal, Dhaka, p.27 Karim, A. (1964) Dacca: The Mughal Capital. Dacca, Asiatic Society of Pakistan. Khan, I.M. (1982) Alternative Approach to the Redevelopment of Old Dhaka. Doctoral Dissertation, Vol.1 Katholieke University Leuven. King, A.D. (1977) Colonial Urban Development: culture, social power and environment. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul. King, A.D. (1984) The Bungalow, the production of a global culture. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul. Kulterman, U. (1997) Cultural Identity and Human Survival, Earth, Vol. V III, Dhaka, p.209 Mallick, F. H. (1987) A Local Approach to Urban Housing Design in Bangladesh, M. Phil thesis, University of New Castle, p.28 Rahman (1996) p80 Zahiruddin S.A., Imamuddin A.H and Khan, M.M. Ed. (1990) Contemporary Architecture of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Institute of Architects Bangladesh. p.43

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