B'desh hospital, a cyclone-hit area's lifeline, rated world's best building

The Royal Institute of British Ar­c­hitects (RIBA) has adjudged Friendship Hospital in Banglad­esh’s Satkhira district the world’s best building for the year 2021.

Designed by architect Kashef Chowdhury of Urbana, the community hospital is set in an area that was heavily affected by a major cyclone in 2007. The building uses water as its central point and provides sustainable, low-cost essential healthcare to the local communities.

The Kohan Ce­ram Central Office Building in Tehran has been built with an internal and external st­r­uc­ture using a unique perfo­r­ated brick that creates a spectacle of light at night, while also providing re­lief from the dry heat of Tehran

Odile Decq, chair of the RIBA International Prize Grand Jury, said the hospital “embodies an architecture of humanity and protection that reflects the Friendship NGO’s philanthropic mission” and added that “designed with a human touch, [the hospital] is relevant to critical global challenges, such as unequal access to healthcare and the crushing impact of climate breakdown on vulnerable communities.”

The Friendship hospital is set in an area that was heavily affected by a major cyclone in 2007 and has a zig-zag canal that cuts thr­ough the premises, collecting rainwater that helps cool the courtyards in summer

A zig-zag canal that cuts through the premises helps separ­ate the inpatients and outpat­i­e­nts, while collecting rain­water that helps cool the courtyards in summer. The collected water is stored in a newly built tank and is a valuable resource in an area with saline groundwater.

Designed in a way that it remains unimpacted by the challenging environmental conditi­ons, the 80-bed hospital has stood the test of nature to bec­ome the area’s medical lifeline.

The Kohan Ce­ram Central Office Building in Tehran has been built with an internal and external st­r­uc­ture using a unique perfo­r­ated brick that creates a spectacle of light at night, while also providing re­lief from the dry heat of Tehran

A series of intimate courtyards, made using low-cost loc­al brickwork, bring natural light and ventilation, while the sens­i­t­ive areas of the institute rem­ain protected from direct sunli­ght through shielded cor­r­i­dors and double-layered arches.

“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 we face today on a pla­­­­­netary scale,” Chowdhury said.

Meanwhile, the RIBA international emerging architect 2021 was awarded to the Hooba design group for the Kohan Ceram Central Office Building in Tehran. It has been built with an internal and external st­r­uc­ture using a unique perfo­r­ated brick. The brick, manufa­c­tured by Kohan Ceram factory, is pro­duced in three diff­e­rent for­ms with glass, filled or empty, in order to regulate the building’s temperature and light sup­ply. This “spectacled” brick also creates a spectacle of light at night, while also providing re­lief from the dry heat of Tehran.

Held every two years, the RIBA awards celebrate architectural projects from around the world that demonstrate design excellence along with social impact as also the design innovators of tomorrow.