International conference: ‘Limitations make space design compact in Dhaka’

Several papers on eclectic topics presented on conference’s 3rd day.

LAHORE: Tanzia Islam and Tajabin Shabbir said on Sunday that limitations on usable space and prohibitive rents had made space design more compact in Dhaka.

They were presenting the first paper in the sixth session of the fifth International Trust for History Art and Architecture Conference. The paper was titled Innovative Use of Space by the Marginalised and the Poor-Flyovers of Dhaka. They said affordable housing could be innovative and successful in such an environment. The paper presented a case study of the underprivileged people residing under Tajagaon Flyover in Dhaka who had innovatively used the space. Basic standards and necessities of the built environment with regard to South Asia with human perceptions and design possibilities for affordable quality space were also discussed in the paper.



Idara Baraye Taleem-o-Taraqi Executive Director Zubair Torwali presented the second paper of the session on the Dardic culture of Swat. The paper focused on the Dardic origin of Swat. The paper also explained that the term Darada was used to refer to the inhabitants of the area between Kashmir and Afghanistan.

Rahat N Masud presided over the session.

Sadia Pasha Kamran presented the third paper of the day in the seventh session of the conference. The paper was premised on the representation of the underprivileged and the dispossessed in Pakistani Art. The paper defined the term poor with regard to the Pakistani socio-cultural context.

Aasim Akhar presented the fourth paper of the day titled The Flying Needle. The paper shed light on the Hazara embroidery and its extraordinary complexity and variety of surface decoration.

Shaila Islam and Istiaque Ahmed presented the fifth paper of the day titled Cultural Representation for Sustainable Development: Case of Ethnic Tea Garden Workers Community, Bangladesh. Tanzia Islam read the paper. The paper explained the culture of different ethnic communities living in northeastern Bangladesh that work on tea plantations.

Ishtiaq Ahmad, an academic and author chaired the session.

Muhammad Taseer Hussain presented the sixth paper of the day in the eighth session of the conference. The paper was titled Shaqq – An Archetypal House of Baltistan. It focused on the preservation and documentation of one of the traditional residential architectural styles of Baltistan that is locally known as Shaqq.

Maria Aslam Hyder presented the seventh paper of the day regarding art works rendered by people hailing from the lowest strata of society and the increasing diversity of Karachi. Former Kinnaird College for Women principal Mira Phalibus chaired the session.

Papers by Komal Potdar, Sugandha Jain, Bharti Sikri, Nimmi Namrata, Azeer Attari, Shama Usman, Syed Faisal Sajjad, Ashish Shukla, Mariam Saleem Farooqi and Rida Arif were also presented during the day. Rappoteur General Syed Fawad Alam summed up the sessions. Lieutenant General Muhammad Akram Khan presided over the conference’s closing ceremony as the chief guest. Pervaiz Vandal briefed those present on the three-day conference. Sajida Haider Vandal thanked those who had attended the conference after Khan’s address. A certificate distribution ceremony was also held that was followed by a dinner.

The conference will end on November 10.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2014.