(“Text as submitted by architect”)
Ar. Sahar Malik
Sahar Malik is one of the principal architects of Prachya, an architectural consultancy practice based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She was enrolled in the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, known as BUET, where she received her bachelor of architecture degree in 2013. After graduating, she worked with TKNRK (Tanya Karim. N.R. Khan. and Associates) under the supervision of Ar. Tanya Karim and Ar. Nurur Rahman Khan, while gathering experience on numerous renowned projects. She established the consultancy firm Prachya in 2017, focusing on the regional, contextual, and climatic aspects of the country. Ar. Sahar Malik believes that every space has a story to tell and is unique to design in terms of context, heritage, history, and climate. The design of ‘Noor-E-Madina Mosque’ was led by her in light of the same aspiration and with the devoted assistance of the teammates.
Ar. Istiaq Sunny (Principal Architect)
Istiaq Sunny is one of the principal architects of Prachya, an architectural consultancy practice based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was enrolled in the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, known as BUET, where he received his Bachelor of Architecture degree in 2011. After graduating, he worked with the consultancy firm ‘Horizon’ under the supervision of Ar. Abdus Sobhan and then established the consultancy firm Prachya in 2017 with Ar. Sahar Malik, focusing on the regional, contextual, and climatic aspects of the country. Ar. Istiaq Sunny believes in designing spaces with aspects of regionalism and a blend of modernity while emphasizing functional propensity in pursuit of making a better life for its users.
Practice Ideology
Prachya, the name itself, reflects the philosophy of the architectural practice, which is a Bengali word meaning the eastern part of the world, more specifically their region. They believe that every space and culture is unique, as is their country, which is bestowed with its own unique tradition, culture, philosophy, folklore, flora, and fauna. They are deeply inspired by those and try to reflect the philosophy into their own architectural practice while also apprehending and embracing the new features of the modern era. Hence, they focus on merging regionalism with modernity, creating some innovative design solutions applicable in their respective contexts.
In short, Prachya believes that the strength of an environment comes from the thoughtful use of space, endowed with unique ideas that can nurture people positively. Doing so, Team Prachya tries to generate features or elements in experimental or trial-and-error processes with a blend of tradition and new technology. The design of ‘Noor-E-Madina Mosque’ was made in light of the same aspiration, whereas the Islamic jalis, handcrafted by the masons in the concrete cast process, are one of the examples of experimental processes conducted during the construction phase and implemented successfully.
