Marina Tabassum (born 1968 or 1969)[1] is a Bangladeshi architect.[2] She is the principal architect of Marina Tabassum Architects.
In 2016, she won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the design of Bait-ur-Rouf MosqueinDhaka, Bangladesh.[3] 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.”[4] She was the first South Asian to get "Lisbon Triennale Lifetime Achievement Award" (2022).
In 1995, Tabassum founded URBANA, an architecture practice based in Dhaka, Bangladesh with Kashef Chowdhury.[6][7] The firm designed a number of projects for about ten years.
In 2005, Tabassum established her own practice, Marina Tabassum Architects, and she serves as its principal architect.
Since 2005 Tabassum has been a visiting professor at the BRAC University,[5] where she has also taught courses on Contemporary South Asian Architecture. She also conducts undergraduate studios at the University of Asia Pacific, and has given lectures and presentations at a number of other educational institutions and conferences. She has been the Director of Academic Program at Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements since 2015.[8] She also proposed the invitation of one of India's best architects Bijoy Jain to CAA 2013 in Bangladesh
Tabassum designed the Bait Ur Rouf Mosque in Dhaka, which was completed in 2012.[9] In 2016 the project was shortlisted for the Aga Khan Award.[10]
Tabassum was named to the Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People of 2024 list.[11]
