Khudi Bari: Aga Khan Award winning architecture of resilience, climate justice

In the quiet rustle of bamboo poles lashed together with steel joints, a revolution is unfolding – one that speaks not of steel and glass towers, but of survival, dignity, and radical empathy. Khudi Bari, meaning “Small House” in Bengali, is more than a shelter. It is a manifesto in bamboo, a floating dream on the shifting sandbars of the Meghna River, and now, a globally celebrated icon of climate-responsive architecture after being awarded the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture in the 16th Award Cycle (2023-2025). Designed by Marina Tabassum, one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2024, Khudi Bari emerged not from a high-tech studio, but from the urgency of a pandemic and the rising waters...