Embracing Impermanence

A Conversation with Marina Tabassum, Sadia Rahman and Priyanka Hutschenreiter

Abstract

Marina Tabassum, principal architect at Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is creating an architectural practice oriented towards the sustainable future of people and climate. While architectural rationalism is often construed in terms of the use of industrial materials and large scale in order to be adaptable, MTA understand sustainability and adaptability in terms of using local materials and practices. In this double-conversation, with Marina Tabassum and with the editors of this issue of OASE, we explore the tensions incurred through these differing approaches to rationalism between the needs of governments, the construction industry, local residents, and architects themselves.

OASE 119 Rationalism Revisited

Justin Agyin, Bart Decroos and Chritoph Grafe (eds.)
January 2025

In the crisis following the First World War (1929 - 1940), the Modern Movement of the 1920s supported a programme of social reform. This included the rationalization and industrialization of building processes, while efficient forms of construction were also an important source of architectural form. Nowadays, the need for economical building was based not only on purely financial considerations, but also on the limited availability of material and energy resources. In the process, ‘building’ increasingly becomes a practice of 'repairing'. Remodeling and building on represents a paradigm shift for the discipline of architecture, with architects having to reinvent themselves as bricoleurs, tinkerers or simply as repair experts. This requires not only the latest technology, but also age-old knowledge. Drawing on conversations between academics and practising architects, OASE 119 revisits the concept of rationality in architecture and explores how this shift is being addressed in different contexts.

Design: Karel Martens and Aagje Martens

ISBN: 978-94-6208-897-9

https://www.oasejournal.nl/en/Issues
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