Travel and Tourism of Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban in Bangladesh

Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban, the National Parliament of Bangladesh, (Bengali: জাতীয় সংসদ ভবন Jatio Shôngshod Bhôbon) is the Jatiyo Sangshad (National Assembly) Building of Bangladesh, situated in the capital Dhaka. It was formed by architect Louis Kahn and is one of the biggest lawmaking complexes in the world. It houses all parliamentary activities of Bangladesh.
 Jatiya Sangsad (Bengali: জাতীয় সংসদ Jatio Shôngshod) or National Assembly is the national parliament of Bangladesh. The present parliament of Bangladesh contains 345 seats counting 45 women reticent seats disseminated on elected party position in the parliament, the occupants of which are called Members of Parliament or MPs. The last 9th National Parliamentary Election was held on December 29, 2008 and, under normal conditions, elections are called every five years.

The leader of the party (or alliance of parties) holding the preponderance of seats is the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, and so the head of the government. The President of Bangladesh, who is the traditional head of state, is chosen by Parliament.

The parliament itself is housed in the Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban (জাতীয় সংসদ ভবন Jatio Shôngshod Bhôbon) designed by Louis Kahn.

The current majority party is the Bangladesh Awami League.

Play of light inside the building

History of use by Parliament

• Sixth Parliament: 12 days (19 March 1996 - 30 March 1996)
• Seventh Parliament: 5 years (14 July 1996 - 13 July 2001)
• Eighth Parliament: 5 years (28 October 2001 - 27 October 2006)


Architecture and design

Louis Kahn premeditated the entire Jatiyo Sangsad complex, which includes lawns, lake and residences for the Members of the Parliament (MPs).The architect’s key design philosophy was to represent Bangladeshi culture and heritage, while at the same time optimizing the use of space. The peripheral of the building is prominent in its simplicity, with huge walls deeply buried by porticoes and large openings of regular geometric shapes. The main building, which is at the center of the complex, is divided into three parts – the Main Plaza, South Plaza and Presidential Plaza. An reproduction lake surrounds three sides of the main building of Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban, extending to the Members of Parliament hostel complex. This skillful use of water to portray the riverine beauty of Bangladesh adds to the aesthetic value of the site.

Location and basic layout

The commune, situated in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, is bounded by four major streets:
1. Lake Road to the North;
2. Rokeya Sarani to the East;
3. Manik Mia Avenue to the South; and
4. Mirpur Road to the West.



The main building (the Bhaban) is divided into three parts:
1. The Main Plaza: 823,000 square feet (76,000 m²)
2. South Plaza: 223,000 square feet (21,000 m²)
3. Presidential Plaza: 65,000 square feet (6,000 m²)

The main building is at the center of the complex. The outer parts of the complex include the MP hostel. An intricately designed lake surrounds the main building.


The lake on three sides of the Bhaban, extending up to the Members' hostel adds to site's aesthetic and also represents the riverine beauty of Bangladesh.
The assembly building received the Aga khan Award For Architecture in 1989.


The Bhaban (Main Building) design

The Bhaban consists of nine personality blocks: the eight peripheral blocks rise to a height of 110' while the central octagonal block rises to a height of 155'. All nine blocks include different groups of functional spaces and have different levels, inter-linked horizontally and vertically by corridors, lifts, stairs, light courts, and circular areas. The entire organization is designed to blend into one single, non-differentiable unit, that emerges from the exterior to be a single story.
The main commission rooms are located at level two in one of the nonessential blocks. All parliamentary functionaries, including Ministers and presidents of some of the Standing Committees, have offices in the Bhaban. The Parliament Secretariat also occupies offices in the same building.

The Main Plaza

The most important part of the Main Plaza is the Parliament Chamber, which can house up to 354 members during sessions. There are also two platforms and two galleries for VIP visitors. The Chamber has a utmost height of 117' with a parabolic shell roof. The roof was designed with a authorization of a single story to let in daylight. Daylight, reflecting from the surrounding walls and octagonal drum, filters into the Parliament Chamber. The resourceful and aesthetic use of light was a strong architectural capability of Louis Kahn.
The reproduction lighting system has been carefully devised to provide zero obstruction to the entry of daylight. A amalgamated chandelier is suspended from parabolic shell roof. This chandelier in turn consists of a metallic web, straddling the entire chamber, that supports the individual light fixtures.
Upper levels of the block (that contains the Chamber) surround the visitor and press galleries, as well as communication booths, all of which overlook the Parliament Chamber. 

The block also contains:
1. at level one, a library;
2. at level three, MPs’ lounges; and
3. at the upper level, party rooms.

The South Plaza

The South Plaza faces the Manik Mia Avenue. It gradually rises to a 20' height and serves as a beautiful exterior as well as the main entrance (used by members during sessions) to the Parliament Building. It contains:
construction cost: US$32 million

Tourism and accessibility

Although entrance to the Bhaban, the Main Building, is limited to authorized members of Parliament and staff, the Jatiyo Sangshad complex is open to visitors. On the North of complex, across the Lake Road, is Crescent and Zia Uddan (also called Chondrima Uddan). The two complexes together form a major attraction for tourists in Dhaka. The complexes are popular among joggers and skaters of Dhaka. The official Prime Minister's Residence is on the North West corner of the Mirpur Road and Lake Road crossing and is a five minute walk from the Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban. The area is one of the higher security zones of Dhaka.
The Complex can be accessed using any of the four roads neighboring it, however, the Manik Mia Avenue and Lake Road are the easiest approaches.

Current developments

During the government term that took office on 28 October 2001, the Government communicated plans to "complete Louis Kahn's plans" by constructing residences for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker. According to some prominent architects, no such plan existed in the original design. Although the construction was started, it was halted and the issue is as of yet unresolved.




 

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