Marina Tabassum (born ) is a Bangladeshi architect. She is the principal architect of Marina Tabassum Architects.
Tabassum won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture twicein 2016 for the design of Bait-ur-Rouf Mosque in Dhaka, and again in 2025 for the design of Khudi Bari in various locations in Bangladesh. In 2020, Tabassum was listed by Prospect as the third-greatest thinker for the COVID-19 era, with the magazine writing: "At the forefront of creating buildings in tune with their natural environments, this Bangladeshi architect is also embracing the design challenges posed by what we are collectively doing to the planet." Tabassum was the first South Asian to receive the "Lisbon Triennale Lifetime Achievement Award" (2022). She was named on Time magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2024. In 2026, she was awarded with the Ekushe Padak, for her special contribution to architecture.
Early life and education Tabassum was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the daughter of an oncologist. Her family migrated to Dhaka, Bangladesh from India during the partition of Bengal in 1947. She attended Holy Cross Girls School and College. She then graduated in architecture from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 1994.
Career In 1995, Tabassum founded URBANA, an architecture practice based in Dhaka, Bangladesh with Kashef Chowdhury. The firm designed a number of projects for about ten years.
In 2005, Tabassum established Marina Tabassum Architects, and she serves as its principal architect.
Tabassum designed the Bait Ur Rouf Mosque in Dhaka, completed in 2012. She won her first Aga Khan Award for Architecture for this project in 2016.
As of 2025, Tabassum is a professor of Architectural Design for Climate Adaptation at the Department of Architecture at Delft University of Technology, Netherlands. She held the Gehry Chair at the University of Toronto during 2022–2023. She taught in Harvard Graduate School of Design, University of Texas, Bengal Institute and BRAC University.
Tabassum chairs Foundation for Architecture and Community Equity (F.A.C.E) and Prokritee, a fare trade organization. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).
Notable works
1997–2006: Museum of Independence, Dhaka, Bangladesh 2001: A5 Residence, Dhaka, Bangladesh 2006–2011: Comfort Reverie, Dhaka, Bangladesh 2009: Vacation House at Faridabad, Dhaka, Bangladesh 2012: Baitur Rouf Mosque, Dhaka, Bangladesh 2018: Panigram Eco Resort and Spa, Jashore, Bangladesh 2020: Khudi Bari, Chars in the coastal areas of Bangladesh 2025: 24th Serpentine Pavilion in Kensington Gardens, London.
Awards and honors
1997: First prize for the Independence Monument and the Liberation War Museum by the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 2001: Architect of the Year Award, by the Indian Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat 2004: Anannya Top Ten Awards 2004: Finalist – Aga Khan Award (for A5, a pavilion apartment) 2006: Second runner-up – Nishorgo Architectural Competition 2016: Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2018: Jameel Prize, Victoria & Albert Museum 2021: Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize 2021: Soane Medal 2022: Lifetime Achievement Award 2024: Time list of 100 Most Influential People of 2024 2025: Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2026: Ekushe Padak
Exhibitions 2023: Marina Tabassum Architects, Bangladesh
References
External links