In continuation of its pioneering role at the local and global levels and its continuous endeavor to open new horizons for the development of mosque architecture, and based on the award’s analysis of the work of previous sessions of the award, which demonstrated the progress of the qualitative experience of mosque architecture in Bangladesh, the Abdullatif Alfozan Award for Mosque Architecture team, in coordination with the Institute of Architects in Bangladesh (IAB), visited Dhaka to consolidate The objectives of the award are to learn about the experiences of architects there in producing these distinguished styles of mosque architecture, whether from a professional, research or societal perspective.

This visit came upon an invitation received by Abdullatif Alfozan Award for Mosque Architecture from the Institute of Architects in Bangladesh (IAB) to learn about the experience of Bangladesh in the architectural fields in general and mosque architecture in particular, as the Institute coordinated a program for that visit covering various architectural fields and also included field visits to the most important mosques and Architectural offices and architecture schools in Bangladesh. This invitation comes as a culmination of the memorandum of cooperation that the award signed with the institute.

The joint team from the Award and the Institute of Architects in Bangladesh (IAB) began this visit with field tours of the most important mosques in Bangladesh. The team initially visited the Bait Al-Rauf Mosque by architect Marina Tabassum, which had previously won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The team followed it with a visit to the Red Mosque by architect Kashif. Mahboob, who previously won the award for the third session of the Abdullatif Alfozan Award for Mosque Architecture, and a third visit to the Aman Mosque by architect Bayejid Khondker, which was among the mosques on the short list for the fourth session of the award. The team also visited the Mayor Muhammad Hanif Mosque in the old center of the city. Dhaka, designed by architect Rafiq Azam. At the level of community mosques, the team visited the multi-storey community mosque in Gulshan, which was designed by architect Kashif Mahboub for the benefit of the neighborhood community. The field visits to the mosques concluded with a visit to the Bangladesh Parliament Mosque by the late international architect Louis Kahn, as the mosque is considered one of the official and governmental mosques.

The award team was also keen to visit the offices of architects designing mosques in Bangladesh to learn about their practical practices in designing mosques and the office and professional environment for them. The team began these visits with a visit to the “Urbana” office of architect Kashif Mahboob and followed it with a visit to the office of architect “Bayejid Khondker.” And a third visit to the “Chatouto” office of architect Rafiq Azam, which is considered an architectural office and a scientific laboratory for green architecture, where the team was briefed on the experiences of the three offices in producing distinct types and methodologies of local architecture that combine professional practice, scientific research, and local community participation.

In order to learn about the academic experiences, the award team visited the Department of Architecture at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). The team met with Prof. Dr. Satya Majumder, Vice President of the University, and Prof. Dr. Muhammad Zaki Al-Islam, Head of the Department of Architecture at the university. The team also visited the College of Architecture and Design at BRAC University, which is affiliated with BRAC the largest non-profit organization in Bangladesh. The university is distinguished by its modern campus, which is in line with the latest green architecture technologies. The team met with Professor Dr. Fuad Malik, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Design, and Dr. Zainab Ali, Head of the Department. Architecture at the University. During these two visits, a cooperation protocols were signed between the Abdullatif Alfozan Award for Mosque Architecture and the two universities for cooperation in the fields of scientific research and joint activities specialized in mosque architecture. The two universities will also contribute to supporting the electronic portal and databases for mosque architecture, which they own and Managed by the Abdullatif Alfozan Award for Mosque Architecture.

In another activity, the Secretary General of the Award, Dr. Mashary Al-Naim, and the Award team met with the deans of architecture faculties and heads of architectural departments in all universities in Bangladesh at the headquarters of the Institute of Architects in Bangladesh (IAB), where the Award team outlined to the attendees the important stations in the work of the Award, with the aim of integrating these institutions into initiatives and programs. The various aspects of the Abdullatif Alfozan Award for Mosque Architecture were held, and the meeting discussed the award’s initiative in a collaborative effort to publish a specialized book on mosque architecture in Bangladesh.