The last of Dhaka’s ‘70s era duplexes

Looking over the 8,100 square feet of trapezoid shaped land, it is hard to believe what this plot in Khilgaon used to look like even a few months ago. With a homeopathy clinic on one side, Mahbubul Islam Rony and his family lived in a modest u-shaped home with a slither of an uthan or courtyard in the middle. 

That courtyard housed a Neem tree, the canopy big enough to cover their home and the entire land from above. In the north, a Kadam tree bloomed every monsoon, with mustard yellow tennis ball flowers. And the showstopper was a Kamini tree, rooted by the main entrance. That tree, when it bloomed with star-like white flowers, hypnotised the entire Tilpapara area. The petals fell on the road underneath.

"We didn't want to uproot them. At first, we cut down a few branches, but the building contractor said the land cannot be processed without removing the roots from the ground," Rony explains. When the labourers finally uprooted the trees, the entire area became barren.

They are planning to build a four-storey building there, another brick structure. "There was a time when we got sunlight and fresh air even from the ground floor. In the last 10 years, the landscape has become so claustrophobic with the tall buildings," Rony says. 

Also, his children will be getting married in a few years, so it would be a practical decision to expand the residence to a multi-storey one. 

The contractors are done with the piling and the foundation of the future building and you cannot find the roots or branches of the Kamini, Neem or Kadam tree any more. 

"Back in 1990, when I was designing the Dhanmondi Lake, only a few residences faced the lake. The duplex residences had spaces in the front and in the back. After the lake was finally complete, the landowners started building multistoried ones."

Iqbal Habib, urban planner

Dhaka's skyline today is a sprawling mix of high-rises and modern architecture, but hidden amidst the chaos are remnants of a bygone era — the buildings and neighbourhoods of the '70s and '80s. 

These decades marked a significant period in the city's architectural evolution, showcasing a blend of modernist design, practical functionality, and a touch of colonial legacy. From the duplex houses of Dhanmondi and Malibagh to the government colonies of Agargaon, these structures tell a story of a city that was growing and adapting to the needs of its people.

From Mughal and Nawabi structures to modern architecture 

As we venture outside the alleys and structures of Old Dhaka, we see a nostalgic new Dhaka, developed during the '70s and '80s. 

During the global bloom of modern architecture, East Pakistan began getting its duplex houses. While exploring Dhanmondi, Malibagh, Moghbazar, Shantinagar, Agargaon, Gulshan, and Banani, you can still locate residences with a porch and a backyard. 

Photo: Mehedi Hasan

"As we explore the political evolution of this land, Dhaka has been declared a capital five times. During the Mughal and Nawabi eras, Dhaka's architecture mostly consisted of palaces, mosques, culverts and administrative structures. The word 'architecture' was for the elites," urban planner Iqbal Habib explains.

During the Pakistan period, Dhaka was declared the provisional capital, and the people from this land were appointed to government and bank jobs. They needed places to live, and that is when the colonies of Agargaon, Motijheel, and Tejgaon were built in the '50s and '60s.  

These homes, typically two-storey structures, were the epitome of middle-class aspirations. They emphasised spaciousness and functionality over grandeur.

Dhanmondi, initially designed as an upscale residential area, saw the rise of large duplexes with sprawling gardens. These houses featured open terraces, wide balconies and courtyards, reflecting a desire for private yet airy living. The architectural design was heavily influenced by modernist principles, incorporating clean lines, rectangular forms, and large windows to maximise natural light.

In Malibagh, the duplexes were more compact, catering to the city's growing middle class. While not as grand as Dhanmondi's residences, these homes prioritised practicality. They often had tiled roofs, mosaic floors, and a small lawn or garage space. The ground floor typically served as a communal living area, with bedrooms on the upper floor ensuring privacy.

Old buildings: To keep or not to keep?

We can observe the evolution of a city from an emotional perspective and from a topographical perspective, according to Iqbal Habib. 

"Back in 1990, when I was designing the Dhanmondi Lake, only a few residences faced the lake. The duplex residences had spaces in the front and in the back. After the lake was finally complete, the landowners started building multistoried ones. 

"A few years later, more than 80% of apartments were then lakeview or lake-faced. This is how a city can be cured for its residences," Habib says, supporting the renovation of old structures and buildings that accommodate more people with equal opportunities and facilities. 

He believes it is unfair to the homeless on the streets and the ones who lack basic urban facilities while someone else is buying land or plots in a high-end residential area. "Of course, I believe in decentralising, but what would we do with the people that are already inside the city? Do we throw them out?" he asks. 

