My first question to you is – Where are you from? The second question – Do you at all know who Architect Muzharul Islam is and why he invited Lui Kahn to Bangladesh? Third and final question – why do you support people when you really don’t know the background? It will look nice, if you try to discover the facts first, and then put your comments.

Mr. Kahn was a teacher at Yale at that time. That’s how he knew him very well. And that’s how their friendship grew over there. I think, most of the senior architects of present time know that Mr. Islam invited two other world renowned architects before approaching Mr. Kahn. One of them was Swiss Architect Le Corbusier, and the Finnish Architect Alvar Alto. But ultimately both of the them were unable to come to Bangladesh on time due to their prior engagements.

Finally, when Mr. Islam approached Architect Lui Kahn, he immediately came over to Dhaka and took the project very seriously. While Mr. Islam had initiated the whole thing with the then Government of Pakistan to start the work.

According to Mr. Salman Rahman, this was a son’s journey to find his father not a great Architect of Bangladesh. But he should know that if Architect Muzharul Islam was not there, Architect Lui Kahn would not have been in Bangladesh to do that huge job.

I think, it was just a matter of appreciation to Mr. Islam – that’s all. It would have been nicer, if his son could ask some local architects like; Shamsul Wares or Rabiul Hussain to express a gratitude to Mr. Islam. Everybody knows that Mr. Islam was the only person of that kind who sincerely wanted to invite a world renowned architect to do that job. If it was somebody else in his place, the story would have been different.

“My Architect” had to be edited very dearly due to time shortage and besides it is a son’s journey to find his father not a great Architect of Bangladesh.

Muzharul Islam, the father of Bangladesh Architecture brought Lui Kahn to Dhaka to design the “Parliament Building” but Mr. Islam had never worked in his company. Kahn was a very good friend of Mr. Islam. The documentary “My Architect” which was made by Kahn’s son based on his works but unfortunately no one in the film including the architects intrerviewed had mentioned the name of Architect Muzharul Islam and his involvement with Lui I. Kahn!!! I have seen the documentary along with Architect Muzharul Islam, Chicago based Architect Stanley Tigerman and Hawaii based Architect Rafique M. Islam (eldest son of Mr. Islam)- and I was shocked to see that no one mentioned Architect Muzharul Islam’s name in the film.

To get the right information, one may contact Architect Stanley Tigerman anytime at his office in Chicago.

The list is released every two years and is meant as a “call to action” by this presigious organization. The list is compiled by an independent group of international experts. The announcement underscores the world-wide concern for one of San Diego’s most important architectural treasures.

The Salk Master Plan had already drawn fire locally in San Diego, receiving the Grand Onion Award from the San Diego Architectural Foundation and a listing by SOHO (Save Our Heritage Organisation) on its 11 Most Endangered sites list in San Diego. The San Diego Sierra Club Coastal Committee, San Diego Coastal Alliance, Friends of Rose Canyon, and Friends of Carmel Mountain Preserve issued strong objections to the proposed Master Plan this week.

With Wednesday’s listing by the World Monument Fund, the urgency to change the plan to protect the site and the renowned courtyard views went international.
Areas of concern include a plan to subdivide the former city park property, given to the institute in 1962 for the purposes of ?research and education,? into four parcels. The plan has also been criticized for proposing a fitness and day care center on the fragile southern mesa, uses never intended by Kahn; a 94,000 ?big-box? building on the east parking lot obscuring the public?s view of the modernist Kahn building from Torrey Pines Road; and a four-story building on the north mesa clearly visible from the famous Luis Barragan designed courtyard that threatens to breach the 30-foot height limit along the coast.