Haturia House

The house, built around 1920, is also called ‘Haturia House’ which is named after the zamindari area in southern Bangladesh where the family had an estate. The owner and builder of the house was a member of the then Indian Civil Service, and a prominent member of the old Dhaka elite. The property was designated as a waqf estate with the grandson of the original owner appointed as the “muttawali”, the person entrusted with responsibility to manage the estate. The house with its compound and the original owners both have a rich history that retains much of the flavor of old Dhaka as it was about a hundred years ago.

As an independent house in a large compound and located on busy Abul Hasnat Road in Bangshal area, the house is a symmetrical structure with an architectural style built with a close resemblance to the Indo-Saracenic manner of the Curzon Hall, built in 1911. Although a simple structure, ornate multi-foiled or cusped arches, decorative ventilators, windows and mosaic surface add to the features of the houses. The central hall of the house was used for spiritual gatherings with musical events, which is still maintained today. Many interior pieces and objects are a hundred years old and older. Shops that line the boundary of Abul Hasnat Road were originally quarters for staff and visitors.

A heritage building need not be a monument or landmark building; it can be representative of an epoch or period in the history of the city in many ways. Through this project, we have captured various perspectives in the form of virtual tours, timelines, stories, photographs, architectural features and locations.

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The virtual tour is a simulation of an existing location, composed of a sequence of still images. It gives a 360 view of the location and one can easily enjoy an immersive experience of the spaces sitting from anywhere in the world. In this case, this tour is enriched with all the relevant information, it also consists of old photo gallery, audio and video clips and various stories of the house.

Residential buildings in cities have been an essential component of the city providing it with an architectural fabric, lifestyle practices and domestic order. However, with social and economic changes, many of the buildings are being replaced by new types, or often altered for fast transformations. This timeline shows glimpses of many changes and events the house and the neighborhood have witnessed over time.

The house with its compound and the original owning family with a rich history retains much of the flavor of old Dhaka as it was about hundred years ago. Although there has been no physical change of the structure, the spaces have been used differently by the occupants. The transformation of the central hall from a family space to a spiritual space is the most significant change.

Architectural photography and 360° photography has been a major method of documentation for this project. The gallery is categorized into few groups for the convenience of the user to see and understand the various aspects of the houses.

The idea is to select exemplary representatives of distintinctive epochs or cultures in the history of Dhaka. Five distinctive houses from five different areas have been selected from the greater Dhaka Metropolitan area for this phase of the project.

A heritage building need not be a monument or landmark building; it can be representative of an epoch or period in the history of the city in many ways. Through this project, we have captured various perspectives in the form of virtual tours, timelines, stories, photographs, architectural features and locations.

Use the buttons belows to navigate to the details pages.