RAJUK Bhaban ( bn, রাজউক ভবন) is the head office of

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (abbreviated as RAJUK; literally the Capital Development Authority of the Government of Bangladesh) is a Bangladeshi public agency responsible for coordinating urban development in Dhaka, Bangladesh. RAJUK is compo ...

, which is the Capital Development Authority of the

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Con ...

. RAJUK Bhaban is situated at RAJUK Avenue, Dilkhusha, Dhaka-1000. This is one of the most well known buildings of the

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

city.

History

RAJUK Bhaban was established in 1956 as the head office of Dhaka Improvement Trust (DIT). In that time, RAJUK Bhaban was called as DIT Bhaban. It was designed by architect, Abdulhusein M. Thariani, who was a diploma architect of

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was d ...

. Foundation stone was laid on 10 December 1956 by H.E.

H. S. Suhrawardy Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy ( bn, হোসেন শহীদ সোহ্‌রাওয়ার্দী; ur, ; 8 September 18925 December 1963) was a Bengali barrister and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 t ...

, who was the prime minister of Pakistan in that time. The DIT Bhaban was where the first transmissions of television in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

have been commenced and has since been the headquarters of the Dacca station of

Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background Historical co ...

, later renamed to

Bangladesh Television Bangladesh Television ( bn, বাংলাদেশ টেলিভিশন), commonly known by its acronym BTV ( bn, বিটিভি), is the state-owned television network of Bangladesh. The network was originally established as the East ...

, and has remained that way even after Bangladesh's independence in 1971. However, in 1975, as the new headquarters have been constructed in Rampura, Bangladesh Television moved all its offices and studios to the new building from the DIT Bhaban. It was renamed as RAJUK Bhaban on April 30, 1987, when RAJUK established by replacing Dhaka Improvement Trust (DIT).

Description and architectural value

Rajuk Bhaban is an important architectural monument of Dhaka city. It is one of the primitive buildings of

. It is a very congested building. There were so many black columns in the middle phase of RAJUK bhaban, which created much confusion about the perfect uses of the column in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. Architect Thariyani did not think about the climate to design this bhabon. RAJUK Bhaban is mainly a west face Bhaban, which consists of two different buildings named RAJUK, the main building and the RAJUK

annex Annex or Annexe refers to a building joined to or associated with a main building, providing additional space or accommodations. It may also refer to: Places * The Annex, a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada * The Annex (New H ...

building. These two buildings are connected by a small over bridge. RAJUK main building is a six storied building and RAJUK annex building is an eight storied building. There is a big clock in the top face of the main building, which bears a great significance RAJUK Bhaban.

Renovation

RAJUK Bhaban is an example of the architecture of the Pakistan period. In the early period, RAJUK Bhaban looked like a very simple building but recognizing the historical and architectural importance of RAJUK Bhaban, RAJUK took the initiative to renovate it. The main phase of

renovation Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, ...

took place after 2000 and introduced a great architectural look to the building.

References

* Asiatic Society, Architecture, Page no: 498 * Rahman, Mahbubur, City of an Architect, Page no:104, {{ISBN, 978-984-33-2451-1 * Official Web Site of RAJUK, http://www.rajukdhaka.gov.bd/ RAJUK Buildings and structures in Dhaka