Kashef Chowdhury scoops RIBA’s international prize from Chipperfield and Wilkinson Eyre
孟加拉国建筑师Kashef Chowdhury击败了David Chipperfield和Wilkinson Eyre，获得了RIBA的“世界上最好的新建筑”国际奖。
His Friendship Hospital in Satkhira, south-western Bangladesh, designed with his practice Urbana, was praised by the jury for embodying an “architecture of humanity” and being an “exemplar of innovative architecture”.
They added that the remote community hospital “addresses critical global issues - unequal access to healthcare and the crushing impact of climate breakdown on vulnerable communities”.
It was chosen from a 2021shortlist of three that was announced in November: David Chipperfield Architects’ £120m James Simon Galerie in Berlin and Wilkinson Eyre’s Lille Langebro cycle and pedestrian bridge in Copenhagen.
NGO Friendship commissioned the hospital to provide a medical lifeline for thousands of people from Satkhira, an area heavily affected by a major cyclone in 2007.
Chowdhury, the son of a civil engineer who was born in Dhaka, said: “In a sublimely important moment, RIBA and the jurors have identified a project from the global periphery to bring to the centre of architectural discourse and be the subject of one of the most important global awards.
“我感到鼓舞的是，这可能会激励我们更多的人，不是尽管，而是因为资源和手段的限制，致力于建设一个关爱人类和自然的建筑，共同应对我们今天在全球范围内面临的紧迫问题。”
友谊医院的创始人兼执行董事鲁纳·汗(Runa Khan)说:“友谊医院给这个星球上受气候影响最严重的一些人带来了美好明天的新希望。”
>> From the archive:Why you should be paying attention to Bangladesh’s architecture scene
The project, completed with a modest budget, faced demanding environmental conditions because of rising sea levels caused by climate change. Saltwater has encroached further inland, forcing all adjoining agricultural lands to be converted into shrimp cultivation ponds.
Chowdhury’s design responds to these conditions by incorporating a canal that collects rainwater - an essential resource and tool to prevent waterlogging as the saline groundwater is unusable for most practical purposes and draining is needed from intensifying rains. The water channel also helps with micro-climatic cooling in the increasingly hot summers.
The RIBA’s best new building award is given for design excellence and social impact.
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