Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum has been named in influential US weekly TIME magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the world for 2024. Tabassum was named in the Innovators section of the list for her commitment to sustainable design that “prioritises local cultures and values, as well as the perils faced by our shared planet.” The citation for Tabassum, written for TIME by Sarah Whiting, dean of the Harvard School for Design, says: “Tabassum’s altruism even extends to buildings themselves. She cares for her creations as creatures partaking in the resources of our earth: describing her Bait Ur Rouf Mosque in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which won the prestigious Aga Khan Award, she said a building “has to be able to breathe without artificial aids.” Elsewhere in the country, which faces increased flood risks due to climate change, she has developed houses that are cost-effective and easy to move—clearly, buildings shouldn’t just breathe; they should avoid getting their feet wet. While she practices very locally, she teaches, lectures, and is recognized internationally, modeling architecture not as an individual signature but as a collective Esperanto.” Athens Conference: FM Hasan calls for responsible, sustainable ocean management Tabassum's work was previously honoured with the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture and with the Soane Medal by the American Academy of Arts and Letters Awards in 2021. She was also named as the winner of the Millennium Lifetime Achievement Award at the Lisbon Architecture Triennale in 2022. Tabassum is the principal architect of Marina Tabassum Architects, which she founded in 2005. Previously she was at URBANA, which she co-founded in 1995, shortly after graduating from BUET in 1994. She broke into the limelight with her design for the Bait ur Rauf Mosque in Abdullahpur, that won her the Aga Khan Award, and pioneered a new generation of architects in embracing indigenous design principles for mosques, distinguished by the lack of domes, the use of plinths, the earthen palette, and the intelligent, at times bewitching use of light streaming in through perforations on the roof and walls. Read more: 'Architecture is truly global, can also be deeply local'

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said no matter what the size of their project are, it is the architects who could make a difference, among its users as well as in its surroundings. He urged the architects to be mindful of their enormous responsibility and deliver "innovative solutions" to some of the socio-economic problems that affect people today. "I know that every building is also a commercial endeavour, but please, do not leave its success to the balance sheet alone. Your cumulative efforts could be epoch-making both in our cityscape and for its habitats," he said. Momen was speaking as the chief guest at the Construction Fair 2022 commemorating the golden jubilee of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB) at Bangabandhu International Convention Centre in Agargaon Wednesday. "We have a shortage of land, yet we should be more mindful of landscaping in our architectural design," he said while speaking at a function marking the Golden Jubilee programme of IAB on Wednesday evening. He said architects in Bangladesh need to be involved with key socio-political themes of society – population density, climate change, water management, and migration – themes that are at the same time global in nature. "I hope that architecture in Bangladesh will deliver innovative solutions to some of the socio-economic problems that affect us today," Momen said. In Bangladesh, a lot of people are moving to cities for river erosion, flood or other climate disorders. "Could we address these challenges with architecture? Could we manage the stream of daily newcomers in our cityscape with architecture? Architects need to ask these questions and put their energy and wisdom into solving these issues," Momen said. In the city of Dhaka, each year, people lose millions of working hours, burn billions worth of additional energy, and exhaust uncalled carbon-emission due to bumper-to-bumper traffic jams. "It may be time for our architects and engineers to come up with innovative ways of reducing this traffic congestion," the foreign minister said. Read more: 'Architecture is truly global, can also be deeply local'

Khondaker Hasibul Kabir and Suhailey Farzana, an architect couple from Jhenaidah in Bangladesh, have shown the world how they co-designed a public space in their own town – keeping in mind the nature and people. Their community-led initiative titled “Urban River Spaces, Jhenaidah” is one of the winners of the 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Six award winners, who will share the $1 million award – one of the largest in architecture – show promise for communities, innovation and attention to environment. Read: 2 Bangladesh projects win 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture The award giving ceremony will be held at Royal Opera House of Musical Arts Monday night (Muscat time). “This is not a project, I would say, rather it’s a process that has begun,” Farzana, who came to Muscat with his husband and son, told UNB hours before receiving the prestigious award.

Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum added another feather to her cap – the Lisbon Triennale Millennium bcp Lifetime Achievement Award 2022. Marina, also a researcher and educator, is the first architect from the global south to receive the honour, adding her name to a list that includes Denise Scott-Brown, Lacaton, Vassal, Kenneth Frampton, Álvaro Siza and Vittorio Gregotti. The 2021 Soane Medal and 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture winner's work shows a "deep sense of commitment to the social and cultural role of architecture, with particular attention paid to building a collective sense of belonging in each new project." Read: Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum in top 50 thinkers’ list The international jury responsible for choosing the winner of this edition's Lifetime Achievement Award highlighted how Marina's unique practice touches on the spiritual fundamentals of architecture, without losing sight of its responsibilities and potential impact. The 2022 edition of the Lisbon Triennale has Terra (the Earth) as its theme, a motto that expresses the territory, the city, the landscape, the place where everyone belongs or a continent seen from the sea. Over the past three decades Marina's practice "has been an inspiring example of work with local communities that can have a positive impact across the planet – even under the most adverse conditions," the jury, composed of Cristina Veríssimo (Portugal), Diogo Burnay (Portugal), N’Goné Fall (Senegal), Yael Reisner (Israel) and Zhang Ke (China), said. Read 47 individuals, enterprises get Walton 'Branding Heroes Award' Marina's projects demonstrate both a "strong, clear ethical position and delicate, sophisticated design, being uncompromisingly innovative even with limited resources and budget constraints," it added. "The architect's bold step forward, transforming architecture's role from a passive-commission model into an active-initiative one, keeps showing us the way towards how architects can challenge the climate crisis and bring about social change in an experimental, respectful and inspiring manner," the jury said. Marina's notable works include the minimal, sun-dappled Bait Ur Rouf Mosque, opened in 2012, the Independence Monument of Bangladesh, and the Museum of Independence. Read Nagad's Jhalak scoops up 'Best Emerging Director in Fintech' award The 6th Lisbon Architecture Triennale, curated by Cristina Veríssimo and Diogo Burnay, will be held from September 29 to December 5, 2022, in Portugal's Lisbon. During Terra's opening days, Marina will be in Lisbon to receive the award, which is an original work of art by Portuguese artist and sculptor Carlos Nogueira. On September 30, a series of conferences will bring together the winners of all three Lisbon Triennale Millennium Awards – Lifetime Achievement, Début and Universities. Read Rickshaw puller awarded prize for 999 call to save women in Chattogram This award is given after an independent selection process that runs through two different stages. In the first phase, over 30 international leading figures in architecture are invited by the Triennale to nominate up to three names they consider worthy of the award. The resulting list is then given to the jury responsible for the final decision, which includes the general curators of the Triennale 2022 plus three other prominent figures from Senegal, Israel and China.