Marina Tabassum wins Aga Khan Award for architecture for second time

Renowned Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum has for the second time been selected for the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

Her design of the Khudi Bari project has been chosen as one of the winners of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2025.

The announcement of seven laureates, including Marina Tabassum, was made in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, on Tuesday.

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus extended his warm congratulations to Marina Tabassum on her rare and historic achievement, describing it as a moment of pride for Bangladesh.

In his message, he highlighted that the Khudi Bari project—climate-resilient, affordable, and portable homes designed for people displaced by river erosion—stands as a shining example of both humanitarian vision and architectural foresight.

He stressed that the project demonstrates to the world that architecture is not confined to aesthetics alone, but also embodies dignity, resilience, and the creative force of human intellect.

Marina Tabassum, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Bangladesh National Museum, is the first Bangladeshi architect to win the Aga Khan Award twice.

She also serves as chief adviser to the July Uprising Memorial Museum.

The Khudi Bari houses, designed by Tabassum, are low-cost, quickly assembled, and easily transportable dwellings intended for communities displaced or endangered by climate change, floods, and riverbank erosion in Bangladesh.

Built from bamboo and steel, the two-storey structures allow the upper floor to serve as a refuge for flood victims during inundations.

In its citation, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture jury commended the Khudi Bari project for its profound ecological vision and acknowledged bamboo as a material capable of contributing meaningfully to global progress.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was founded in 1977 by the late Prince Karim Aga Khan IV. The prize recognises and encourages architectural works that embody the aspirations of Muslim communities worldwide.

The selection process takes into account not only whether a structure meets socio-economic needs, but also the extent to which it enriches cultural life.

Alongside Tabassum’s Khudi Bari, this year’s winners include projects from China, Egypt, Pakistan, Palestine, and two from Iran.

The awards ceremony will take place on 15 September in Bishkek, where laureates will receive their prizes.

The total prize money of USD 1 million will be shared among the winners.

Marina Tabassum had previously won the Aga Khan Award in 2016 for the design of the Baitur-Rouf Mosque in Dakshin Khan, Dhaka. Inspired by Sultanate-era architecture, the mosque was completed in 2012.

In addition, she received the prestigious Soane Medal in the UK in 2021 for her humanitarian housing designs, and in 2020 she was listed among the top 10 of the “50 Most Influential Thinkers” by the British magazine Prospect.

In 2024, the American magazine Time included her in its list of the world’s 100 most influential people.