Kazi Khaleed Ashraf is a Bangladeshi architect, urbanist and architectural historian.[1][2] Writing from the intersection of architecture, landscape and the city, Ashraf has authored books and essays on architecture in India and Bangladesh, the work of Louis Kahn, and the city of Dhaka. His various writings on the architecture of Bangladesh have provided a theoretical ground for understanding both the historical and contemporary forms of architecture, while his written and design work on Dhaka advances that city as a “theorem” for understanding urbanism in a deltaic geography.[3] Ashraf and contributing team received the Pierre Vago Journalism Award from the International Committee of Architectural Critics for the Architectural Design publication Made in India.[4] He has also co-authored a number of publications with the architect Saif Ul Haque. Ashraf has recently established an international publication series called Locations: Anthology of Architecture and Urbanism that will present works and features from around the globe.
Ashraf received his bachelor of architecture from BUET in 1983. Later he received Masters from MIT and PhD from University of Pennsylvania. Currently, director-general of Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements.[5] Ashraf also taught at University of Hawaii,[6] the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and Pratt Institute.[4]
He is also a co-founder of the cartoon magazine Unmad.[7] established in 1978, in which he contributed as a cartoonist. His editorial drawings have appeared in The Nation, Philadelphia Inquirer, and The New York Times.
In 2021, he was selected to be on the Master Jury of the 2020-2022 cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.