American Academy of Arts and Letters Announces 2021 Architecture Award Winners

The American Academy of Arts and Letters has announced the recipients of the 2021 Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize and four Arts and Letters Awards.

Marina Tabassum, founder and principal of Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA) in Dhaka, Bangladesh was recognized with the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize. After serving as the academic director of Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes, and Settlements and co-founding URBANA (where she worked as a partner for 10 years), Tabassum founded her own firm, MTA, in 2005. Known for her elemental architecture that prioritizes climate, local culture, and historical context, Tabassum–currently a visiting professor at Dhaka’s BRAC University–also received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2016.