Jatya Sangsad : Bangladesh Perliament

Jatya Sangsad (National Assembly) is both an architectural masterpiece and a source of tremendous pride for the people of Bangladesh. It is situated in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar and the building itself is surrounded by beautifully laid greenery and lakes. The National Assembly serves as the seat of government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, an independent democratic country since 1971. However, the project was conceived in the late 1950s when Bangladesh was East Pakistan, as part of a master plan to develop parts of Dhaka to be the second capital of Pakistan. In 1959, the Martial Administration under president Ayub Khan instituted the process to build a parliament building in Dhaka and the land was acquired for that purpose.

The government invited the famous Louis Kahn, a Jewish American architect with an Estonian origin, to submit a proposal to undertake the task and a tendering process was initiated. The approval process took several years and Louse was awarded the contract in 1962, who then proceeded to work on the project immediately. The original plan produced included a Grand Mosque, Supreme Court and Presidents Palace.

The plan was however revised and only included the National Assembly Building as it exists today. The building work was started immediately and stopped during the Liberation War but commenced again in 1974 without any changes to the agreed plan. The complex was completed in 1982 and inaugurated by President Abdus Sattar and the first session held on 15 Feb 1982.

The building is made up of nine individual blocks and contains, among other things, a total of 627,833 square feet space, 50 staircases and 340 toilets. The central block accommodates the Assembly chamber with a capacity of 354 seats for members of the parliament. The basement accommodates a parking area, offices of maintenance agencies and service installations for the main building. The building has a water body of artificial lake touching its walls on all sides, and the North and the South plaza tie it to the site.

The open green area is a public open space and very popular venue for the city people to go and relax. The space gets very crowded especially during Friday holiday and on special occasions, such as Eid festivals and Bengali New Year Celebration.