Our Virtual Reality

BISHALER BARI ↗: The Historic Residence of Abul Khair↗ • Chairman, Bengal Group Limited & Bengal Foundation

Originally designed by Bangladesh's pioneering modernist architect Muzharul Islam in the 1970s and subsequently adapted by several architects over the decades, Bishaler Bari was far more than a private residence. For over forty years, it served as one of Bangladesh's most influential cultural homes—a place where art, architecture, music, literature, and intellectual exchange coexisted with remarkable warmth and informality.

Situated on a two-bigha property in Gulshan, Dhaka, the two-storey residence became home to Mr. Abul Khair and his family in the early 1980s and was named in memory of his youngest son, Bishal. Before that, the house had been the residence of the Ispahani family and later served as the Russian Embassy following Bangladesh's Liberation War.

Throughout its history, Bishaler Bari welcomed artists, architects, musicians, writers, dancers, diplomats, Nobel laureates, foreign ambassadors, intellectuals, and distinguished guests from Bangladesh and abroad. It was not simply a venue for gatherings but a living cultural environment where ideas were exchanged, friendships formed, and artistic collaborations flourished. Within its walls emerged institutions and initiatives that helped shape the country's cultural landscape, including the Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, the Bengal Classical Music Festival, the magazines Kali O Kalam, Jamini, ICE Today, Business Today, and the landmark cross-border art camp Contemporary Works of Bengali Artists, which brought together fifty-two leading artists from Bangladesh and West Bengal for the first time.

The residence also housed one of Bangladesh's finest private art collections, displaying paintings, drawings, sculptures, and mixed-media works by many of the country's most celebrated artists alongside distinguished South Asian masters. Visitors to the virtual tour will encounter works by Zainul Abedin, S. M. Sultan, Mohammad Kibria, Murtaja Baseer, Monirul Islam, Shahabuddin Ahmed, Rashid Chowdhury, Quamrul Hassan, Qayyum Chowdhury, Rafiqun Nabi, Safiuddin Ahmed, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, Jamini Roy, Rini Dhumal, Dilara Begum Jolly, Rokeya Sultana, Hashem Khan, Mahbubur Rahman, Aminul Islam, Kazi Abdul Baset, Kazi Ghiyasuddin, Mahmudul Haque, Nazlee Laila Mansur, Mohammad Eunus, Abdus Sattar, Sheikh Afzal, Shahid Kabir, Syed Jahangir, Dhali Al Mamun, Maksuda Iqbal Nipa, and many other significant artists.

The immersive Matterport experience allows visitors to move freely through the residence, exploring the entrance, gardens, courtyard, parking area, living and dining rooms, library, bedrooms, verandas, staircase, and Mr. Abul Khair's private room. Beyond the architecture, the tour reveals sculpture-filled gardens, mature trees alive with birds, generous indoor spaces, and a home where art was part of everyday life rather than confined to gallery walls.

Captured by ARTCON in April 2025, this project preserves the house in its final complete state before its demolition. It is not a reconstruction or a digital interpretation, but an authentic spatial record created through comprehensive three-dimensional documentation.

Bishaler Bari no longer stands. Through this immersive archive, however, its architecture, collections, memories, and extraordinary cultural legacy remain accessible to future generations.