Museum of Independence

In 1997, a national competition was held for the Museum of Independence in Dhaka. The participating architects were faced with the complex task of designing a building that would reflect the country’s difficult history and its struggle for independence. The architectural firm URBANA, whose lead architects are Marina Tabassum and Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury, won the competition. However, the construction process was to take over a decade, partly due to changing governments. The tower, the final component of the project, could not be erected until 2013.

During its history, the building site has had a wide variety of functions. Once a Mughal Garden, the site was converted into a horse racing track under British colonial rule and served as a meeting place for the urban population when Bangladesh was still part of Pakistan. It was here that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, considered the father of the nation, declared Bangladesh’s independence in front of a million people on March 7th, 1971. It was therefore important for URBANA to preserve the green space for the city’s residents and to build the museum with its exhibition area and ancillary functions underground. Above ground, the Independence Monument is located in a specially designed public square. Clad in glass, the slender tower is essentially a tower of light. Below ground, a water column set in a circular space is a memorial to the martyrs of the war.