NED-UET BUILDING NO.4 – KARACHI
2004
TYPE: Educational
LOCATION: Karachi, Pakistan
YEAR: 2004
SIZE: 600 m²
ARCHITECTS: Ar.Asiya Sadiq Polack
COLLABORATORS: Bilal & Mushtaq, Dr. Saeeduddeen Ahmad, Dr. Najia Zaidi, Directorate of Planning and Development – NEDUET & Services Department – NED-UET
CLIENT: NED University
STATUS: Completed
Building no.4 is within the City Campus of NED-UET Department of Architecture and Planning.
B-4 Housed in the old campus that was once NED College, it enjoys a declared heritage status. The old building a set of two L shaped blocks form a central court that welcomed new blocks in subsequent years that followed. These new blocks accommodated the growing need for space for lecture halls, studios, faculty rooms, library, labs and admin areas.
Double height portal with flanking columns and exposed column beam overlaps of open stairwell engender uninterrupted movement of the eye from one structure to another. The rhythm of these vertical and horizontal elements prevalent is continued in B-4 making the experience almost musical. En masse, it is concerted in stone, mortar and concrete for whoever wishes to lend an ear. Architecture is frozen music they said, that is what they probably meant. B-4 the static – sings and dance rejoicing in the heritage setting ceremoniously.
-Rabela Junejo
