International Visitors Programme
Early 2025, the Nieuwe Instituut, in partnership with Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), welcomed architects Yasmeen Lari and Marina Tabassum. The aim of the visit was to bring together a diverse network of architects, researchers, educators, and activists specialising in water and climate justice. During the visit, knowledge and experiences were shared and long-term collaborations were established with the guests.
As part of the visit, Yasmeen Lari took part in a discussion with Sanne van Manen (Platform Woonopgave) and Saskia van Stein (International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam), which was moderated by Alankrita Sarkar and Paul Gerretsen of the Deltametropolis Association. The theme was the role of informal agencies and non-governmental and intermediary organisations in the Netherlands in mitigating urgent challenges such as the climate crisis and the housing crisis.
Yasmeen Lari also spent a week at the TU Delft’s Faculty of Architecture, working with students in the master’s departments EXTREME Architecture and EXTREME Technology, in a programme coordinated by Job Schroën. This part of the programme aimed to familiarise the students with humanitarian architecture and delve deeper into Lari’s expertise in flood- and heat-resilient models.
On 19 February, a workshop organised at the Nieuwe Instituut brought together a multidisciplinary group to explore water resilience through bottom-up, activist decision-making. Led by Yasmeen Lari, Marina Tabassum and Alankrita Sarkar, the workshop shared three specific case studies from Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Flemish-Dutch Delta. The workshop aimed to foster a more holistic understanding of global south perspectives, as well as collective strategies for sustainable water and climate preparedness and urban resilience. The Visitors Programme concluded with a double keynote speech, New Currents: Yasmeen Lari and Marina Tabassum, which was moderated by Parvinder Marwaha, at the Nieuwe Instituut. Watch the full recording on the events page.
The International Visitors Programme was hosted as part of New Currents, a Nieuwe Instituut research project. New Currents explores the history, alliances and ideas surrounding the Indian Ocean. It asks: what movements of people, goods and ideas can be seen in this region, and what can they tell us about the future?
The programme concept was developed in collaboration with Parvinder Marwaha, a member of the New Currents working group. An article with reflections will follow soon.
Yasmeen Lari is Pakistan’s first female architect. Known as an ‘architect for the poorest’, her pioneering work focuses on providing affordable, sustainable and zero-carbon housing solutions and disaster-resilient buildings for marginalised communities. Her ‘barefoot social architecture’ programme aims to create a zero-donor model to lift poor communities out of the poverty trap. She is also a co-founder of the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan, which researches and preserves the country’s architectural heritage. In 2023, she received the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in recognition of her humanitarian work.
Marina Tabassum is an architect and professor at Delft University of Technology. In 2005, she founded her own firm, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), in Dhaka. She strives to create an architectural language that is both contemporary and strongly connected its surroundings, taking into account factors such as nature, climate, culture, history and the environment. Her quest for an ‘architecture of relevance’ has won her several international awards.
Parvinder Marwaha is an independent cultural worker, curator and educator who engages with architecture, design, climate, faith and food. She works across the UK, Europe and South Asia.