Rajshahi House
Architecture
This page contains architectural drawings of the house in its surrounding context, the floor plans, use of spaces, section, elevation and other details. Also, there are some abstract visual representations of the stories of special features through collage drawing.
Present surroundings
Surrounded by greenery, including a lawn and orchard, the original one-storied house represented a new residential type and lifestyle for Dhaka. The house itself was built in the vocabulary of modern architecture adapted to a tropical climatic condition. This was represented in the openness of the verandas.
View of the house in surrounding context
Transformation of the surroundings
After the property division, the overall plot was subdivided amongst siblings. Multistoried apartment buildings have been constructed in the surrounding land since then.
There has not been much change in the use of spaces within the layout of the house. At present, both the floors have unused or empty bedrooms, some rooms are also used as store rooms for keeping belongings of the previous residents.
Use of spaces
Use of the ground floor in 1958
Use of the ground floor in 2022
Views through the building
Exterior views of the house
Built in a way that was unique at that time, the entrance of the house is underneath a suspended room, which consists of a library. The northern view shows this character of the house.
View from east
Details of the house
Materials
The house has been built with simple materials like cement floor finish in most cases, but in some places, different color mosaic floors were used. Mosaic textures have been used in the walls and floor of the toilets.
Windows and openings
One of the unique features of the house is its interior doors with wooden casement windows. All the windows have a grill and net with its frame. The wooden curtain hanger is also unique of its time.
Window details
The various kinds of openings - windows, doors, perforations, ventilators - have been photographed to give an idea of the type of building technology and materials used in the particular period that a house was built in.
Special features
There are some antique features in the house which reflect the unique characteristics of construction and lifestyle of the early times.
Artistic representation
The house exhibits the asymmetrical space organization of modernist architecture, with tropical milieu in mind which is expressed in a big porch facing the south. The movement from the other entry porch to the rooms and to the big porch establishes a cohesion between indoors and outdoors.
Exploring the house
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.
Virtual Tour
Timeline
Stories
Photos
Architecture
Location
