Month: July 2020

Dhaka, a city of wild (4)

The “wild city” is not forever. I still haven’t write enough about interesting of this city, it is time to wrap up the blog on “Dhaka, a city of wild”.

 

“Wild city” has full of people.

Dhaka is overflowing with myriad people. Although the economy in Bangladesh is rapidly growing and its income inequality is increasing, the both people of rich and of not are living together in the center of the city, the both are doing various jobs. Like in Japan and the United States, modernization causes the expansion and sprawl of the city, empties out the city center or prioritizes rich while excludes not rich and then loses the vitality of city. In other words, the “wild city” must keep allowing diverse people.


Dhaka Gulshan Circle 2.     Photo in May 2019

 “Wild city” repairs old things and uses them up.

There are many worn-out buses running on the main road in Dhaka. Most are used ones imported from abroad. The various buses for example of double-decker type probably imported from Britain or Hong Kong and the standard type are imported from Japan and other countries are reused and painted in bright colors. The door is removed so that passengers can jump in while driving.

Rickshaws are made by assembling various parts on the body of bicycles and motorcycles.

The used cars, mainly from Japan originally of gasoline-powered, were boldly converted into a liquefied natural gas engine.

These second-hand cultures of people remind us “Bricolage” described in “La Pensee Sauvage” by Claude Lévi-Strauss.


Arterial Road in Dhaka, Showcase of various used Buses.     Photo in March 2019

 

 “Wild City” maintains the Culture of Hand-made Design.

At the construction site in Dhaka, concrete was casted out by hand and bricks were piled up one-by-one to build a wall.

The sewing industry has been prevailing in Bangladesh for a long time. Many international companies of apparel and fashion are expanding their factories to Bangladesh in search for cheap and high-quality labor of “human-wave tactics”. Each hand-made work has its own personality and humanity. Our world is surrounded by an inorganic design created by computers and machines. The “wild city” teach us the nobility of making things by our own hands.


The purse bought for local currency at an airport souvenir shop. Although a lot of same fish design were displayed at the shop, because all are handmade, every purse is not exactly same. Each has a unique personality and a sense of crude but charm or cute.

 

“Wild city” is a Utopia of Water and Green.

Bangladesh is rich in water and greenery with long rain season and the entire country, including Dhaka, locates in the delta zone. Dhaka spreads out the patches of lakes or ponds probably formed by damming tributaries. Furthermore, the ample water resources nourish full of green in the city. The abundance of water and greens cool down the temperature of the burning town of Dhaka and prevent urban warming. Luxury houses are lined around the lake something like an oasis. The problem is about hygiene. The domestic wastewater is drained off, the trash is floating and, as a result, the water smells badly. The lake turns to mosquito farm. Some local residents are WILDLY fishing in such the lake to eat the fish. If the water is purified and circulated and its land is maintained as park, Dhaka will revitalize as cleaner city of water and green.


Dhaka Gulshan Lake, Luxury houses and hotels are lined around the lake.     Photo in May 2019

 

 “Wild city” enjoys Freedom.

The first freedom is about movement. In Dhaka, rickshaws, cars, and motorcycles can freely move around the city and freely park at the destinations. Although there is the chaos due to no traffic lights and heavy traffic, but the freedom of movement is the first requirement for vibrant city.

The second freedom is about dwelling. On the rooftop of the hotel where I stayed, employees built shelters by themselves to live. This is the ultimate proximity to work and residence.

The third freedom is about the mind. In “wild city” humans are not tamed. Demonstration happens weekly. Bangladesh does not seem to be a class society like India, and both men and women of various backgrounds work freely in the same workplace. In this aspect, Bangladesh can be said as a democratic society. Although most of the people in Bangladesh are Muslims, therefore they live according to its strict doctrines, they wildly enjoys their freedom. On the other hand, the people who are “tamed” to live “well-behaved” and controlled by “self-responsibility” and “compliance” might enjoy lesser freedom than people who lives in “wild city”.


