bdnews24.com :People from across the broad social spectrum have paid their last respects to iconic architect Syed Moinul Hossain, the designer of the National Memorial.He passed away at a Dhaka hospital Monday at the age of 62.Hossain’s body was taken to the Central Shaheed Minar on Wednesday morning.His former colleagues, social and cultural organisations, and Dhaka University authorities paid their respects. Many also individually paid their tributes to Hossain.DU Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique said the architect will be remembered for the National Memorial.”We offer our respects to his family on behalf of the Dhaka University,” he said.Artist Mostofa Monowar described Moinul Hossain as “a great man”. “The National Memorial is not only an establishment, it’s a stark example of artistic fulfilment,” he said of his former colleague’s achievement.The memorial was a tribute to every individual struggling for freedom worldwide and symbolised every martyr, he added. “We feel proud every time we look at it,” Monowar said, “The first thing our foreign guests go to see is the National Memorial.”Hossain’s design surpassed 57 others in a national competition for the project’s design in June 1978.The memorial is composed of seven isosceles triangular planes varying in size in its height and base. The main monument is 150-feet tall.The memorial has become the ultimate symbol of sacrifice made during Bangladesh’s Liberation War.Hossain’s funeral prayers were held at the Dhaka University mosque in the afternoon. He was buried at the Martyred Intellectuals’ Graveyard at Mirpur, said his former classmate architect Badrul Haider.
