Green Field Factory's RIBA Win Puts Nakshabid Architects on the Map

By Priya Raman

A rug factory in Rangpur just made a 20-person Dhaka studio a global name. Last week, Nakshabid Architects' Green Field Factory won the RIBA International Prize (a biennial award from the Royal Institute of British Architects for the world's best new building outside the UK) — the fifth winner in the award's history.

The firm frames the prize as bigger than one building. "We see the prize as a recognition of what architecture from Bangladesh can contribute to global conversations on climate and the dignity of labour," the studio told Dezeen.

Bayejid Khondoker founded Nakshabid Architects in 2003. Its portfolio concentrates on Bangladesh and spans public and private work: residential blocks, mosques, museums. The Green Field Factory was praised for passive design (building techniques that cut energy use through orientation, ventilation and shading) and employee wellbeing.

What does this change for Bangladeshi architecture?

It gives the country's practitioners a seat at the top table. The studio said the award recognises Bangladesh's architectural contributions at a global scale — a validation for a scene long overshadowed by its South Asian neighbours. The studio's method is grounded in context. "We believe that architecture must respond directly to its socio-ecological context, transforming ordinary programmes into meaningful collective experiences," it said.

That starts before drawing. "We approach every project as a shared undertaking, listening closely to the people who will use it, the climate it sits in and the building traditions around it before we draw," the studio continued. "In this way even the most functional programmes become places of gathering, where light, air, landscape and everyday social life are woven into the architecture itself."

Here are seven key projects from the studio's two-decade output.

Green Field Factory, Rangpur, 2017

The prize winner is a seven-storey rug factory designed to dismantle workplace hierarchies. A monumental green facade fronts the building, which draws on the traditional Bengali home. Natural ventilation and biophilic design (integrating natural elements into architecture) shape the interior.

Aman Mosque, Narayanganj, 2018

Two intersecting arches form an "invisible dome" over this cubic prayer hall. The solid concrete volume sits in a sunken circular courtyard. Triangular perforations filter light into the prayer space.

Shaptak Insignia, Dhaka, 2021

This apartment tower pair packs 18 units onto a 670-square-metre plot. A concrete facade with square openings limits heat gain and controls daylight. Every apartment gets a balcony and a stepped terrace.

Urban Legacy, Dhaka, 2021

Two slender red-brick residential towers carry cantilevered balconies enclosed by horizontal louvres. Greenery shades and cools the interiors. "Cascading vines and planters spill from every terrace and the brick-walled garden base, turning the building into a vertical green landscape," the studio said.

Aman Cement Factory Mosque, Sirajganj, 2022

Also known as the Ullapara Mosque, this two-storey building serves the workers of a cement factory. Locally sourced brick, concrete and glass blend "tradition with modernity" behind a tiered brick exterior and arched entrance. "[The mosque] has become a place where factory workers and neighbours gather for prayer, social events and community life," the studio said.

Bangladesh Military Museum, Dhaka, 2022

A government-commissioned renovation, completed in 2022, reconceived the museum as a "vibrant civic destination". The curving concrete structure holds cafes, galleries, an amphitheatre and an arena under a 120-feet glass geodesic dome.

Nurpur Graveyard, Rangpur, 2023

This Muslim graveyard doubles as community infrastructure, with a healthcare facility and a madrasa (education space) on site. Future expansions are expected to include a mosque. "Nurpur Graveyard is a place that diminishes the typical boundaries of graveyards," the studio said.

With a RIBA International Prize in hand and a 20-person bench, Nakshabid now carries Bangladesh's climate-driven, socially grounded architecture into a global conversation the firm has long said it deserves.