Free markets are open all over the city.     Photo in March 2019

 

 “Wild city” is not forever.

The lively sceneries in Dhaka showing in the blog are ephemeral phenomenon. As other cities experienced, the more modernized, industrialized, globalized and capitalized the city is, the weaker the power of “wild city” is, although there is a difference of its degree. The city of beautiful and human has life and the life is limited. We were completely “tamed” and lost the “wild mind”. Rather than nostalgically adoring to the powerful life of “wild city”, can we awaken the “new wild mind” and find out the way to “vividly” live, work, study and play in our current city again?


Goats will be halal processed as meat. The “Wild City” has various episodes about life and death.     Photo in October 2019

Hiroyuki Niino

 

Dhaka, a city of wild (3)

 

 

 

Dhaka, a city of wild (3)

The gift from Louis Khan

Louis Khan (1901-74), an American architect, is one of the great masters of modern architecture. At the Kimbell Art Museum in Texas Fort Worth, he left a novel and spiritual space that beautifully incorporated natural light.


Kimbell Museum, Fort Worth Texas US.     Photo in December 2003
The closed exterior gives the impression of a factory-like monotonous building, but the interior has a rich and human space system so called “Repetition of Rooms” where “miracle light” comes into from ceiling.

Khan became drastically busy in his 50s and flew around the world for projects not only in the United States but also in India, East Pakistan (currently Bangladesh) and Israel. On the way back from his trip from India, he died at the age of 73 due to a heart attack in a public toilet at Pen Station in New York. Khan left two buildings in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

 

Shaheed Suhrawaldy Hospital

Formerly Ayub National Hospital

“Hey brick, what do you want to be?” “I want to be an arch.”


Huge and charming brick arch face (facade).     Photo in March 2019

Originally opened as Ayub National Hospital in the era of East Pakistan, it became the university hospital under the Bangladesh government after independence and is currently used as the central building of the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical Campus. Because it is not a private high-class hospital but a public university institution that accepts various patients as charity hospital, there always are full of people. The huge arcade of brick arches controlling strong sunlight opens to the front entrance plaza and gives a sense of urban scale like a station. This double layered arcade has ample depth and makes generous connection between inside and outside. This substantial space allows many people gathering freely. Although not certain that Khan prepared this large space estimating to accommodate this much of future crowds, I am convinced that Khan designed this entrance arcade as large foyer for huge hospital. Certainly this is the brilliant success as an urban public space bridging the building and surrounding city.


Hustle and Bustle Arcade of Hospital Entrance maintains urban scale dimension, 52 feet (approx. 16 m) width, 30 feet (approx. 9 m) height.     Photo in March 2019

The arch is constructed purely of brick and its 2 feet (approx. 60cm) thickness brick wall supports the floor of waffle slab. Although pure and powerful structural expression, it is difficult to realize in the current structure system. Khan designed many brick buildings in US in his early career, he did not hesitate to make a square window into brick wall using lintel, but in that case usually hide the lintel with veneer bricks. Gradually he is getting fond of more NATURAL opening expression for brick, or arch. Particularly, in order to achieve this big span of 43 feet (approx. 13 m) in the arch structure, braced horizontally by post-tension precast concrete ultra-thin beam or lintel of 24 inches (approx. 60 cm) width and 18 inches (approx. 45 cm) height at the middle of circular opening. This structural system is also applied at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. Although my first impression in the picture was “a kind of bizarre face”, after I repeatedly see this face many times and actually experience the arches, I came to like of the facade as charming and memorable face. I would assume that the proliferation of American building design systems by Khan brought the system of foot-inch in Bangladesh. Our local architect does not know about the history. Currently building industry in Bangladesh is shifting to metric system, but because the tradition of construction is strongly originated from brick dimension, it is not so easy to erase the foot-inch dimension.


The afternoon sun light comes from the west facing arch. They made a planter in front of the arch…..     Photo in March 2019

 

Bangladesh Parliament

The last building is the Parliament Building, used in the design of Bangladesh paper money. Construction began in 1961 during the era of East Pakistan, suspended during the Bangladesh Revolutionary War and finally finished in 1982 over nearly 20 years. The main reason of taking such long period is political, that is, the construction has been conducted fairly unstable period during the transition between two countries. The other reason is in Khan’s design or its uncompromising quality and the last reason is economical, that is, Bangladesh was in the situation called “the poorest country in the world” at that time. The building was constructed almost by hand without using heavy machinery such as concrete mixer truck. Looking carefully the detail, the joints and silhouette are slightly crude or not too well-ordered expressing human character or “wild” taste.


Viewing from the close point, the cluster of cylindrical volumes gives a mechanical and a bit creepy impression. Viewing from the distant point, you can read the proportions of the Islamic palace like the lotus flower floating in the water.     Photo in May 2019

Anticipated that we could quickly visit the building as long as made a request, however it took more time to accept the request. It is mandatory to submit several documents to undergo examination to get the approval. During the 3rd trip, we could finally get the chance to visit the parliament. We saw around most of the highlights, including main assembly hall or the highest security zone. When entering into the inside, I felt initially dim but as my eyes got used to it, I was gradually sensing beautiful sun light. This is exactly the same experience at Kimbell. The main cylinder volume of assembly hall is placed on the center and the ancillary volumes of square and circular of library, reference room and waiting room surrounds around. The plan looks like a mandala. Around the center assembly hall, circular foyer or interior street encircles. This gallery where you can freely walk around forms very high ceiling like canyon enclosed by buildings. The space is so called “Externalized Interior”, the ambivalent space of inside and outside. Difficult to expect from this simple plan, the interior holds complex space system like labyrinth. Actually you will lose the sense of direction if you walk this interior street. Unfortunately I cannot share photo inside because prohibited to take any interior pictures, the shell ceiling of main assembly hall is amazing. Although this is the Parliament of Bangladesh, at the main entrance hall there is a special room for American architect Louis Khan, where his drawings and portraits are proudly exhibited. That tells how Bangladeshi respect and love Luis Khan. Khan passed away without seeing this great space.

The architect, fascinated by ancient Roman ruins, designed consistently the archaic architecture with strong conviction regardless being ridiculed as anachronistic. When being in front of these two buildings standing at around for a half century, I was overwhelmed by the “power” of architecture that will survive until actually RUINED away, already engendering a presence of RUIN. The soul of Khan who consistently designed with his strong passion and philosophy oftenly not listening clients even though almost bankrupting, the spirits of the disciples who persistently inherit Khan’s will and the bloods and sweats of myriad workers who actually built these two buildings still dwell in the land of Dhaka.

Hiroyuki Niino

 

Dhaka, a city of wild (4)

Dhaka, a city of wild (2)

Dhaka, a city of wild (2)

Construction site of human-wave tactics

Dhaka is in the midst of construction boom. From morning till midnight and regardless of weekdays or holidays, the construction sites are in operation. The first night I stayed in Dhaka, I was wondering what kept going on with strange sounds, I found that the construction was doing next to the hotel until midnight. It became a little quiet at last and then I was about to sleep but woke up again with the sound of a BANG. At dawn, the morning prayer broadcast begun and woke me up again. I was troubling with this every night fanfare, but weirdly and gradually getting used to it.


In Dhaka, many construction sites are on progress all around the city. Formwork by iron plate, Support work by bamboo.     Photo in Oct 2, 2019

If you walk around the city, you can find the construction site everywhere. Some construction sites seem to be abandoned because all of these constructions are running all at once. Even Dhaka, where houses millions of people, lacks workers. Not only the rickshaw but also the concrete casting work is done by hand. The workers including women beautifully and robustly carry with mortar and aggregates on their heads.


