Bengali hospital bags world's best new building award

Khalid Umar Malik
28 Jan 2022, 12:27 GMT+10

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has recognized an 80-bed Bangladeshi hospital in the coastal area of Satkhira as the world's Best New Building.
The British institute announced the Friendship Hospital project, designed by Urbana, a Bangladeshi architecture company, as the winner of the RIBA International Prize 2021 on Tuesday.
The coveted award is given every two years to a building that embodies design brilliance and architectural ambition while also having a significant social impact.

SATKHIRA, Bangladesh - The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has recognized an 80-bed Bangladeshi hospital in the coastal area of Satkhira as the world's Best New Building.

The British institute announced the Friendship Hospital project, designed by Urbana, a Bangladeshi architecture company, as the winner of the RIBA International Prize 2021 on Tuesday.

The coveted award is given every two years to a building that embodies design brilliance and architectural ambition while also having a significant social impact.

It is one of the world's most meticulously examined architectural prizes, with renowned experts visiting each longlisted building. It was last awarded in 2018 when a school in rural Brazil was declared the world's best new construction after being delayed a year due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

In November last year, the hospital in the isolated Shyamnagar upazila was shortlisted alongside two other projects: David Chipperfield's Berlin gallery and Wilkinson Eyre's cycling and footbridge in Denmark.

These three were chosen from a pool of 16 contenders from 11 countries.

This facility, built on a shoestring budget of just under $2 million, provides medical assistance to thousands of people in the coastal zone.

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