The liberation war of Bangladesh is the most significant phenomenon in the history of the nation. After the 200 years long imperial rule in 1947 Indian Subcontinent was divided into two parts India and Pakistan on the ‘Twin Nation’ theory based on the religious point of view. And today’s Bangladesh was one of the two parts of Pakistan known as the East Pakistan. After 1947 in the following years it was becoming more and more obvious that the ‘association for religion’ was totally an irrational decision in terms of the cultural divergence of the two parts of Pakistan. And apparently the first evident reaction of this divergence out busted during the movement for Bangla language in 1952 when the Bengali people gave their life to establish Bangla as the state language of Pakistan. And the continuing sociopolitical unrest between East and West Pakistan went beyond the control of Pakistani military rulers during the first public election of Pakistan in 1970. Awami League (the largest Pakistani Political party) won the majority of the seats in Pakistani National Assembly led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. However Pakistani politicians refused to allow Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. And the military started a brutal massacre on Bengali people killing civilians and activists started on 25th March 1971.
On 26th March the independence of Bangladesh was declared and a civil war began along with the genocide by Pakistani Army that led to casualty which vary from 5,000–35,000 in Dhaka, and 200,000–3,000,000 in Bangladesh as a whole.
The Museum
To uphold the memory and pride of the nation the Liberation War Museum was opened in 1996 by non-government initiative. And running by local and international donations. After the decade long operation the museum it has become an eternal part of Bangladesh and the people. The museum is now operating in a chartered building in the city. However, Bangladesh Government has allocated 0.82-acre land in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar near about the National Parliament Building in Dhaka for the new building of the Liberation War Museum.
Museum Website: liberationwarmuseum.org
The Competition
The Liberation War Museum Bangladesh and the Institute of Architects Bangladesh jointly organizing an open architectural design competition to conceive the design of the first own building of the museum in Dhaka to uphold the memories of the liberation war to the people. One of the trustees of the museum and member-secretary Mofidul Hoque said in a recent press conference: “The new building of the Liberation War Museum would be an emblem of nation’s pride and it would inspire the young generation”. Renowned architect and a trustee of the museum Architect Rabiul Hussain said “We like to build up a museum where the young generation will get the true picture of the history of the country”. It is the target of the museum to construct the new building within two years. The design competition is thus the first attempt of the process.
Eligibility:
a. Architects willing to participate in the Open Design Competition must meet the eligibility conditions specified in the Dhaka Mohanogor Imarot Nirman Bidhimala 2008 for designing museum building (Type-C)
b. In case of Firms, Owner or at least 01(One) of the Partners/Directors must fulfill the criteria above.
c. Firms and Architects may participate as a Joint Venture, in which case the Firm or Architect fulfilling the eligibility conditions shall be the lead Firm.
Competition Documents:
Interested architect/firm may obtain Competition Documents from the office of Liberation War Museum on everyday of the week except Sunday between 11.00 am to 5.00 pm paying an amount of BDT 1,000.00 in cash. A written application for the competition documents has to be submitted. Last date of collecting Competition Documents is Thursday the
3rd September 2009.
Queries:
Written queries, if any, shall have to be submitted to the office on or before Thursday, 10th September 2009, at 11:30 am at the office of the undersigned.
Submission: Entries shall be submitted on Wednesday the 18th November 2009, between 11.00 am and 4.00 pm at the
Nalinikanta Bhattashali Hall of
National Museum, Shahbag, Dhaka.
Result: Result to the competition will be announced on 23 November 2009.
Awards:
1st Prize : 5,00,000 BDT (Winning design will be built and the architectural fees will be adjusted as per the rules of IAB)
2nd Prize: 3,00,000 BDT
3rd Prize: 2,00,000 BDT
Jury:
1. Architect Mohammad Asaduzzaman
2. Architect Abu Haider Imam Uddin
3. Architect Rabiul Hussain
4. Architect Kazi Khalid Ashraf
5. Architect Fuad Hasan Mollik
6. Member of International Council Museum
7. Air Vice-Marshal (Rtd.) A. K. Khandoker
8. Professor Zamilur Reza Chowdhury
9. Mofidul Hoque (Trustee of Liberation War Museum)
All other necessary details of the competition are available in the competition documents obtainable from the Museum office.
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ArchSociety News Desk.
Edited by: Mohammad Tauheed, Ishraq Zahra Khan
References: Competition Documents, The Daily Star, Wikipedia, Liberation War Museum
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