(“Text as submitted by architect”)
Khandaker Ashifuzzaman Rajon
Rajon is the founding Partner of Cubeinside Design Limited and has been working as the Principal Architect of the studio since its inception. Side by side with the practice of Cubeinside, Rajon began his career as an Architect in 2009 at Vistaara Architects right after his B.Arch graduation from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Previously he had his internship at Synthesis Architects. Working for a while as an architect, Rajon decided to set his foot in academia by joining the American International University of Bangladesh (AIUB) in 2010 as a Lecturer in the Department of Architecture. In pursuit of full attention in architectural practice, he left AIUB in 2011 and from then Cubeinside has been his sole focus.
From the design studios in BUET, Rajon’s consistency has been recognized by the prestigious Habibur Rahman Award from BUET, which is only given to students with excellent track records in certain design studios. Later he worked as a Research Assistant in BUET in 2010. He is carrying this design excellency throughout his career by contributing as the principal architect in Cubeinside, leading his team to win a number of national design competitions. Rajon has worked as a member in the International Relation Committee at the Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB). He has also mentored students in BUET and IAB in different workshops and worked as a selector for the student’s works in ArcAsia Students Projects.
Ahmed Firoj Ul Hoque Robin
As one of the co-founders and the principals of Cubeinside, Robin has been performing as the Chairman of Cubeinside since 2009. Before completing the graduation from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), he completed his internship in DWM4. Right after his graduation, he has been project architect for several projects with Myth Design Studio before founding CUBEINSIDE.
From the inception of Cubeinside, Robin has played a key role in the studio. With a core vision to enforce simplicity in design, the focus to introduce contemporary materials and solutions are his specialty. Besides design narratives not only he focused in architecture and interior design but also extended his expertise by building up visualization integration along with tangible design solutions. His contribution to the practice is greatly reflected by his portfolio of versatile works. He has developed his expertise in hospitality, retail interiors and health space design solutions which reflects especially in the international airport and bank lounges along with a few national hospitals.
Md Sharifuzzaman Sajal
From the inception of Cubeinside, Sajal has been working as the Director. Upon completion of their graduation from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in 2009, he started working as a key person in the Cubeinside studio. Earlier in his studentship, he worked as an Intern Architect in Inspace Architects from 2009 to 2010. He has built his expertise on both architecture and interior design ranging from versatile project categories with different scales and complexity. He has been a key member of a number of complex building projects, managing the complexity of design and drawing production, while coordinating with the clients and other technical consultants. Being a Director, Sajal has overtaken the crucial sector of financial management of Cubinside in parallel of the architectural responsibilities.
Md Shakhawat Hossain Rocky
Rocky has joined Cubeinside as a Director in 2011, right after the completion of his B.Arch graduation from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). He completed his Internship earlier in 2009 at Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA) – an Aga Khan Award winning practice in Bangladesh. Parallel with the practice, Rocky also set his foot in academia by joining North South University (NSU) as a Junior Lecturer; thinking of one will fuel another. In 2012, he left NSU to contribute to Cubeinside comprehensively. Since then he has been playing a key role in the design teams for architectural projects and attributed vital contributions to all the design competitions won by Cubeinside. He also possesses a prolific portfolio of interior design projects, especially retail design projects.
In his academic life at BUET, Rocky won a number of awards in Berger Awards for Students of Architecture BUET(BASAB) in different categories like a promising designer, best portfolio and travel grant. He also won a National Design Competition arranged by Holcim Green Built Bangladesh, winning the 2nd prize in Idea Category. His consistency in design excellency in the design studios of BUET has been recognized by consecutive awards of the Habibur Rahman Award and the Dr. M A Rashid Memorial, from BUET. He has worked as an assistant director in the IAB Awards subcommittee at the Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB). Rocky has been a Visiting Faculty in the Interior Design Studio in BUET from 2018-2020. He has successfully completed his MArch degree in Architectural Design from the esteemed Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, London while topping the list with distinction.
Practice Ideology
Architecture has a relentless dilemma of being timeless while must be fabricated in a specific timeline. Cubeinside believes this predicament can be overcome by being coherent in design. Coherence in design is a simple principle in architecture. It’s primitive in nature but not rejecting, but rather adopting the sophistication needed for a building to endure the social, political and environmental parameters. From its emergence, Cubeinside always followed the stringent path of innovation and creativity amalgamating with bespoke design elements, while keeping the reality of project requirements in check with the available building technology and resources. The manifest for architectural and interior design by Cubeinside has always been adorned with boldness and simplicity yet keeping the attention to intricate details required.
The process of building design starts from a site, where the building is rooted and gradually thrives with the architectural inputs given. The site derives the primary forces that boost the design process to create a dialogue within the context and helps the team to develop “a central concept” which is often derivative of the brand image or function or even form. And the program of the project defines the architectural solution of the requirements, connecting the dots between the space and the user. The rest of the process is detail oriented. Cubeinside believes it’s the details that keep the building afloat from the unrest created by something newly created in an existing fabric.
The studio is established in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2009 by a group of likeminded architects. From its inception, the practice aims to deliver coherent design solutions in the diverse field of architecture, interior and landscape design. The studio works on the workshop method, where the principals and associates have a series of intense discourses on the project development, from sketch to reality – from concept to construction. They believe design is a continuous process of thriving where they are engaging themselves with design not only as a discipline but as a pursuit.
