I have to do more than just serve the 1%: Marina Tabassum
In conversation with architect Marina Tabassum – selected in TIME Magazine's '100 Most Influential People of 2024’ and one of the most celebrated architects of Bangladesh
Among the collectables on the book cabinet, the dried-out Gorjon seed caught my eye.
The dark chocolate seed is camouflaged perfectly among the shades of beige, brown and amber with dijon undertones. The orchestra of a brass Buddha, bronze bird, smooth wood trunks, dried gourd shells, stones and earthen pots sit perfectly on the shelf, with a pair of untitled Kibria pieces mounted above on the wall. The shading on the pieces is black, white and grey - like grey hematites.
Against this neutral palette of earthy shades, the wall opposite looks vibrant- with a landscape drawn with bright orange, yellow and blue pens. The innumerable canvases and frames below the large painting give the impression that these frames are temporary.
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Among the frames, a certain green logo stood out for me, which read, 'The Agha Khan Award is presented to architect Marina Tabassum…' for her design of the Bait-ur-Rouf Mosque in Dhaka.
"I picked up the Gorjon seed from Teknaf," the architect said, where she worked on her Khudi Bari project.
"Whenever I visit a place, instead of collecting souvenirs, I bring back these pieces. I don't know; they make me happy", she said, looking at the portion of her collection. Somehow I imagined a little girl picking up shells and stones from the shores.
The number of grey hair strands she had on her shoulder, mixed with the grey of her dress, was unique. She sat on a chair against the vibrant wall creating a wonderful contrast.
At that moment, I could not remember if I had ever seen the architect in any colour other than black. In every photo available of her, Tabassum is wearing something black, because apparently, "black goes with everything and I do not have to think much. I can pair it with literally everything."
The collector of the mangrove fruit is currently one of Bangladesh's most celebrated architects. Marina Tabassum has been selected in TIME Magazine's '100 Most Influential People' of 2024.
To describe her and her works, Sarah M Whiting, Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design wrote, "…but Marina Tabassum isn't typical. She has developed a practice and a way of being that prioritises local cultures and values, as well as the perils faced by our shared planet."
She received an Honorary Doctorate from Technical University of Munich. In addition to the Aga Khan Awards for architecture, she has received many accolades, including the Arnold Brunner Memorial Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Gold Medal of the French Academy of Architecture and the United Kingdom's Soane Medal in architecture.
How does such recognition feel? "They are always nice. It does not necessarily validate my work, but it's kind of an inspiration for me and also the people who work with me. I know my name comes to the forefront. But the fact is it is a collective achievement," she replied.
"When I was little, I wanted to be a lot of things, like a daydreamer. I remember wanting to be an explorer when I grew up, which I do not want anymore. Because now, I have to fly so much for all different reasons," she said.
Apart from being an architect, Tabassum is an educator.
She is the Professor at Technical University Delft, in the Netherlands. She held the Gehry Chair at the University of Toronto 2022 - 2023. She has taught at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, University of Texas, Bengal Institute and BRAC University.
Also, she chairs the Foundation for Architecture and Community Equity (F.A.C.E) and Prokritee, a fair trade organisation. Currently, her Khudi Bari or tiny home project installation is being showcased at an exhibition in Lisbon.
Tabassum and her team designed the Khudi Bari, meaning Tiny Home, for climate victims, landless or moving populations of Bangladesh. It is a modular shelter that can be assembled and disassembled by hand in a short time.
Made with bamboo and local materials, a khudi bari costs Tk50,000 to make. Initially starting with a foreign aid fund, the architect involved the communities to build this home.
But for a globally acclaimed architect, why does Tabassum focus on low-cost solutions that run on funds?
'The desk was my world'
Among four siblings, Marina is the eldest. Her father is an oncologist, currently 87 years old, who volunteers in hospitals to see patients, while her stay-at-home mother is still as caring as she used to be when the six of them lived in a three-room small flat in the capital's Farmgate area.
"I never wanted to be a doctor and was not interested in engineering. I always liked drawing though. I liked the creative process but had no idea about architecture," Tabassum said.
She had her schooling at Holy Cross School and College. "I had a small study desk, the kind that had a box to keep books and the angular lid of the box could be unfolded to make it a tabletop. I used to keep all my books, my drawings, the knick-knacks I collected, inside the box. That was my world," she said. This explains the pile of collections in her office.
In that three-room apartment, Tabassum learnt to accommodate, fight for her space with her siblings and yet share her good and bad memories with her family.
"That humble upbringing taught me a lot. I grew up seeing both my parents as very giving. I have always seen my mother giving everything to people. I guess that's what all four of us embodied," she said.
That was one of the very first thoughts Tabassum had when she completed her education in architecture, "how do I make my service available to people? Because every time I get out of my home, I see enormous disparity," she thought.
"I feel privileged that the government invested in my education by providing a scholarship. My university fee was Tk18. The government invested in me so that I could become a force to give back to society. So I have to take on that responsibility. I cannot just serve the 1% who can pay for my services, I have to do more than that," she said.
Tabassum graduated from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in 1995. After graduation, she completed landmark projects like the Museum of Independence and the Bangladeshi Independence Monument.
Tabassum feels she has a responsibility towards her community and the environment. But does she feel a pressure to exceed her previous design while designing something new?
"Architecture doesn't work like that. Every project is different from the other in terms of size and scale, context of the site, challenges and solving them," she replied.
What has been your favourite project? Instead of having one favourite work of her own, she distinguishes her works in terms of intensity of involvement.
