PROFESSIONAL AND RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY

Theoretical Foundation

My work is anchored in heritage interpretation, inclusive perspectives in architecture and pedagogy, and values-based conservation. I conceive historic buildings not as inert relics but as intricate cultural manuscripts. I believe this fabric is  complexly inscribed with the social, historical, and material narratives of their communities. Grounded in rigorous academic training in architecture (B.Arch.) and heritage interpretation (Master’s), my work interrogates the reductionist practices prevalent in Bangladeshi conservation. Instead of rendering heritage sites as static repositories, I advocate for an approach that foregrounds their original functional logics and embedded narratives, transforming them into platforms for renewed cultural discourse.

Methodological Approaches

I combine qualitative inquiry (as, archival research, interviews/oral histories, participatory and PRA techniques) with advanced digital documentation (as photogrammetry/3D mapping using tools such as Agisoft Metashape, Reality Capture, and Meshroom) and analysis/organization (NVivo, structured documentation). For practice settings, I prioritise low-cost, reproducible modules that can be taught and maintained by public agencies and young professionals, linking capture and modelling to interpretive outputs. This can be observable in outputs as  site narratives, trail media, AR overlays where appropriate and in informed-conservation planning . This methodology reconfigures the built environment itself into an active agent capable of communicating both overt and tacit historical narratives.

Integrating Digital and Community-Centric Practices

Central to my practice is eliciting community narratives, underlying socio-political context and local values  into documentation and interpretation.  the fusion of digital innovation with heritage curation. This approach underpins work with politically stranded Bihari communities, climate-threatened Mughal sites, and Old Dhaka neighborhoods; it also guides capacity-building through national documentation initiatives with Heritage Cell, BUET and program coordination via ACHS-ECRN. The aim is not token participation but co-authored outputs—training kits, recording protocols, and shared interpretive materials that communities and institutions can use and adapt.

Impacts of Implementation

Academic: publications (book, chapters, journals) and workshop proceedings that reposition heritage beyond material primacy toward inclusive, evidence-based practice. As convenor of international conferences and follow-up publication editor, my aim is in jointly interpreting culture and changing social narratives that fascilitates dialouges and potential reconciliation across borders.

Policy/Institutional: research contributions to UNESCO Tentative List acceptances (2023); development of documentation standards and training for early-career conservation professionals; site-specific guidance informing conservation options.

Public/Community: field-tested interpretive tools (heritage trail media; Virtual Heritage) and collaborative narratives that increase access and recognition for marginalized groups. Across these domains, the through-line is a South-led, scalable methodology—practical enough for agencies to adopt, rigorous enough for scholarship, and accountable to the people whose heritage it represents.