IQBAL Mohammad Masum, HIGUCHI Takayuki, MIYAZAKI Kiyoshi
デザイン学研究 55(187) 55-64 2008年5月31日
The evolution of house form in Old Dhaka city is particularly an interesting case study to researchers for its history of espousing different cultures into its very own. In the twentieth century some common morphology was formed, reflecting the initial co-existence and integration of different cultural forces, such as living patterns and family structures. The study examines the transformation of house plans from the early twentieth century (Colonial or British period, 1900 through 1947) to late twentieth century (Pakistan period, 1947 to 1971; Bangladesh period, 1971 onward) through analysis of spatial configurations. Transformations in spatial configuration during the three periods are then interpreted through their relationships to the changes in family structure, women's status, and house-street relation. House and apartment plans are analyzed through space syntax methods; while family structure, changes in women's status, and interior-exterior relationships have been analyzed through findings from previous research, literature review, statistics, interviews, and census data. The comparison of the house plans from different periods revealed that the transformations in spatial configuration were parallel to the changes in family types (complex family to nuclear family), and the improvement of women's status in the family, as well as in the society. The relationship between interior and exterior has gradually become less integrated over time through these periods.