Bangladesh hospital named world's best new building
Credit: Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA
A remote hospital in an area of Bangladesh vulnerable to rising sea levels has been named the world's best new building.
The
Friendship Hospital in Satkhira, a cyclone-prone district in the
country's south, was announced winner of 2021's prestigious RIBA
International Prize on Tuesday, with its architects praised for putting
"care and humanity at the heart of its design."
Constructed
from locally-made bricks, the 80-bed hospital was built around a series
of courtyards lined with tranquil, shaded walkways. An angular canal
cuts through the center of the site to separate inpatient and outpatient
wings.
The
canal cutting through the center of the complex helps with "micro
climatic cooling" during hot Bangladesh summers, according to the Royal
Institute of British Architects. Credit: Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA
The
Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), which organizes the
award, commended the hospital's design for blending in with the
surrounding countryside and creating an "uplifting and inviting
experience for visitors, patients and healthcare professionals."
Designed
by architect Kashef Chowdhury and his Dhaka-based firm, Urbana, the
hospital was commissioned by sustainable development NGO, Friendship.
Chowdhury described the jury's decision to honor a project from the
"global periphery" as a "sublimely important moment."
"I
am encouraged that this may inspire more of us to commit, not in spite
of, but because of limitations of resources and means, to an
architecture of care both for humanity and for nature, to rise
collectively to the urgencies that we face today on a planetary scale,"
he said in a press statement.
The design's shady courtyards were designed to encourage natural ventilation. Credit: Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA
Held
every two years, the prize honors buildings or structures that
"demonstrate design excellence and social impact." In a press release
announcing the winner, RIBA noted that the Friendship Hospital was built
in a "fragile and dynamic environment," where grain fields have been
converted into shrimp farms due to rising sea levels.
As
such, the hospital incorporates several sustainable design features.
The way the courtyards are arranged encourages natural ventilation and
eliminates the need for air conditioning. The architects also created a
drainage system that channels rainwater from around the complex into a
storage tank for future use and to prevent waterlogging.
The
prize's jury comprised experts from Europe, the US, Asia and South
America, and was chaired by French architect and urban planner Odile
Decq. In a press statement, Decq said that the hospital "is relevant to
critical global challenges, such as unequal access to healthcare and the
crushing impact of climate breakdown on vulnerable communities."
"It
is a demonstration of how beautiful architecture can be achieved
through good design when working with a relatively modest budget and
with difficult contextual constraints," she added.
Jury chair Odile Decq called the hospital "a celebration of a building dedicated to humans." Credit: Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA
Selected from 16 finalists in 11 countries, the hospital was one of three projects shortlisted
for the award. The shortlist included two European projects:
James-Simon-Galerie, an art gallery on Berlin's Museum Island, and Lille
Langebro, a 525-foot-long vehicle-free bridge in the Danish capital,
Copenhagen.
The biennial prize, delayed a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was last awarded in 2018, when a school in rural Brazil was named the world's best new building.
A
second award was also announced Tuesday, with Iran's Hooba Design Group
winning the RIBA International Emerging Architect award for an
"innovative" brick office building in Tehran.
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