The accolade that Sir John Soane’s Museum in London confers on professionals who by perpetuating the vision of the neoclassical architect “encourage a better understanding of the central importance of architecture in people’s lives” has this year gone to the Bangladeshi Marina Tabassum. The 2016 winner of the Aga Khan Award – for her Bait Ur Rouf Mosque – defends a sustainable practice that aspires to improve living conditions in in the world, especially for those least in possession of the necessary resources, while creating real communities.