Marina Tabassum

The first book devoted to the Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum and her multifaceted architectural oeuvre.

Marina Tabassum's work can be seen in the UK . . .

Serpentine Pavilion 2025: A Capsule in Time by Marina Tabassum Since its launch in 2000, London’s annual Serpentine Pavilion has become one of the most anticipated events in the global cultural calendar, and a leading visitor attraction during London’s summer season of culture. Each year, an internationally known architect is invited to design and create their first built structure in England: the Serpentine Pavilion. https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/serpentine-pavilion-2025-by-marina-tabassum/

Marina Tabassum (b. 1969, Dhaka, Bangladesh) is an acclaimed architect and educator. Her architectural practice, Marina Tabassum Architects, remains consciously contained in size — prioritising climate, context, culture and history — undertaking a limited number of projects per year.

Tabassum is a Professor at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. She held the Norman Foster Chair at Yale University in 2023 and has taught as a visiting professor at numerous universities.

Tabassum’s pursuit for the ‘architecture of relevance’ has won her numerous awards including the Soane Medal from the UK; Arnold Brunner Memorial Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; the Gold Medal of the French Academy of Architecture; and the Jameel Prize from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In 2024, Tabassum was included in TIME Magazine’s ‘100 Most Influential People’.

This volume presents various building projects that Marina Tabassum has worked on since 1995. The book ranges from early projects in the city of Dhaka 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 with Myanmar, which is currently the largest refugee camp in the world.

With contributions by Sean Anderson, Vera Simone Bader, Kareem Ibrahim, Hanif Kara, Andres Lepik, Nondita Correa Mehrotra, Tanzil Shafique, Sarah M. Whiting, and Danny Wicaksono.