photo: Messenger
The Department of Architecture at BRAC University recently hosted a lecture by Yasmeen Lari, Pakistan’s first female architect and an internationally celebrated humanitarian, on the university’s Merul Badda campus.
The event marked the 150th edition of the department’s Angan Lecture Series, a vibrant platform for leading thinkers and practitioners in architecture and design to share innovative ideas and inspire the next generation of architects.
Lari delivered a compelling talk titled “Save the Planet, Save Humanity: Decarbonize, Decolonize, Democratize Architecture”, emphasizing the transformative role that architecture can play in addressing climate change, fostering equity, and building resilience in vulnerable communities.
“Architecture is not just about building structures; it’s about creating solutions that heal the planet, empower communities, and foster equity,” she said.
“By decarbonizing, decolonizing, and democratizing architecture, we can design a future where sustainability and humanity go hand in hand,” she added.
Afterward, the audience comprising students, faculty members, and architects from across Bangladesh engaged in a discussion moderated by the architecture department’s Chairperson Zainab Faruqui Ali.
The discussion shed light on her work encompassing fashionable brutalist villas, mirrored office towers, heritage restoration projects and now essential humanitarian relief for the poorest of the poor and their relevance to architectural practices in Bangladesh and beyond.
Yasmeen Lari also conducted a week-long Winter School where architecture students built a Zero-Carbon Bamboo building, a prefabricated structure which can be used as a disaster rehab building. A multi-disciplinary session was also held with architect Lari as the main panelist.
For over two decades, Lari has championed disaster-resilient, zero-carbon housing solutions and empowered marginalized communities through her Barefoot Social Architecture philosophy.
Her efforts brought her accolades, such as the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2023 and the Jane Drew Prize in 2020.
Messenger/Tushar
