The National Assembly complex was designed by the world renowned American architect Louis Kahn. The building was commissioned by the Pakistanis in 1963 but it wasn’t completed until 1982.
I had heard about the building before I reached Dhaka. One person described it to me as one of the world’s great buildings. Frankly, I don’t think it reaches those heights, but it certainly is interesting.
From the outside the building looks like an assembly of concrete cylinders and boxes joined at angles and cut with bold apertures. It is certainly different. Up close, you can see that it is made from poured-in-place concrete, brick, and marble. Unfortunately, I was not able to go inside. There are occasional tours of the building and if parliament is sitting you may be able to get a ticket to the visitor’s gallery.
The building holds the 300 member National Assembly which is elected every five years. There are also 30 positions reserved for women and these are elected by the 300 popularly elected members of parliament. The last election in 2001 was won by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its leader, Ms Begum Khaleda Zia, is Prime Minister.