Subheadline: RIBA honours Rangpur landmark
Bangladesh Factory Wins Global Architecture Prize
- Green Field Factory in Rangpur wins the 2026 RIBA International Prize
- The seven-storey facility integrates nature, worker wellbeing and shared spaces
- Bangladeshi firm Nakshabid Architects designed the textile and rug factory
A seven-storey textile factory in Rangpur, Bangladesh, has won the prestigious RIBA International Prize 2026, earning international recognition for a design that places nature and worker wellbeing at the centre of an industrial workplace. Green Field Factory, operated by Karupannya Rangpur Limited, received the award from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). CNN reported that the jury described the building as a “work of quiet humility”.
Designed by Bangladeshi architectural firm Nakshabid Architects, the facility spans more than 144,000 square feet. Its design features courtyards, pond-lined walkways, a facade covered with tropical plants and spaces for rest and social interaction. The layout draws inspiration from traditional Bengali homesteads, where courtyards and ponds are central features.
The factory provides workers with a rooftop childcare centre, an on-site medical facility and shaded areas for gathering. A statue of a woman at the entrance symbolises women’s empowerment, according to the architects. Around 5,000 people work at the facility, most of them women.
A RIBA judging panel visited the factory in September. The judges said the project offered an alternative model for factory design and operation, challenging conventional workplace hierarchies. They also highlighted the shared main entrance used by workers, managers and owners. Jury chair Bijoy Jain described it as an “equanimous shared portal”.
Bayejid M Khondoker, founder of Nakshabid Architects, said he wanted to demonstrate that industry could breathe, nurture and inspire. “A factory should not be a machine that consumes human energy. It should be a living place that restores it,” he said.
Green Field Factory was one of two Bangladeshi projects shortlisted for the prize, alongside the BRAC University campus in Dhaka. The other finalists were in Belgium: a renovated 1960s office building and an expanded art institute.
Presented every two years, the RIBA International Prize recognises architecture outside the United Kingdom that demonstrates vision, innovation, design excellence and a positive impact on users and the surrounding environment.
//DBTech/CNN/SMP/MIST//
