Architecture seminar assignment

Q1) Where do you see Architecture of Pakistan in 30 years?

As past always has an influence over the future so firstly I want to over view the architecture
of Pakistan since 72 years. After Independence, the architecture of Pakistan is a blend of
historic Islamic and various modern styles. ... The Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, one of the
largest mosques in the world, is one of the best examples of modern Islamic architecture. It
was designed by Vedat Dalokay and constructed between 1976 and 1986.

Pakistani architecture has four recognized periods: pre-Islamic, Islamic, colonial, and post-
colonial. With the beginning of the Indus civilization around the middle of the 3rd
millennium BCE, an advanced urban culture developed for the first time in the region, with
large buildings, some of which survive to this day. Mohenjo Daro, Harappa and KotDiji are
among the pre-Islamic settlements that are now tourist attractions.

The rise of Buddhism and the Persian and Greek influence led to the development of the
Greco-Buddhist style, starting from the 1st century CE. The high point of this era was reached
at the peak of the Gandhara style. An example of Buddhist architecture is the ruins of the
Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

The arrival of Islam in today's Pakistan led to a smooth transition to the predominantly
Islamic architecture. The most important Persian- style building still standing is the tomb of
the Shah Rukn-e-Alam in Multan. During the Mughal era, design elements of Persian-Islamic
architecture were fused with and often produced playful forms of Hindustani art. Lahore,
occasional residence of Mughal rulers, exhibits many important buildings from the empire.
Most prominent among them are the Badshahi mosque, the fortress of Lahore with the
famous Alamgiri Gate, the colourful, Persian-style Wazir Khan Mosque, the Shalimar Gardens
in Lahore and the Shahjahan Mosque in Thatta.

In the British colonial period, predominantly functional buildings of the Indo-European

representative style developed from a mixture of European and Indian-Islamic components.
Post-colonial national identity is expressed in modern structures like the Faisal Mosque, the
Minar-e-Pakistan and the Mazar-e-Quaid. Several of the architectural infrastructures have
been influenced from the British design, and such architectural designs can be found in
Lahore, Peshawar, and Karachi.

Indo-Islamic architecture emerged during the medieval period, which

combined Indian and Islamic elements. The Mughal Empire ruled between the 16th and
18th centuries, and saw the rise of Mughal architecture, most prevalent in Lahore.
During the British Colonial period, European styles such as
the baroque, gothic and neoclassical became prevalent. The British, like the Mughals, built
elaborate buildings to project their power. The Indo-Saracenic style, a fusion of British and
Indo-Islamic elements also developed. After Independence, modern architectural styles like
the international style became popular.
While Pakistan has a long history of Indo-Saracenic and Mughal buildings, there are many
examples of Islamic architecture and modern projects. More contemporary work is readily seen
after the country moved the capital city to Islamabad in 1958. Architects and designers were
influenced by international trends, building both skyscrapers and new low-rise developments
alike. The following projects showcase a few of the country’s more recent buildings and
structures that were designed and built over the last decade.
Kapadia Residence / Coalesce Design Studio

Kapadia residence is situated in the KDA Officer’s society. The residence was made as a
beach house (per the clients request) around natural light and wind, with an external
terrace and white exterior within a private neighborhood. The designed aimed to embody
the perception of what architecture of the moment is through built form, open spaces,
planning, and visual experience, all the way down to the finer details. As a two family
house, the plan was organized to stack one residence on top of the other and create two
apartments.
Telenor Campus / Arcop (Pvt) Ltd.

Traditionally courts have always played an integral part in local architecture, be it

residential, institutional or religious building types. These central spaces become the main
socializing hubs for people. In the Telenor office this concept is used as a focal point,
interconnecting blocks around large water bodies in the internal courts encourage social
interaction between the users.
So according to the history of architecture of the past 72 years and other relevant data the
architecture of Pakistan in the up coming 30 years will be contemporary architectural style
as many of the architects are inspired by the modern architecture so they want to carry on
with the modern architectural style with some Islamic architecture elements like the use of
bricks screen wall etc in the Telenor tower with all the elements of modern architecture
style.

So the architecture of Pakistan after 30 years will be contemporary , with the mixture of
elements of different era and times with some modern touch.

Q2) Your contribution towards it?

As I think that one should never forget about their roots and once you carry on with your
roots you become more strong and powerful and your survival is assured so I would love to
go with the Islamic architectural style with some Persian architecture elements in it because
at the time of partition of Pakistan was rich in these two styles and as an urban planner I
would love to follow grids as harapa and mohenjo daro both were designed on grids and
were really well designed. The modern city Islamabad is also designed on the grid of 2
kilometer by 2 kilometers because the mohenjo daro and harapa were planned according to
this grid and other planning policies and as the designers followed the principles of harapan
civilization as the planning principles of Islamabad and Islamabad is considered to be the
well planned city so this proves that the old principles were also so beneficial to follow with
some new techniques of new technologies.

So I will try to do the same, I will try to maintain the basic ambience of islamic architecture
and some Persian architecture elements like the pointed arches, the sculptural stalactites,
known as 'Muqarnas', and the bulbous domes with floral decorations., so the Pakistani
architecture will be different from all other countries and it should have its own identity in
the subcontinent.

A famous architect said:

“land is an asset ,not a commodity”

But in Pakistan it is just treated as a commodity if we see karachi as an example 30%

population lives in elite areas( 2 or 3 person in one kanal house) and the remaining 70%
population lives in other areas (10 people in 5 marla house) etc. I personaly think this is not
right land should be divided according to the needs of the people and should not be divided
on the basis of wealth etc.so If I will ever work as an urban designer architect I will surely
try to distribute land according to needs etc.

So in short I want Pakistani architecture to stand out with in other countries so for that I will
try to integrate Islamic architectural elements and Persian elements into it and I will not
follow the modern architectural style exactly because in that case Pakistan will not be having
its own specific style of architecture.