Rug factory in Bangladesh wins 2026 RIBA International Prize

A rug factory in Rangpur, Bangladesh, designed for 5,000 workers, has won the RIBA International Prize 2026. Dhaka-based studio Nakshabid Architects designed Green Field Factory to dismantle workplace hierarchies. The Royal Institute of British Architects presents the biennial award to the world's best new building outside the UK. This is the fifth winner.

RIBA president Christ Williamson said: "Green Field Factory redefines manufacturing architecture in South Asia and beyond."

"By putting people, wellbeing and their everyday experiences at its core and actively supporting its female workforce, it proves that thoughtful design can dismantle traditional hierarchies to create profound social and environmental change," Williamson continued.

RIBA announced the winner at the Stirling Prize ceremony in London. Mary Duggan Architects and Ruff Architects took this year's Stirling Prize for the Lion Green Road housing development in London.

How does the building work?

Rug manufacturer Karupannya Rangpur Limited commissioned the project. Green Field Factory is a seven-storey building surrounded by fields and small settlements.

Nakshabid Architects based the design on the traditional Bengali home. The building uses natural ventilation and biophilic design principles. Courtyards, verandas, gardens and a monumental green facade let natural light and airflow into the building, minimising the need for mechanical systems.

The factory has one main entrance with two grand staircases for all workers. Nearby factories typically provide separate entrances for workers and management. The single shared entrance challenges that convention.

The building's shared programme extends beyond the working day:

• A rooftop daycare centre
• An on-site medical practice
• A grocery shop
• A prayer room
• Shared spaces for breaks and socialising, some open to workers' families and the wider community

Low-maintenance planting throughout supports insects and birds. Artwork and sculptures on site celebrate the role of women in the workplace, family and community.

What did the jury say?

Grand jury chair Bijoy Jain said: "The project demonstrates the dissolution of architecture as a topological space, with a single-pointed focus on dismantling civilisational oppression and hierarchy, for woman and man alike."

"Through the simple gesture of two grand stairs as an equanimous shared portal, it transforms a space and symbol once reserved exclusively for the king of the region, as landlord and ruling class, and for the colonial power that pervaded the length and breadth of the country," Jain continued.

He added: "The architect and owner shared how the women and men working in the factory would bring their families with pride to show them where they worked, and the women empowered in their self-reliance to take life and familial decisions on their own."

Who did it beat?

RIBA awards the International Prize biennially to a building that "demonstrates visionary, innovative thinking, and design excellence whilst making a distinct contribution for its users and within its physical context".

Green Field Factory won ahead of:

• BRAC University in Bangladesh by WOHA
• Z33 art museum in Belgium by Francesca Torzo Architetto
• The renovation of Royale Belge in Belgium by Caruso St John Architects, Bovenbouw Architectuur and DDS+

RIBA also named Maker Architecten winner of the International Emerging Architect Award for YIMBY, a residential project in Kortrijk, Belgium. The scheme revamped 18 plots across a 1920s garden city neighbourhood, using reclaimed materials for new facades and creating communal green space.

The previous International Prize went to Peris + Toral Arquitectes in 2024, for a social housing project in Barcelona. With two consecutive winners grounded in social purpose, RIBA's international programme continues to reward architecture measured by the lives of the people who use it.