Architecture as evocation of place : thoughts on an architectural "beginning" in Bangladesh

Abstract

This thesis is a trajectory of a quest of trying to understand certain fundamental notions of architecture, triggered initially by the cultural conditions of Bangladesh: How does an architectural position really find 'validation'? What is the significant meaning of architectural "appropriateness"? And, how does an artifact fit into place? The key idea of the investigation is that place is not merely a physical but also a psychic reality; it is the basic strata of "collective consciousness" that provides identity and psychic security. Place denotes an 'existential structure', formed by material and immaterial entities, in the palpable, the conscious and the 'unconscious' realm, from which its dwellers draw the meaning and relevance of their collective action and existence. In the study here, it is argued that it is the role of architecture to "concretize" or "exteriorize" this 'existential structure', and thus reinforce the dimension of place. Place, as a continuous repository of "artifacts" and "human events", can provide the instrumental and material tool for the making of such architecture. The investigation, in conclusion, attempts to find how can the repository be tapped, within the domain of design, so that not only the immaterial dimension is engaged, but also the 'new' artifact evokes and becomes a new deposit to the place-repository.