Aga Khan Program Lecture

Kashef Chowdhury “Meditations in Entropy”

A photograph of low geometric buildings with grass growing on the roof.
Friendship Centre, Gaibandha, Bangladesh. Photo: Hélène Binet. Courtesy Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA.
Event Location

Piper Auditorium

Date & Time
Free and open to the public
Host
Sarah M. Whiting
Lecturer
Kashef Chowdhury
Additional Information

AIA Continuing Education Credits: This event is approved for 1.5 LU|Elective credits through the American Institute of Architects. For attendees wishing to register for credit, a form will be available at the end of the event.

ProgramArchitectureAga Khan Program Lecture
00:00
00:00

About this Event

Since 1995, Dhaka-based architecture firm Kashef Chowdhury / URBANA has produced an astonishing collection of works of divergent scales, typologies, and contexts located in one of the most meteorologically challenging regions in the world. For this lecture Kashef Chowdhury will discuss some projects featured in the first full monograph of the practice: Meditations In Entropy. He will focus on works related to culture, history and climate change in Bangladesh, which are incisive, critical responses to varied issues and urgencies rooted in the belief that architecture must be a reflection of, and sympathetic to, increasingly fragile ecological conditions.

The program opened with a sarod performance by Rajrupa Chowdhury, accompanied on tabla by Nitin Mitta.

Speaker

Kashef Chowdhury has a studio-based practice based in Dhaka, with strong emphasis on climate, materials and context – both natural and human. Projects in the studio are given extended time for research so as to reach a level of innovation and original expression. Works span various typologies, from institutions and public buildings, to culture, education, sports, health, industry, religious, residential and climate-action projects.

Kashef Chowdhury won first prize in AR+D Architecture Award 2012 from the Architectural Review, London. He received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2016, Geneva and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) International Prize 2021, London.

Kashef Chowdhury, wearing dark-framed glasses and a navy blue button-down shirt poses in front of a red brick wall.

Performers

Rajrupa Chowdhury, born and raised in Kolkata, began studying the sarod at age five under Siddhartha Roy Chowdhury and later trained with Pandit Ajay Sinha Roy and Prof. Sanjoy Bandopadhyay. She earned her master’s in Instrumental Music from Rabindra Bharati University and is an A Grade artist of All India Radio and an empanelled artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). An award-winning musician, Chowdhury has performed internationally at festivals and venues across India, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the United States.

Smiling woman with dark hair wearing a floral-patterned top.

Nitin Mitta is an acclaimed tabla artist known for his dynamic performances and wide-ranging musical collaborations. He has performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center and with legendary artists including Pandit Jasraj and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. His collaborative work includes Tirtha with Vijay Iyer and Prasanna, and Sanctuary with Vijay Iyer and Alam Khan. He is also a dedicated educator, teaching tabla at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

An image of Nitin Mitta seated outdoors, playing a pair of tabla drums.

Harvard University welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact the Public Programs Office at (617) 496-2414 or [email protected] in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for American Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance. Please note that the University will make every effort to secure services, but that services are subject to availability.

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