The 19 shortlisted projects for the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture were announced recently.  The projects, which were selected from 14 countries of the world by the master jury from amongst 348 projects nominated for the 13th award cycle, will be competing for US$ 1 million in prize money.

The 19 projects, including Bangladesh’s Bait Ur Rouf Mosque of Dhaka and Friendship Centre of Gaibandha, are now undergoing rigorous investigations by on-site reviewers - architects, conservation specialists or structural engineers themselves - who visit and evaluate each project first-hand. Their reports are the basis for the Master Jury’s selection of the eventual winners.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture’s mandate is different from that of many other architecture prizes. it selects projects - from slum upgrading to high rise “green” buildings - that not only exhibit architectural excellence but also improve the overall quality of life. Over the last four decades, it has steadfastly championed the needs and aspirations of human beings within the practice of architecture.