The government of Bangladesh undertook a project to build a new High Commission Complex in Pakistan. The complex is now under construction on the two plots (separated by a street) measuring over 5 acres of land owned by Bangladesh governemnt in the Diplomatic Enclave of Islamabad.
The compex is designed by renowned consulting firm of Bangladesh, SHATOTTO architecture for green living. The design concept combines the horizontal greenery and wet environment of Bangladesh together with the verticality of the Margalla Hills in front of which this project is being built.
The designer took into account the fact that Pakistan having the history of around 5000 years old Indus Valley civilization and Bangladesh having the history of around 3000 years old Bengal civilization have a common voyage to the past. The resemblance between Bangladesh and Pakistan is the historical ruins of Buddhist civilization, particularly the terracotta brick ruins of both lands make it a common ground for the design. This inspired the designer to use this phenomenon as “typology” to develop the site as an “archeological landscape”, a meeting ground for two civilizations.The concept of the project evolved with a single horizontal line representing the land of Bangladesh against the vertical Margalla Hills of Pakistan as a tender intervention.
Bangladesh, the largest delta on earth having water in abundance with flatness of the land and Pakistan having a contoured land with range of mountains in Islamabad played the key role in setting up the whole design. Large water body as “delta” with flat long rectilinear parasol roof as “Jali” representing the flat landscape of Bangladesh looking at the elevated Margalla Hills are complementary to each other.
Here are some planned pictures of the project:
