Online Lecture / Architecture Speaks: Marina Tabassum  

On Wednesday, January 10, 2024, at 1.15–2.30 pm (UTC+2) 

The online lecture will be held on Zoom, and pre-registration is required. Please register for the lecture using this link no later than January 9: Register here

In the era of artificial intelligence, it is particularly important to consider the architect’s social role and societal responsibility. What social skills does a designer employ to realize their visions of a better future? How is trust built within a design team and beyond the field? 

In the ninth season of the Architecture Speaks lecture series, organized jointly by Aalto University and the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Professor Jenni Reuter invites six architects or architectural groups to share insights into their design processes and their roles in the world of architecture. On Wednesday, January 10th, we will have a lecture by Bangladeshi architect and educator Marina Tabassum.

”Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum designs site-specific architecture, placing a special emphasis on climate, context, and history. Her sensory buildings feel timeless and ageless,” describes Jenni Reuter.

Marina Tabassum

A Bangladeshi architect and educator, Marina Tabassum founded Dhaka-based Marina Tabassum Architects in 2005. In her work, Tabassum seeks to establish a language of architecture that is contemporary yet reflectively rooted to place, always against an ecological rubric containing climate, context, culture, history. Her project the Bait Ur Rouf Mosque in Bangladesh is distinguished by its lack of popular mosque iconography, its emphasis on space and light, and its capacity to function not only as a place of worship but also as a refuge for a dense neighborhood on Dhaka’s periphery. The portfolio of work notwithstanding, Tabassum’s practice remains consciously contained in size, undertaking a limited number of projects per year.

Tabassum is a Professor at Technical University Delft, in the Netherlands. She held the Gehry Chair at the University of Toronto 2022 – 2023. She has taught in Harvard University Graduate School of Design, University of Texas, Bengal Institute and BRAC University.

She received Honorary Doctorate from Technical University of Munich. In addition to Aga Khan Awards for Architecture, she has received many accolades including Arnold Brunner Memorial Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Gold Medal of the French Academy of Architecture and Soane medal in Architecture from the United Kingdom.

Tabassum chairs Foundation for Architecture and Community Equity (F.A.C.E) and Prokritee, a Fare trade organization. She has served as the member of the Steering Committee of the Aga Khan Awards for Architecture from 2017 to 2022. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).

Pre-Registration  

The online lecture will be held on Zoom Webinar platform. Please pre-register from this link no later on January 9. Register here

Link and instructions for participation are sent in a separate email after the registration has closed.  

Accessibility  

The online lecture is free of charge and organized in English. Live captioning is provided. Interpretation or translations are not provided. There will be no recorded version of the lecture available afterwards. Technical instructions are on display at the beginning of the lecture. 

For more information 

Kaura Raudaskoski  
Producer of Learning and Public Programmes (Mon–Wed)  
+3584577310479  
kaura.raudaskoski@mfa.fi  

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Architecture Speaks! Is a lecture series curated by Associate Professor Jenni Reuter and organized by Aalto University Department of Architecture and the Museum of Finnish Architecture.