The project comprises a building for the College of Arts and Crafts intended to accommodate 300 students on a site adjacent to a park. The college classrooms and studios are on the park side, while the offices face a road to the east. Circulation is provided by a wide, double-deck gallery that circumscribes the building, protecting the studio and classroom walls from direct solar insolation. Brick columns support the galleries, and wood shutters installed between the upper half of the column shade the galleries.
In this project, machine-made bricks were used for the first time in Bangladesh. Therefore, it was necessary for the architect to instruct the masons in laying the brick and pointing the joints. The brick walls are load-bearing and the floors and roofs are constructed with reinforced concrete slabs. Brick facades, both exterior and interior, were left exposed. The ceilings are finished with plastic paint on cement plaster, the floors have a terrazzo finish.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture
See also:
"Fine Arts institute, Dhaka University, Bangladesh". Muzharul Islam Archive.
http://www.muzharulislam.com/projects/fine_arts_institute_dhaka.html. [Accessed September 19, 2006]
