VIRTUAL Barcelona
Abstract
Shahbagh, a lush garden for pleasure of Mughal Dhaka is presently a busy urban node in Dhaka’s megalopolis of 23 million people. From the rich intricate Mughal Garden, Shahbagh transformed into one of the pivotal points of nationalist movements including the liberation war of Bangladesh. The enclave of Shahbagh stood out as the city’s most enlightened urban square and the termination point of the cultural corridor of Dhaka, connecting significant cultural heritage properties, and educational legacies along with many intangible and ephemeral phenomena that shape the national identity of Bangladesh. The spontaneous human accumulation on every cultural movement, national festival, political protest, or occasion of social justice over the years, made the enclave of Shahbagh a symbol of Bengali secularism. The newest addition of the Metrorail project to the Dhaka metropolitan transportation system was designed such that a part of it has dissected Shahbagh into pieces extinguishing its embedded connection with the city dwellers. This apparent spatial intervention is more of a political occupation in the name of development than a practical sustainable approach to address a complex urban setting that is deeply associated with the human heritage of the city. This case study-based research focused on the methodology of urban semiotics; identifying a series of ‘signified’ and ‘signifiers’ for the given context which evolved as morphological changes of the city as a whole. The outcome shows that even if many ‘signified’ are seemingly not compromised, the ‘signifiers’ are highly affected and result in an excruciating genocide of a place.
Farzana Mir is an architect, researcher, and movie maker. She completed her bachelor of architecture from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and working as an educator and independent researcher. Her primary research interest is architectural heritage and the history of Bengal architecture and architectural conservation. Her research works are focused on the study and analysis of historic cores of Dhaka city, traditional vernacular architecture, and urban aesthetics and cultural heritage of Bengal. She worked as a visiting faculty in different architectural schools in Bangladesh. Mir is an associate member of ICOMOS, Bangladesh. She has participated in several conservation workshops conducted by the Department of Archaeology of Bangladesh and ICOMOS. Currently, she is working on a research-based documentary movie that introduces the architectural heritage of Dhaka city in the primary education of Bangladesh.
Pushpita Eshika, PhD is a heritage professional and a researcher at Arkansas State University. After graduating in Architecture from Khulna University, Bangladesh, Pushpita has persuaded a master’s in architecture at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, focusing on the architectural morphology of historic Buildings of Bangladesh. Her Ph.D. work emphasized the underlying relationship between humans and built heritage. Besides her research work, as a graduate assistant, Pushpita has hands-on experience in critical heritage analysis and management, and ethnographic field studies.
Fahmida Nusrat is an assistant professor in the Department of Architecture at Primeasia University. She has completed her bachelor’s and master’s of Architecture from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. Her research work is focused on architectural history, architectural and urban morphology, urban semiotics, and tangible cultural heritage management. Fahmida is an associate member of ICOMOS Bangladesh and works on the committee of imaging heritage professionals in ICCROM. Nusrat has successfully conducted several international workshops and symposiums focusing on tangible heritage management and heritage tourism in Bangladesh.