Concord is known for bringing modern construction techniques to Bangladesh. Over five decades, Concord Group has often been the first to introduce advanced methods and materials to the country’s building industry. Three innovations stand out: eco-friendly bricks, Reinforced Concrete Block Masonry (RCBM), and the top-down construction method. These innovations have helped raise the standard for sustainable and resilient construction across the country. This article explains what these methods are, how they work, and why they matter.
Traditional clay bricks are fired in kilns, and they have been used in Bangladesh for a long time. But this comes with a heavy environmental cost. Burning clay bricks needs large amounts of coal or wood, so it can increase deforestation and serious air pollution. Brick kilns have been a major reason Dhaka ranks among the world’s most polluted cities. Concord saw this problem early, so it moved away from terracotta bricks in 1998 by introducing concrete masonry blocks as a sustainable alternative. These concrete “green bricks” are cured without coal-fired kilns, so they reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help preserve topsoil.
Concord set up Bangladesh’s first eco-friendly brick, block, and tile manufacturing plant to supply these blocks. This created a new standard for responsible construction. This step helped improve air quality and it also matched national initiatives. For example, the government planned to use 100% green bricks in public projects by 2025, and Concord had already moved in that direction much earlier. Concord also received the National Environment Medal in 2020 for its role in pollution control, which shows the impact of this work.
Over the last 25 years, Concord expanded the production and use of these eco-friendly blocks across its projects. It was the first Bangladeshi company to set up automated concrete block plants, and today it runs several high-capacity factories. By 2024, Concord had six modern block manufacturing plants with European and US machinery. These plants can produce tens of thousands of concrete blocks and pavers in each 8-hour cycle. They make hollow blocks, solid load-bearing blocks, paving tiles, and roof tiles. These products have been used in many Concord projects instead of clay bricks. Each concrete block used means one less clay brick made in a polluting kiln. Concord’s decision in 1998 helped start a green building shift in Bangladesh, and it showed that development and sustainability can go together.
Bangladesh is in a seismic zone, so earthquake-resistant construction is important. Concord introduced Reinforced Concrete Block Masonry (RCBM) to Bangladesh, and this method improves structural strength and resilience. RCBM uses specially designed hollow concrete blocks, like the eco-friendly blocks described above. The key difference is that steel reinforcing bars and grout (concrete) are placed inside the block cavities while the wall is built. This means the wall works like reinforced concrete members inside a solid masonry wall, so it can act like a shear wall against lateral forces.
This is different from traditional unreinforced brick masonry, which is heavy and brittle. With RCBM, the walls carry significant load and help absorb seismic shocks, so the system does not rely only on columns or frames. Concord’s high-strength concrete blocks, with over 30 MPa compressive strength, support this method. This makes it possible to build multi-storey buildings with load-bearing block walls. In simple terms, RCBM turns walls into steel-reinforced concrete elements, and this improves earthquake resistance compared to common brick-and-mortar construction. Concord was the first to implement RCBM in Bangladesh, and this set a new benchmark for safe building practices in an earthquake-prone country.
Concord’s key use of RCBM was in Lake City Concord in Khilkhet, Dhaka. This was Bangladesh’s first large satellite township in that area. The project has over 4,000 apartments, and no traditional brick was used in the building structures. Every apartment block was built with load-bearing RCBM walls, so it became the country’s first project built fully with earthquake-resistant block masonry. Concord’s RCBM system also showed that structures up to 18 stories can be built with reinforced blocks as the main structural system. This changed how people think about mid-rise construction, because it showed that a conventional column-beam frame is not the only option when reinforced block walls are designed and built correctly. Concord’s RCBM work has influenced building practices in Bangladesh as more developers and engineers look for safer methods. It also shows how sustainability and structural safety can work together through better materials and better engineering.
Top-down construction is a method where the above-ground floors and the basement levels are built at the same time. This is different from the usual bottom-up method. In practice, the ground-level slab and structure are built first, and then excavation for deeper basements continues beneath that slab while upper floors are built above. It is like building from the middle and moving both up and down. This method is useful in dense urban areas and in sites with poor soil, because a large open excavation can be risky if it stays open for too long. Top-down construction has been used in cities like New York, Moscow, and Hong Kong, and Concord was the first to introduce it in Bangladesh.
The milestone project was the World Trade Center (WTC) in Chittagong. It is a 21-storey commercial tower with three basement levels. Concord Engineers & Construction Ltd. started using the top-down strategy for WTC in 2006, and this was the first use of this method in Bangladesh. Concord built the street-level basement slab first, and then it continued excavation and construction downward for the lower basements while the tower structure rose above ground. This parallel process saved time and it improved safety compared to conventional methods. When WTC opened in 2016, Concord had shown that top-down construction can be done successfully in Bangladesh, and this created a path for similar methods in other complex projects.
Concord used the top-down method at WTC because the site conditions were difficult. The soil was soft and marshy, and the site was next to a large water body. A traditional deep excavation would be risky in this kind of ground because the pit walls could collapse and water could enter the site. With the top-down method, Concord stabilized the site by casting each basement floor slab as excavation moved deeper. Each completed slab supported the soil and nearby structures during each stage. This approach reduced ground settlement and it helped prevent water intrusion while construction continued. Each floor acted as lateral support for excavating the next level. As a result, WTC’s three basement parking levels were built safely using top-down construction while the 21-storey tower rose above at the same time. This level of execution was new in Bangladesh. Concord’s success delivered the country’s first World Trade Center complex and it also demonstrated a modern method that can help solve tough urban engineering problems in Bangladesh.
Concord’s three innovations show how the company has helped modernize Bangladesh’s construction industry. Eco-friendly concrete blocks showed that greener materials can replace traditional ones while keeping quality strong, and they also improve sustainability. RCBM technology improved structural safety and it showed how buildings can be designed to be more earthquake-resilient. The top-down construction method introduced an advanced approach that makes complex projects possible even when site conditions are difficult. Each of these “firsts” set benchmarks that others have started to follow. Concord’s innovation continues to shape skylines and communities across Bangladesh, and it supports a better future for the country’s cities and people.
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