Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury

[citation needed] Chowdhury has a studio based practice whose works find root in history with strong emphasis on climate, materials and context - both natural and human.

Works range from conversion of ship and low cost raised settlements in 'chars' to training centre, mosque, art gallery, museum, residences and multi-family housing to corporate head offices.

He has designed and published three books: Around Dhaka, 2004; Plot Number Fifty Six, 2009 and The Night of Fifteen November, 2011 - a photographic and recorded account of some survivors of the Cyclone Sidr in the coastal areas of Bangladesh.

[citation needed] Catherine Slessor and Rob Gregory, writing in 'Emerging Architecture and Creative Resilience' (Architectural Review, December 2012) notes: "In his studio, time is held in high regard, so much so that until recently he deliberately resisted using any form of artificial light, choosing instead to operate the business during daylight hours.

This was done to enforce a natural pattern to the working day, and to encourage people not to work excessively long hours, and while changes to this routine were perhaps inevitable, Chowdhury maintains his respect of time, stating his desire to separate his studio from the influences of ‘the passing world’ to avoid ‘rushing through the design process’, and to always remember that ‘time is of the essence’.