Bongotaj Memorial Museum Complex at Kapasia, Gazipur, Bangladesh | Architecture Thesis

Site Context

The project is located in Kapasia, Gazipur, the birthplace of Tajuddin Ahmed. The intervention site is a part of his house that comprises existing residences, a school, a mosque, a school field and a pond.

Design Process

The chronology of Tajuddin Ahmed’s life has been split into four main sections, namely the “British Period,” “Pakistan Period,” “Liberation War,” and “Bangladesh Period.” Every stage of his life showed some change, both gain and loss.

His speech served as the foundation for the conceptual development of the project. He was a man of discipline who gave his all to the people he loved. The idea was to identify him through his exceptional feats and his historic path of glorious victory.

Hence, the concept is “Journey Through a Glorious Victory.”

Final Outcome

By recognising Tajuddin Ahmad’s contribution to nation-building, the design will be showcasing the people’s respect for him. Future leaders will be inspired by getting to know a leader like him and his leadership style, philosophy, and personality.

His mission was clear: he wanted to leave his mark on history and his nation. Thus, the architect created a volume with an axis that will represent his life’s journey through history. The axis runs through the site and represents his life’s timeline.

Like Tajuddin Ahmad’s personality, green slopes were created that blend the built form with nature. The only features visible from the site’s entrance are the axis at the back and the green slope at the front, with the lush, untouched scenery of Shalban serving as the background.

Five gallery spaces are combined to create a continuous water body. Water is used as a guiding element and to mimic Bangladesh’s deltaic landscape. The visitors are guided to the destination by water channels and the sound of flowing water; the terminal is designed to evoke a sensual emptiness that serves as a reminder of Tajuddin Ahmad’s absence.

The visitors follow the course of his life, and ultimately they say goodbye to him. When visitors visit “Galley 05,” they are shown the nation’s darkest past, where the leaders who guide them to a new country are shown brutally dying.  

The “Hall of Remembrance” is filled with the historical atmosphere of sacrifice and loss. In front of the “Hall of Remembrance” is a screen that displays Tajuddin Ahmed’s life timeline and political journey. In order to allow visitors to see Tajuddin Ahmad’s existing residence, a pathway was created connecting it and other structures.

Conclusion: By carefully combining architectural design elements with natural elements, the project successfully creates a space that evokes diverse emotions. By guiding visitors through a journey that highlights each phase of Tajuddin Ahmad’s life through a play of volumes along a fixed axis, it stays true to its concept.

[This Academic Project has been published with text submitted by the student]