Khudi Bari
Architectural visualisation of Khadi Bari in a village setting with various ground water scenarios.
Over the year leading up to COP26*, a Bangladeshi architectural studio, a UK artist and 50+ families located in flood-prone communities living with the consequences of the climate catastrophe, will test/adapt a low-cost modular shelter system. Khudi Bari (or tiny house) is designed to withstand high water/wind and can easily be relocated. British filmmaker/artist Teresa Albor will make a series of films which will be the vector between Marina Tabassum Architects’ sustainable and solution-oriented idea and the wider world. Design and architecture students (age 18 – 24) will be involved over the nine-month project.
This collaboration will work across the fields of art, design, technology and architecture to create site-specific shelter in tandem with the communities who will use and inhabit it; promoting direct action and embracing a DIY sensibility.
*The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), Glasgow (1–12 Nov 2021)
Marina Tabassum's practice prioritizes climate, materials, site, culture, and local history. She believes an architecture practice can become a source of positive change in the world. She has taught and lectured widely: currently academic director, Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes, and Settlements. Recent projects include Wisdom of the Land, 16th Venice Architecture Biennale, 2018; the Independence Monument and Liberation War Museum, Dhaka, 2013; and Bait Ur Rouf Mosque, Dhaka, 2012. She received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 2016. Tabassum’s also on the board of Prokritee a Fair-Trade Organisation exporting artisanal products from Bangladesh all over the world employing thousands of women. Tabassum graduated in architecture from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
Teresa Albor is based in London- traveling to South Asia on a regular basis. Whenever possible, she collaborates and/or creates opportunities for others to make work: as a founding member of Rufus Stone and the collective GRACE, as facilitator for Live Art Development Agency workshops, via a residence at Guest Projects with Arts Council England funding, curating and participating in live art events/workshops in Bangladesh. Her work is research-based and avowedly multidisciplinary. Earlier in her life she worked as a journalist and in development, including in poor island communities. Albor has an MFA from Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London.
Community Representatives
Lead collaborators
Susmita Majumder
Community Representative (Northern Regions).
Susmita is a student in her final year, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
Md. Shafiul Azam Shamim
Community Representative (Coastal Area).
Azam is the Principal Architect at Architectura PVT LTD. and has a Bachelor of Architecture (2010), Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology.
Team members and advisors
Sabiha Haque
Landscape Architecture
Sabiha is a Research Associate and Landscape Architect at Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements. She has a Masters of Landscape Architecture (2017), The City College of New York, NY.
Advisors
Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA) studio team
Mohammad Arfar Razi
Geography and Research
Razi is a Research and Design Associate and Coordinator of Geography Research at Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements and has a MS in Geography & Environment (2010), University of Dhaka; and an MPhil in Physical Geography & Environment (2013), University of Dhaka.
M M Arman Abedin
Design, Procurement, Construction & Coordination
Aman is an Associate Architect at MTA. he has a Bachelor of Architecture (2015), University of Asia Pacific.
Tasneem Farah Siddique
Research & Coordination
Tasneem is an Associate Architect at MTA, She has a Bachelor of Architecture (2016), Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology.
Kazi Akif
Procurement & Construction
Kazi is an Assistant Architect at MTA. He has a Bachelor of Architecture (2018), BRAC University.