From reimagining public spaces in Dhaka to designing an award-winning educational institution and a diplomatic complex in Bhutan, internationally recognised Bangladeshi architect Rafiq Azam has spent nearly 35 years exploring how architecture can bring nature, culture and human life into harmony. His latest solo exhibition, ‘Threshold: Art & Architecture’, offers an intimate journey into the ideas, memories and artistic impulses that have shaped this practice.

Presented by Bengal Foundation, the exhibition opened at Bengal Shilpalay in Dhanmondi on Friday, bringing together watercolours, architectural models, material fragments and selected projects that trace the relationship between Azam's artistic imagination and architectural vision.

Eminent artist Monirul Islam inaugurated the exhibition at the Kamrul Hasan Exhibition Gallery on Level 1 of Bengal Shilpalay as the chief guest. Architect Professor Shamsul Wares and architect Jalal Ahmed attended as speakers, while Azam shared experiences from his long journey as an architect and artist.

Curated by prominent visual artists Tayeba Begum Lipi and Mahbubur Rahman, the exhibition examines architecture as more than the construction of buildings, presenting it as a form of social art shaped by human needs, cultural identity, environmental realities and collective aspirations.

In his exhibition statement, Azam recalls how pencil and paper have remained his closest companions throughout his life. His journey, he says, began with art, as he dreamed of becoming a watercolour artist during childhood. That early fascination eventually led him towards architecture, revealing to him an inseparable relationship between art, mathematics, space and human existence.

Even after nearly 35 years of practice, he continues to question the boundary between artistic freedom and architectural responsibility.

"Can architecture become a habitable sculpture, a form of social art?" he asks, describing his practice as an ongoing exploration rather than a pursuit of definitive answers.

The exhibition unfolds through five interconnected themes, tracing the innocence of imagination, the encounter between art and architecture, architecture as three-dimensional social art, its role in cultural diplomacy and its potential for social transformation.

Several of Azam's notable architectural projects feature in the exhibition, demonstrating how these ideas have translated into built environments.

Among them is the Aga Khan Academy in Bashundhara, Dhaka, whose first phase was completed between 2017 and 2022. Inspired by the historic Somapura Mahavihara at Paharpur, the institution draws on Bengali architectural traditions, brick craftsmanship, courtyards and climate-responsive design. The project received the Best Future Education award at the 2017 World Architecture Festival in Berlin.

His international portfolio also includes the SP Setia headquarters in Shah Alam, Malaysia, completed between 2012 and 2014. Designed around principles of sustainable construction, the building became the country's first private commercial building to receive platinum certification for green architecture.

Another significant project is the Bangladesh Chancery Complex and Ambassador's Residence in Thimphu, Bhutan, developed between 2010 and 2025. The design brings Bangladeshi and Bhutanese cultural narratives together through a shared relationship with water, history, climate and architectural traditions.

His engagement with public architecture is reflected in projects such as the ongoing redevelopment of Osmani Udyan in central Dhaka and the revitalisation of Rasulbagh Shishu Park in Old Dhaka. Both projects emphasise the preservation of existing trees, accessible public spaces and the integration of greenery into dense urban environments.

The exhibition also turns towards the architect's personal history through residential projects, including Anguri Bari, named after his mother, and the redesigned family residence in Old Dhaka. These works reinterpret memories of courtyards, gardens and traditional domestic spaces through contemporary architecture, preserving the emotional and cultural identity of his roots.

Bengal Foundation's association with Azam goes back several years, having previously organised two landmark exhibitions on his work, ‘Nature Is...’ in 2008 and ‘Water in Light’ in 2014. His architectural practice was also documented in the monograph ‘Architecture for Green Living’, published jointly by Skira and Bengal Foundation in 2013.

For Azam, ‘Threshold’ is neither a monument to achievements nor a collection of completed works. Rather, it is an invitation to explore the processes, tensions and possibilities behind architectural thinking.

Reflecting on the exhibition's larger purpose, he suggests that it is less about what he has built and more about what architecture has built within him, and what people can collectively create for society in the future.

The exhibition will remain open until December 5. Visitors can explore it daily from 4 pm to 8 pm at Bengal Shilpalay in Dhanmondi, Dhaka.