A Bangladesh Factory Built for its Women Workers Has Won a Major Architecture Award

A textiles factory in Bangladesh with a mainly female workforce has been named the world’s best new building, winning one of architecture’s top prizes.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) said the Green Field Factory, a seven-story building set around traditional courtyards and verandas and enveloped with greenery, was the jury’s unanimous choice for its 2026 international prize.

Bangladesh’s textile industry has transformed women’s employment prospects in recent decades, but many of its factories are housed in poorly constructed buildings, and the sector has a long history of deadly workplace accidents.

The judges said the factory, which employs around 5,000 people to manufacture carpets in the northern city of Rangpur, “offers a pioneering model for industrial factory design in Bangladesh.” They especially praised the focus on workers’ wellbeing.

The Bangladeshi firm behind the project, Nakshabid Architects, was inspired by the design of a traditional Bengali homestead. The building features a series of gardens and internal water pools that cool the air, while courtyards provide places for the staff to relax. It also includes a medical center, a grocery store, a daycare facility, a prayer room and a canteen. 

“The workers choose to visit during out-of-hours, seeing it as a desirable and welcoming place to be, to spend their own time with friends and family,” said a RIBA statement announcing the winner. “This building and its ethos have intentionally raised their freedoms, their status in society and the respect they get at home.”

The factory was previously shortlisted for the same award in 2024, but the judges weren’t able to go there to assess it. This year, it was again shortlisted, and won.