Reading the idea of modernist utopia in architecture within current urban context: Louis Kahn's design of the Bangladesh national assembly building and dhaka

Certain monumental structures that are significant in the history of architecture have acquired a symbolic dimension in addition to their functional dimensions in their historical contexts and have evolved into symbols of the geography, civilization, or countries to which they belong over time. The first structures that come to mind that have acquired these features are the Egyptian pyramids, the Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower, and the Sydney Opera House. The Bangladesh National Assembly Building in the capital city of Dhaka, which was designed by the American architect Louis Kahn, can also be evaluated in this context. Kahn, who rose to prominence in 20th-century architecture due to the superior qualities of his designs, distinguishes himself from the mainstream modern movement, which generally adopts a universalist, utopian, and futuristic line, as a designer who interprets local and historical data pertaining to architecture in a distinctive manner. The Bangladesh National Assembly Building, a product of Kahn's mature period, also holds a canonical place in the architectural history of the 20th century. This study interprets utopian thought as the driving force behind conventional modernism, from which Kahn was excluded. The relationship between the predictions in the design of the parliament building and utopian thought, as well as their counterparts in the performance of the building, are questioned. The primary objective of the study is to discuss and reread a design, which is generally considered in terms of its symbolic and architectonic power in architectural historiography, within the social, cultural, and economic context of the development of the city that has been built up to the present day, and to reveal the conclusions about its current situation within this context.