Concrete casting by hand.     Photo in October 3, 2019

Concrete formwork in Japan uses instrument panel of wooden plywood, but in Bangladesh uses reusable iron plate. And the support work uses bamboo. In this regard, the construction of Bangladesh is more ecological than Japan. Although it is a very primitive construction, the exposed concrete walls are generally done quite beautifully. According to Indian engineers, the quality of exposed concrete casting is better than in their home country. They can even make this kind of funky buildings with undulating exposed concrete walls.


Exposed concrete wall in Dhaka.     Photo in Mar 9, 2019

Basically, the structure of concrete building is composed from floor slabs, columns and beams. Most walls except retaining walls, even the partition walls inside, are constructed from bricks. Using too much bricks is not ideal for environment. Because of the huge application of bricks at all construction site at once, the factory will burn them and emit enormous carbon dioxide. Brick production is one of the major causes of air pollution in Bangladesh. Not only trying to solve this environmental issue, but considering for structural aspect or its heaviness of brick wall, we proposed lighter material, concrete block (CMU) for our building, but our idea was rejected because CMU was rarely used in Bangladesh construction. Too expensive to use CMU.


Brick and Support Bamboo are piling up on the street.     Photo in May 18, 2019

As for the automobile industry, Bangladesh is more environmental friendly than Japan because cars in Bangladesh run on liquefied natural gas. It is ironical that most cars in Bangladesh are secondhand cars run on LNG imported from Japan originally run on gasoline.

Hiroyuki Niino

Dhaka, a city of wild (3)

Dhaka, a city of wild (1)

Dhaka, a city of wild (1)

10 years have passed since the last blog! While facing tough situation of COVID-19 all around the world, some blogs of my friends inspires me to revive my blog hoping our everyday life get back to normal soon.

Last year, I have traveled on business in Dhaka, Bangladesh for about two months total. Dhaka houses “millions of people” and contains noisy but very vivid stories. Every time I come back from the hustle and bustle of Dhaka, I feel Tokyo is too quiet like dying. Although Bangladesh has serious urban and social problems such as poverty and sanitation, I think the human scenery in Dhaka has “life”. Based on the hypothesis that the current “vivid” urban phenomenon of Dhaka is the landscape of “Wild Mind” of “La Pensee Sauvage” by Claude Lévi-Strauss, I would like to share some interesting experiences in Dhaka. I am worried about the current situation of Bangladesh, but I’m sure such a robust country will overcome it.

On most of the streets in Dhaka, you can find many “rickshaws”, commonly seen around Southeast Asian countries. But the numbers are incredible. You will encounter “rickshaws” no matter where you walk in the city. In English it pronounces as “rickshaw”, but originally derived from Japanese, JINRIKISHA or man-power-vehicle. In Southeast Asia, “rickshaw” normally indicates “auto-rickshaw” or taxi using natural gas as a fuel, but in Dhaka “cycle-rickshaws” of manpowered shows much presence.


“Cycle” rickshaw flooding around the city.     Photo in Sep, 2019

Cycle-rickshaw is cheaper than auto-rickshaw and you can pick up anywhere in the city, so local people very frequently use cycle-rickshaws on their daily moves, such as for work and shopping. Though very primitive transportation method, some drivers (?) carry smartphones or mobile phones and make some money effectively using modern communication technology. Some local users directly call their favorite cycle-rickshaws on their smartphones. When I was about to check out, I couldn’t pay by my credit card because the reader at the hotel didn’t work, so I had to go to ATM to withdraw cash about 10 blocks away. The hotel man called for me was not a cab driver but a cycle-rickshaw man neatly dressed out.


Our rickshaw driver wearing cool printed dress shirt!     Photo in Jul, 2019

Cycle-rickshaws are not limited to two-seaters, but there are various types even including something not of school BUS but of school RICKSHAW. People who own cars are complaining that rickshaws cause persistent traffic congestion, but our cycle-rickshaw is more friendly, easy, and eco-friendly than automobile.


School Rickshaw.     Photo in March, 2019

Although the rickshaw in Dhaka looks enjoyable, please refrain from riding both of auto-type or cycle-type alone.

Hiroyuki Niino

Dhaka, a city of wild (2)