Architecture of Bengal
The brick is extremely durable and disused ancient buildings were often used as a convenient source of materials by local people, often being stripped to their foundations over the centuries.
[citation needed] The archaeological sites of Mahasthangarh, Paharpur, Wari-Bateshwar ruins, Chandraketugarh and Mainamati provide evidence of a highly organized urban civilization in the region.
[1] Ancient Bengali architecture reached its pinnacle during the Pala Empire (750–1120); this was Bengali-based and the last Buddhist imperial power in the Indian subcontinent.
The most famous monument built by the Pala emperors was the Grand Vihara of Somapura, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
[2] Bengal was one of the last strongholds of Indian Buddhism in the medieval period, and Hindu temples before the Muslim conquest (starting in 1204) were relatively small.
Most of the Hindu temples were built in Gupta era, Shashanka, Pala and Sena dynasty who ruled since the 5th century until the conquest.
Bishnupur in West Bengal has a remarkable set of 17th and 18th - century temples with a variety of roof styles built by the Malla dynasty.
These are built of laterite and brick bringing them at the mercy of severe weather conditions of southern Bengal.
This distinctive regional style drew its inspiration from the indigenous vernacular architecture of Bengal, including curved chala roofs, corner towers and complex floral carvings.
Such roofs feature even more strongly in later Bengal Hindu temple architecture, with types such as the do-chala, Jor-bangla Style, and char-chala.
[11] While minarets are conspicuously absent in most mosques, the Firoz Minar was built in Gauda to commemorate Bengali military victories.
The ruined Adina Mosque (1374–75) is very large, which is unusual in Bengal, with a barrel vaulted central hall flanked by hypostyle areas.
[19] After the Islamic consolidation of Bengal was complete, some local features continued, especially in smaller buildings, but the Mughals used their usual style in imperial commissions.
The Indo-Saracenic style was strongly prevalent in the region, but versions of European Neo-Classical architecture were also found, especially in or near trading cities.
The Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, designed by Vincent Esch also has Indo-Saracenic features, possibly inspired from the Taj Mahal.
Many renowned global architects worked in the region during the 1960s, including Louis Kahn, Richard Neutra, Stanley Tigerman, Paul Rudolph, Robert Boughey and Konstantinos Doxiadis.
Louis Kahn designed the Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban, the preeminent symbol of modern Bangladeshi architecture.
The cityscapes of modern Bengali cities are dominated by midsized skyscrapers and often called concrete jungles.
Architecture services form a significant part of urban economies in the region, with acclaimed architects such as Rafiq Azam.
In 2015, Marina Tabassum and Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury were declared winners of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for their mosque and community center designs respectively, which were inspired by the region's ancient heritage.
