New Contextualism
New Contextualism

Architecture. Context. Relationships.

Ongoing research Teaching and thesis supervision

The tenfold reading in the design studio

BRAC University, Dhaka Documented 2023

The use of a ten-dimension reading of context in design and thesis studios at BRAC University, from which most documented applications of the approach have emerged.

Abstract editorial plate: ten stacked planes in exploded axonometric, each with its own pattern. It does not depict the project. Abstract plate
Abstract plate: ten stacked planes in exploded axonometric, each with its own pattern. An original editorial drawing; it does not depict the project. Documentation will be added with the permission of the project’s authors.

Editorial summary Awaiting the founder’s approval Compiled from the cited sources

01 Context and background

The founder describes encouraging students in his design studios to undertake ‘a tenfold overlapping study of the broader context’ (Reza 2023b). His 2025 biography refers to numerous undergraduate thesis studios on the philosophy at BRAC University (Reza and Nitu 2025).

02 Research questions

Awaiting documentation Not yet documented. This section will be completed with material supplied or approved by the project’s authors.

03 Conditions

Historical

Not yet documented.

Social

Not yet documented.

Cultural

Not yet documented.

Ecological

Not yet documented.

04 Analytical process

Students analyse the social, economic, political, historical, ecological, scientific, geographical, cultural, urban and architectural facets of a site. Understanding these trends is said to allow a projection of future aspirations that often differs from general perceptions (Reza 2023b).

05 Design response

Awaiting documentation Not yet documented. This section will be completed with material supplied or approved by the project’s authors.

06 Outcomes and critical reflections

Several of the undergraduate theses discussed in the founder’s essays are documented on this platform (Reza and Nitu 2025; Reza 2025).

07 Contributors and references

Mohammad Habib Reza, as credited in the published sources.

  1. Reza 2023bReza, Mohammad Habib. 2023b. “New contextualism: A path to a sustainable and equitable future.” The Business Standard, December 19, 2023. https://www.tbsnews.net/features/habitat/new-contextualism-path-sustainable-and-equitable-future-760366. Record
  2. Reza 2025Reza, Mohammad Habib. 2025. “New Contextualism: An architectural philosophy for deltaic Bangladesh.” The Daily Star, April 23, 2025. https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/focus/news/new-contextualism-architectural-philosophy-deltaic-bangladesh-3878456. Record
  3. Reza and Nitu 2025Reza, Mohammad Habib, and Upama Das Nitu. 2025. “New Contextualism: Architecture and Urbanism for People, Place, and Justice.” Context BD, September 16, 2025. https://contextbd.com/new-contextualism-architecture-and-urbanism-for-people-place-and-justice/. Record

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