Desk Report:

Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum has secured a spot on Time magazine’s prestigious list of the 100 most influential people, recognized for her excellent contributions to the realm of innovation.

Tabassum, celebrated for her commitment to environmentally sustainable design, diverges from commercial norms, prioritizing community engagement and addressing the needs of common people in her architectural endeavors.

The magazine’s entry for Tabassum on the list published on Wednesday night reads, “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,” it added.

Tabassum’s work on Bait Ur Rouf Mosque in Dhaka was honoured with the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture and by the American Academy of Arts and Letters Awards in 2021.

She also received the Millennium Lifetime Achievement Award at the Lisbon Architecture Triennale 2022.