Forging a Bengali identity through modernist architecture | The Daily Star

Architectural Books and Collaborations:

Concrete Jungle presents some of the most exciting tropical houses and tells the surprising story of lush modernist architecture.
The clash of rational architecture with the organic lushness of tropical vegetation has created some of the most visionary and futuristic buildings we know.
Based on the concepts of Modernist style and Bauhaus aesthetics, tropical countries like Brazil or Mexico have developed their highly unique visions of an international style and an architecture which is both timeless and desirable, which continues to be highly influential around the globe. In Concrete Jungle we embark on a journey through the works of architects influenced by the tropical modernist style, from Luis Barragán to Paulo Mendes da Rocha, to Marcio Kogan.
In light of its release, we spoke with Romullo Baratto, managing editor of ArchDaily Brazil, and contributor to Concrete Jungle about his background, relationship with the book, and what readers can expect to see from the title.

Marina Tabassum’s exploratory approach makes her architectural practice one of the outstanding contemporary positions internationally. Her diverse oeuvre spans from governmental projects to housing and has brought her numerous honors and accolades in the international field of architecture.
This volume presents various public and private building projects that Marina Tabassum has worked on since 1995, first with the architectural office URBANA and since 2005 through Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). The selection of her architecture in this book ranges from early projects in the city of Dhaka shortly after completing her studies at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), such as the Museum of Independence and the celebrated Bait Ur Rouf Mosque, to recent mobile modular structures called Khudi Bari. Tabassum is establishing the latter for the people affected by displacement in various geographically and climatically challenged locations—both in the Ganges Delta and in the Rohingya refugee camp at Cox’s Bazar on the border to Myanmar, which is currently the largest refugee camp in the world.
The internationally renowned authors reflect on various perspectives and interpretations of Tabassum’s work. Besides the historical and political background, the contributions deal, among other things, with spotlighting particular architectural elements that pervade Tabassum’s work, such as place and memory, light and spirituality, brick and materiality, and people and community.
With contributions by Sean Anderson, Vera Simone Bader, Kareem Ibrahim, Hanif Kara, Andres Lepik, Nondita Correa Mehrotra, Tanzil Shafique, Cristina Steingräber, Marina Tabassum, Sarah M. Whiting, and Danny Wicaksono.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture’s mandate is different from that of many other architecture prizes: it not only rewards architects but also identifies municipalities, builders, clients, artisans and engineers who have played essential roles in the realization of a project. This publication thus presents the projects from various viewpoints alongside detailed and up-to-date images and descriptions.
The acclaimed, interdisciplinary master jury and steering committee of this cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture that determines the projects presented include David Chipperfield, Francis Kéré, Anna Lacaton, Marina Tabassum, and Sarah M. Whiting, to name but a few. Scholarly essays across various disciplines from members of the master jury and steering committee round out the publication. Contributions include a text on the optimism of humanity by Souleymane Bachir Diagne, director of the Institute of African Studies, Columbia University, and a contextualization of Modern Architecture in the Muslim World by Sibel Bozdoğan of Boston University. Kazi Khaleed Ashraf, director-general of the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, writes on the perspective of the dialogical, while Nasser Rabbat, the Aga Khan Professor at MIT, shares notes on architecture as a humanist empire. The texts also include a Salon des Refusés by Nader Teherani, founding principal of Boston-based architecture firm NADAAA.
The texts, which come from a wide range of geographies, are informative and descriptive, often striking an emotional note. Together with the project presentations, the publication thereby guides the reader through a contemplation of an architectural question of increasing urgency in our current times of crisis: how to build ethically for our shared global future.
With contributions by Kazi Khaleed Ashraf, Sibel Bozdoğan, Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Farrokh Derakhshani, Nasser Rabbat, Nader Teherani, and Sarah M. Whiting.


- Jul 30
- 1 min
Spotlight on Women Architects – Marina Tabassum | Stylepark

- Jul 2
- 1 min
Aga Khan Academy Dhaka wraps around "friendly outdoor learning areas" | Dezeen

- Apr 20
- 1 min
Sthapotik design ancestral mausoleum for the ‘Pir’ of Uwaisi Tariqa in Bangladesh | avontuura

- Apr 5
- 1 min
Shohel Residence / ARCHFIELD Bangladesh | Archdaily

- Apr 4
- 1 min
Sthapotik tops Bangladesh mausoleum with "chandelier" of skylights | Deezen

- Apr 2
- 1 min
Marina Tabassum takes Bangladesh to Munich | Prothom alo

- Mar 30
- 1 min
Meet the award-winning architect building flat-pack homes for flood victims | CNN

- Mar 24
- 1 min
Sthapotik shapes bangladeshi mausoleum with textural brickwork and deep skylights | Designboom

- Mar 23
- 1 min
Shah Muhammad Mohshin Khan Mausoleum | ArchDaily

- Mar 8
- 1 min
Marina Tabassum Architecture: My Journey

- Nov 4, 2022
- 1 min
What Role Should Architectural Prototypes Play in the Global South? | Archdaily

- Oct 25, 2022
- 1 min
RIZVI HASSAN, KHWAJA FATMI, SAAD BEN MOSTAFACOMMUNITY SPACES IN ROHINGYA REFUGEE RESPONSE | divisare

- Oct 13, 2022
- 1 min
Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Dhaka / Uygur Architects | ArchDaily

- Sep 29, 2022
- 1 min
Urban River Spaces | AGA Khan Award for Architecture 2022

- Sep 29, 2022
- 1 min
Community Spaces in Rohingya Refugee Response | AGA Khan Award for Architecture 2022

- Sep 22, 2022
- 1 min
Winners of the 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture announced | Gulf news

- Sep 22, 2022
- 1 min
Winners Announced For Aga Khan Award For Architecture 2022 | World architecture org

- Jul 29, 2022
- 1 min
Kiran Rest House | ArchDaily

- Jun 27, 2022
- 1 min
Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA: Critical Response | archleague.org


- Jun 25, 2022
- 1 min
100 Most Inspiring Architecture Photographers | Loop magazine

- Jun 7, 2022
- 1 min
AGA Khan 2022 shortlist | Dezeen

- Jun 7, 2022
- 1 min
ULAB New Campus / Kashef Chowdhury - URBANA

- Apr 4, 2022
- 1 min
"Our work is important, not us" says RIBA International Prize winner Kashef Chowdhury | Dezeen
Talks by Asif Salman
TEDxAUST
x = independently organized TED event
Theme: Against The Odds
The journey of an individual to become extra-ordinary has never been easy. But neither did the odds ever stop anybody from solving critical problems, making a difference or achieving greatness.
This event occurred on
September 29, 2021 | 10:00am - 4:00pm +06 (UTC +6hrs)