"Instead of lands, people should be provided with a living space according to the family members. Instead of a luxury duplex building for a family, we can make a multistoried apartment building that would allow more people to live with basic facilities," he adds. 

But urban planner Adil Mohammed Khan opposes the idea. According to him, instead of ruining the existing structures, measures should be taken to decentralise the city so that people stop migrating to Dhaka from other districts. 

"For education, healthcare, better lifestyle, people tend to leave their hometowns and migrate to the cities. With this, the city is choking now," he says.   

The duplex dream: Dhanmondi and Malibagh

In the '70s and '80s, Dhaka's urban planning scene saw a surge in duplex buildings, particularly in neighbourhoods like Dhanmondi and Malibagh. 

Under the Pakistan government, Dhaka saw the establishment of planned colonies for government officers in areas like Agargaon. These colonies were built to accommodate civil servants, reflecting the bureaucratic hierarchy of the time.

The colony design also emphasised community living. Streets were wide and tree-lined, with playgrounds and open spaces at regular intervals to foster interaction among residents. Schools, mosques, and small marketplaces were integrated into the plan, making the colony self-sufficient.

Shafiqul Alam, a journalist and currently the Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser, wrote on his social media post and explained the landscape of Motijheel AGB colony during that period. 

"There were hardly any walls. Dhaka was a long open space, littered with ponds and some tiny specks of roads. There were no separating walls between the three parts of the AGB Colony. There were no walls in the Railway Colony, the T&T colony or the Bank Colony. A small wall separated the residential building from the Motijheel Government Girls High School. That was understandable because the girls needed separate space," Alam wrote.

"Top officials of the Railway department would live in bungalow-like homes at Shahjahanpur and Kamalapur. I clearly remember that some of those homes didn't have walls. We would walk into their front yards and collect Sheuly or pluck green mangoes. The Kamalapur Railway Station was also open. We would take a shorter route to the shunting lines where the locomotives would spend hours to get connected with the coaches," he added.  

According to Alam, there were no separating walls in the long routes — from Titipara Bosti to Kamalapur to Khilgaon. "Very often, we would climb to the roof of the train coaches and all we saw was open spaces, scores of three-storied yellowish railway quarters, some new residential homes cropping up at Basabo, Tilpapara and Uttar Shahjahanpur, and some hyacinth lakes.

"Walls started to appear in Dhaka in a big way in the 1980s. Was there any necessity? I doubt it. There was no need to separate the three zones of the Motijheel AGB colony. Yet walls were built to redefine their space. Shunting lines were separated. The railway colony and the T&T colony, the '60s era railway bungalows, our primary school, and whatever open space was there, got walls. Even some of the one-storied residential homes started having walls. Dhaka became a walled city," the post concluded.

Architectural characteristics of the era 

The architecture of Dhaka in the '70s and '80s bore the hallmarks of a transitional phase. Influenced by the modernist movement, which emphasised simplicity and utility, buildings from this era were designed to cater to the needs of an urbanising population.

Most buildings had flat roofs and boxy shapes, a nod to the minimalist aesthetic. To combat Dhaka's hot and humid climate, houses featured large, often grilled windows to promote cross-ventilation. Concrete was the dominant building material, with exposed brickwork adding an earthy, textured finish.

The homes were designed with practical living in mind, prioritising spacious common areas and ensuring privacy in bedrooms.The rooms were spacious, designed with minimal energy consumption in mind. The facades of the buildings have vertical louvres, horizontal sunsets, and ventilators. All these design patterns point to an energy-efficient structure. 

This period also marked a departure from traditional Bangladeshi architecture, such as the Mughal-inspired courtyards and shaded verandas. While some elements, like the courtyard, persisted in duplex designs, the overall focus shifted to a modern aesthetic. The integration of modern utilities like electricity, running water, and gas pipelines further influenced the design of these homes.

The wide streets and green spaces encouraged outdoor activities, with children playing cricket and families gathering for evening walks. Malibagh's more modest duplexes fostered close-knit communities, where neighbours knew one another, and homes were always open to visitors.

As Dhaka expanded and urbanised rapidly in the late '80s and '90s, many of these buildings fell out of favour. The rise of high-rise apartments and commercial complexes meant that duplexes and single-story homes were either demolished or altered to accommodate more tenants.

The government colonies in Agargaon, once a symbol of planned living, also began to deteriorate. Maintenance issues and overcrowding plagued the area, and many of the original houses were replaced with multi-storied apartments.