"Some designs and projects require [more] intense involvement and problem-solving than others. From understanding the project site, finalising the design, arranging funding to thinking about engagement issues, everything has to be managed," she explained.
Khudi Bari is such a high-intensity project.
Khudi Bari: The lightweight structure that can withstand floods
It began as a totally self-initiated project. There was no client for this. No funding. "We researched the prospect of the design. There was no grand planning behind that, just an intuition of 'let's see if it works.'
During the Covid-19 pandemic, one day we built some models inside our office," Tabassum recounted.
After working through a variety of ideas, the team chose bamboo as the principal material. It is locally available, cheap, durable and lightweight, it is easy to move and carry. Fastened with steel joints and metal corner braces for strength, the structure can be easily assembled and disassembled with minimal labour.
In the final model, Khudi Bari has two levels. The ground floor is built on compact earth and walls can be made with any locally found material, such as corrugated iron or woven bamboo, or it can be left open for agricultural storage.
The second floor, where up to four people sleep, is six feet from the ground and accessed by a stepladder, offering a safe space to shelter during floods.
After the success of the first prototype in Dhaka, the team went to the chars in the lower Meghna river. Then came the part of connecting with the community. It is a housing project for the landless farmers who live in the chars.
"If we have to build a home for a landless family, we at least need a small piece of land. Here came the connectivity with the community. We had no idea how to approach them. Whether they will like the project or not, whether they will accept it or not – many thoughts came to our minds. Because at the end of the day, if the community doesn't accept it, there is no point in it."
"If we want to build a home, we need a family who will agree to use it. Here comes the engagement with the community. At the end of the day, if the community doesn't accept it, there is no point in the research. So the initial process is long and slow."
After the completion of the four houses in Char Hijla, Tabassum formed the Foundation for Architecture and Community Equity (FACE) and received funding from the Swiss Development Corporation to build 100 houses, "we have built Khudi Bari units in places like Sunamganj, Jamalpur, and Kurigram that are affected by flash floods, river erosion and displacement. We also have Kudi Bari structures in the Rohingya refugee camps in the coastal region of Bangladesh," she said.
The process is not an easy one. We go to different locations, engage with the communities through various activities, and explain the concept and process of construction. After that, the communities decide who is the most deserving among them to have the first house. Then, with the community's participation, we make the home for the chosen family. This process helps them to explore the structure. When the community is convinced that the structure is sturdy, they voluntarily come forward wanting a Khudi Bari for themselves.
"The main reason for working with the community is that when people are involved with the project, they feel a certain ownership of it and eventually take care of it," she explained.
Among the houses built by FACE, approximately 85% were adapted by the homeowners, who expanded and made additions to the houses. "With the 85% sustaining rate, we think it was a successful project on which we are now building our next generation Khudi Bari units," Tabassum added.
'If given a choice between brick and concrete, I would always go for brick'
Out of the 10 books Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA) – Tabassum's studio – has published, one is on the Great Padma River and its lands. When asked about the land and the architecture we see around, Tabassum was straightforward. She expressed her disdain for glass-made buildings and structures. Glass can't handle heat; it turns buildings into greenhouses, requiring energy-intense cooling systems.
"From the very beginning of my architectural life, I have talked against it and I still believe that it is a crime to build a building entirely out of glass. The amount of electricity it requires to cool it off, we do not produce that electricity. Just because one can afford to pay the bills, doesn't mean one should put pressure on the infrastructure of the country," shared Tabassum.
Another popular building material is concrete, which is not quite Tabassum's favourite.
The reason concrete has been popular among the modern masters of architecture in the 20th century is that it is a malleable product. You can pour it in any shape you want and reinforced concrete uses steel, which is much more structurally sturdy and can take more pressure and load.
However, concrete is being criticised in the modern days, because of the pollution it creates. Portland cement production has a high carbon footprint. We also import most of the raw materials to produce cement. In her works, Tabssum have limited the use of concrete to an optimised level.
"Researchers are experimenting with building materials like biomaterials, mycelium. But till now, we haven't found any material that can replace the capacity of concrete, in terms of strength and large-scale use capacity," Tabassum explained.
Compressed blocks are being used all over the world, which is a mixture of cement, soil and other materials compressed in brick blocks. However, due to the dampness and humid atmosphere of Bangladesh, if we want to install the blocks here in Dhaka, it would require frequent maintenance.
"But culturally, concrete and concrete blocks are not in my culture. If I am given a choice between brick and concrete, I would always go for brick because that is my material, part of my culture. We should research how we can produce brick without ruining the top layer of soil," she added.
Tabassum prefers sourcing material locally, that comes from my land, be it bamboo, brick or soil.
The books she reads, the masters who influenced her
The wild bookshelf beside the untitled Kibria frames flaunts some gems of books - from the gigantic collection of Geoffrey Bawa to Louis I Kahn, Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza to Swiss architect Peter Zumthor.
Surprisingly, Tabassum's designs and creations embody the influence of these masters of modern architecture. "Kahn has a major influence on me. Sometimes when I design my projects, I think of how Kahn would solve this, what would he and other masters from the 20th century do in this situation," she said.
Tabassum's thought for her community is reflected in the books she prefers. She recently read 'The Vortex: A True Story of History's Deadliest Storm, an Unspeakable War, and Liberation' by Jason Miklian and Scott Carney and she recommends it to everyone.
The premise of the book is the historic 1970 Bhola cyclone, which killed around 500,000 people. The book speaks on how this calamity influenced the election results of 1970 in erstwhile East Pakistan. Perhaps another example of how Tabassum's mind is wired to think and perceive the world, which is reflected through her architectural work.
