Mohammad Foyez Ullah (Bengali: মোহাম্মদ ফয়েজ উল্লাহ, born 1 January 1967) is a Bangladeshi architect.[1] He is the founder and principal architect of Volumezero Limited,[2] and was the co-founder of Vistaara Architects. He started his career as an educator and taught as an assistant professor at the Department of Architecture, BUET from 1994 until 1998.
Eventually, he moved towards professional architectural practice as a designer and an entrepreneur in related fields.[3][4]
Foyez co-founded Vistaara Architects in 1994 and after more than a decade of partnership with Vistaara, he founded Volumezero Limited in 2008.[2] His early designed projects includes Bashundhara City,[6][7] which was the largest mall in South Asia and 3rd largest in the world when it was opened to the public on 6 August 2003, and is still one of the largest shopping malls in South Asia.[8][9] It was a mixed-use retail development and has been received the Superbrand status in 2009.[10] More of his early projects are UTC, The Westin Dhaka,[6] PICL Bhaban and Shanta Western Tower, and Grameenphone Corporate Headquarters,[11][6] (GP House).
Foyez is also known as a Green Building designer. The U.S. Green Building Council has accredited LEED Gold certification to various projects designed and built by Foyez's practice, such as Simpletree Anarkali, Shahjalal Islami Bank Corp Headquarters, and Simpletree Lighthouse.[12][13][14][15] Foyez is an editorial committee member of the Fire Safety and Protection section of Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC).[16][17] He is also an advisor of the monthly showcase, which is an art and architecture magazines of Bangladesh.[18]
Books
Foyez Ullah: Dhaka's Tropical Expressive Architecture, a book by Oscar Riera Ojeda Publishers, this book shows how Foyez's architecture has contributed to the society and people.[19]
Early projects
Bashundhara City
The Westin Dhaka
Bashundhara City
The mall Bashundhara City is located at Panthapath, Dhaka, and was opened to the public on 6 August 2004. The building complex is 19 stories tall and covers an area of 17,763 square meters. It is one of the largest shopping malls in South Asia. The mall has space for 2,325 retail stores and cafeterias, a gymnasium, a cinema hall, a penthouse food court, an ice skating rink, a theme park, a fitness club, and a swimming pool. It also includes the 19-story corporate offices of the Bashundhara Group.[20]
Grameenphone corporate headquarters
Grameenphone's corporate headquarters (known as "GP House") is located at Bashundhara R/A, Dhaka and was formally inaugurated on 23 November 2010. GP House is considered as one of the most successful office buildings in Bangladesh.[21]
The Westin Dhaka
The Westin Dhaka is a Westin Hotel located at Gulshan Avenue in Dhaka. It is one of the tallest hotels in Bangladesh. It has 29 floors, and was completed in 2006.[22]
Oyster shaped 6-storied iconic railway station near the bus terminal of the city of Cox's Bazar, and the shape which symbolizes Cox's Bazar Beach.[29][30]
Simpletree Lighthouse
Simpletree Lighthouse is a 14-story commercial building. It has been certified LEED Gold on 12th July 2021, for core and shell.[31]
Mika Cornerstone
Mika Cornerstone Complex, completed in 2015, is located in Uttara, Dhaka. It is one of the tallest buildings in the area.
Akij House
Akij House is the headquarters of one of the largest Bangladeshi industrial conglomerates.[32] It is located beside Tejgaon Gulshan Link Road. The design goal for the Akij House was to create an architectural piece that would reflect Akij Group's corporate vision.[33]
Sheraton Dhaka
A hotel by Marriott International, Sheraton Dhaka is located in Dhaka. Its architectural design is inspired by omni-directionality. As a visual datum along the commercial spine the edifice would command visual importance and truly emerge as an iconic landmark in this city.[34]
Shahjalal Islami Bank Corp. Headquarters
It is the head-office of Shahjalal Islami Bank Corp. This building was LEED Gold certified on 6 February 2019.[14]
Simpletree Anarkali
This project is the first LEED certified core & shell project in Bangladesh. It stands 14 stories above ground with three basement levels and 143,189 square feet of gross usable spaces. In terms of energy consumption the building system achieves 12.57% reduction in energy cost.[13]
ICCB Bashundhara
Widely known as ICCB, it is the largest event space in Bangladesh. It is owned by Bashundhara Group.[35]
Awards
Six National Board of Revenue (NBR) Awards to being listed as the highest tax-paying architect in Bangladesh from 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.[36][37][38]
Bangladesh Television National TV Debate Champion, represented Suhrawardy Hall Debate Team, BUET, 1990.[citation needed]