Kashef Chowdhury's buildings for the people who need them most

Bangladeshi architect Kashef Chowdhury has a simple rule: he doesn't want to design buildings that people can't just walk into. For three decades his studio, Urbana, has focused on public buildings for communities and NGOs rather than private homes for the wealthy. Now his work is collected in a monograph, Meditations in Entropy, published by Park Books.

The book covers 18 projects, with essays by critics including Kenneth Frampton and William J R Curtis, and treats each one as a case study that explains why, how and for whom it was built. For Chowdhury, sustainability includes cost: many clients have tight budgets, so he works with local handmade bricks, which he loves for their imperfections, and designs for Bengal's climate and culture.

Dezeen picks six highlights. The Friendship Hospital, a cluster of low brick pavilions, won the RIBA International Prize in 2021. The Srihatta Samdani Art Centre winds brick walls through the countryside near Sylhet. In Dhaka, the Gulshan Mosque uses a jali-inspired concrete facade to let in light and air, and the Museum of Independence sits beneath a public square. A cyclone shelter in Kuakata finally opened in 2018, after 11 years of fundraising.

It's a thoughtful read about architecture as a public service.

Our summary of a story from Dezeen, published 28 September 2026. Read the original

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