Mustapha Khalid Palash’s 56th birthday tomorrow

Photo: Raihan Sayeem

Tomorrow marks the 56th birth anniversary of renowned artist-architect Mustapha Khalid Palash, who is one of the most illustrious names in the contemporary architecture scene of Bangladesh. As the Principal Architect and Managing Director of Vistaara Architects [Pvt] Ltd, he and his team has been placing the mega city Dhaka to a different height by creating aesthetic, sustainable and functional architectural masterpieces one after another for the last two and a half decades.

Graduating from the Department of Architecture, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) with distinction, he was awarded with Habibur Rahman Award for excellence in design. He started his career as a practising architect, and later joined the Department of Architecture, BUET, as a faculty member. He quit BUET as Assistant Professor, and founded his own office, Vistaara Architects, in 1998. Palash has also been teaching as a visiting faculty member in several universities. He received training on Architecture under the grant by the famous Architect, Tadao Ando in 1995.

With the success of Unique Trade Centre [UTC], Dhaka, Palash and his team did not have to look back. GPHouse, Bashundhara City, The Westin Dhaka, Peoples Insurance Bhaban, Labaid Cardiac Hospital, Banglalink Head Office, Robi Headquarter, Siaam Tower, SPL Western Tower, Abdul Monem Business District, Delvistaa Building and Radisson Blu Chattogram Bay View, are among his architectural masterpieces.

Currently as part of practising sustainable architecture, Palash is advocating rainwater harvesting for the urban areas of Bangladesh as a trained expert. He is an International Associate member of American Institute of Architects, a member of Tall Building Council, Urban Habitat and a founder member of Green Building Council Bangladesh.

A multi-talented personality, Palash participated in several group painting exhibitions. He had his first solo painting exhibition in1978. He also had exhibitions in 2009, 2011, and 2013. He received the Shilpacharya Zainul Award for his paintings in 2012. He is also an avid sitar player, and has keen interest in Indian classical music. He has voiced several Rabindra Sangeet albums, published from Bangladesh and India.

He received several national and international awards, including IAB Design Award 1998, Architect of the Year 2005 (India), Berger Award for Excellence in Architecture 2007, Holcim Green Built Bangladesh Prize 2010. Today, Vistaara is considered as one of the most advanced architectural offices in the country, with the largest number of architects working there.

He is the Editor of quarterly DOT, the only magazine on architecture in Bangladesh. Palash’s works have been featured in several national and international magazines, including McGraw-Hill publication. He also has two books on his paintings.

Palash believes in the phrase “beauty is truth, truth is beauty” in all facets of his ingenuity, as he continues to develop the architecture of Bangladesh.