Foundation for Architecture and Community Equity

What Foundation for Architecture and Community Equity does

Foundation for Architecture and Community Equity (FACE) is a Bangladesh-registered nonprofit organization founded in 2018 as the humanitarian arm of Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). Its core product is Khudi Bari ("tiny house"), a modular bamboo space-frame housing system with steel joints that costs approximately $450 (Tk 30,000) per unit, can be assembled in three days and disassembled in three hours, and features an elevated sleeping platform six feet above ground level to accommodate seasonal flooding. The technical design uses locally available bamboo, metal corner braces, and locally sourced wall materials (corrugated iron, woven bamboo, woven grass), making it suited for relocation in flood-prone char (river island) communities and for refugee camps where permanent foundations are prohibited. In Rohingya camps, FACE works with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to apply borax/boric acid bamboo treatment for fungi and insect resistance.

FACE operates a community-led go-to-market model, identifying beneficiary families through village workshops and villager nominations rather than direct sales. As of 2025, 78+ Khudi Bari homes have been built across Char Hijla, Chandpur, Kurigram, Sunamganj (including Tahirpur), and the Cox's Bazar Rohingya camps. Revenue is grant-driven rather than commercial: documented funding includes approximately $45,000 from the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh (November 2021) to fund 100 homes, an undisclosed grant from the Paul Polak Innovation Fund at iDE Bangladesh for the "Beyond the Loom" plastic-upcycling initiative, and pilot-phase private donor funding of roughly $900 for the first three homes in Char Hijla (March 2021). MTA's commercial architectural practice (apartment building, private family museum, 250-bed hospital) cross-subsidizes FACE's humanitarian work, and steel joints for Khudi Bari are currently supplied by MTA with plans to expand manufacturing to local steelworkers. Adjacent programs include the Beyond the Loom artisan cooperative, the ISEA social-enterprise network in Ukhiya Upazila, the Ukhiya Fellowship for creative professionals, and a fair-trade artisan product line distributed through Prokritee.

Name

Foundation for Architecture and Community Equity

Legal name

Foundation for Architecture and Community Equity

Website

https://facebangladesh.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Foundation for Architecture and Community Equity (FACE) is a Bangladesh-based nonprofit that designs and distributes the Khudi Bari modular bamboo housing system (~US$450 per unit) for climate refugees, landless char dwellers, and Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar, supported by grants and cross-subsidization from its parent Marina Tabassum Architects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Dhaka

HQ country

Bangladesh

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: FACE operates primarily through grant funding from institutional donors. The Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh provided funding for 100 Khudi Bari homes. Private donors have funded initial pilot homes. The Paul Polak Innovation Fund at iDE's Bangladesh Country Program funded the 'Beyond the Loom' project.
2. Product Sales (Artisan Products): Ukhiya artisan products made from recycled polythene thread, upcycled single-use polythene, and Areca palm tree leaf are sold through Prokritee (a fair trade organization) social media platform, generating income for women artisan cooperatives.
3. Cross-Subsidization from MTA Commercial Projects: Marina Tabassum continues to design commercial projects at MTA (apartment building, private family museum, 250-bed hospital) to subsidize the humanitarian work of FACE.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

FACE designs and delivers the Khudi Bari, a low-cost modular bamboo housing system for families displaced by flooding and riverbank erosion in Bangladesh. The two-story, flat-pack structure costs roughly $450 per unit, can be assembled by residents in about three days, and can be relocated when land shifts or waters rise. Supporting offerings include the Beyond the Loom plastic-upcycling program, the ISEA social enterprise network for women artisans in Cox's Bazar, and the Ukhiya Fellowship for creative professionals.

Product overview

Foundation for Architecture and Community Equity (FACE Bangladesh) is a non-profit collective focused on providing shelter and humane living environments for ultra-low-income, landless, and climate-affected populations in Bangladesh. The core product is the Khudi Bari (Tiny House), a low-cost modular shelter system designed to withstand flooding using bamboo and local materials. Supporting programs include the Beyond the Loom plastic upcycling initiative, the ISEA social enterprise network project for women artisans, the Ukhiya Fellowship program for creative professionals, and a product line of handcrafted goods. FACE operates as a non-profit organization affiliated with Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), with projects primarily focused on the coastal and delta regions of Bangladesh including Cox's Bazar refugee areas and flood-prone northern communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Khudi Bari: Modular mobile housing unit designed for flood victims, climate refugees, and landless char dwellers in Bangladesh. Also known as 'tiny house' in Bengali, it uses bamboo and steel joints for flood-resistant, relocatable homes.
• Beyond the Loom
• ISEA

Products and services

• Khudi Bari (Tiny House) Low-cost, modular, monsoon-resistant shelter designed for flood-affected families in Bangladesh. The two-story bamboo structure features an elevated sleeping platform six feet above ground to accommodate flooding, costs approximately $450 per unit, and can be assembled by residents themselves using local materials and bamboo treated against fungi and insects.
• Ukhiya Artisan Products Handcrafted baskets, mats, pouches, and decorative items made by women artisans in Ukhiya from recycled polythene thread, upcycled single-use plastic, and Areca palm leaf. Distributed via Prokritee's fair trade social media platform to provide income for women artisan cooperatives.
• Beyond the Loom (Plastic Upcycling Initiative) Program that transforms plastic wrappers and single-use polythene into fashion accessories, pouches, handbags, and wallets using traditional weaving techniques, creating livelihood opportunities for women in Ukhiya Upazila, Cox's Bazar across three communities (Utor Pukiriya, Hatirghona, Kashiarbil Hindupara).
• ISEA Social Enterprise Network Twelve-month initiative developing community networks of social enterprises for women artisans in Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar, providing internet connectivity and training on product design, coordination, and quality assurance. Connects Bangladesh artisan networks with similar programs in China and the Philippines through ISEA.
• Ukhiya Fellowship Three-month paid fellowship in Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar for creative professionals in architecture, art, and design. Fellows work on women's cooperative development, product design, and market linkages for sustainable local economic development.

Quantifiable outcome

• 78+ Khudi Bari homes built by 2025
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Institute of Social Entrepreneurship in Asia (ISEA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFACE leads the Model Building project connecting community networks to social enterprise in Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar. Similar processes will connect with China and Philippines through ISEA, enabling learning exchange programs internationally and policy advocacy for local economic development.
• ProkriteecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFair trade organization connecting FACE artisan products to market. Products made from recycled polythene thread, upcycled single-use polythene, and Areca palm leaf are sold through Prokritee's social media platform.
• GarbagemanminorOthersConnected to local waste collectors' associations for the 'Beyond the Loom' project, enabling sourcing of plastic materials from communities and contributing to waste reduction.
• AKTII (Engineers)coreTechnology or IntegrationStructural engineers who reconfigured Khudi Bari structural supports to use bundles of thinner bamboo available in the UK for Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2022.
• International Organization for Migration (IOM)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerIOM creates special facilities in Rohingya camps where bamboo is treated with borax and boric acid to protect against fungi and insects for Khudi Bari construction.
• Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFACE was initiated by MTA studio as a non-profit branch to distribute modular Khudi Bari designs. MTA commercial projects subsidize FACE humanitarian work. Steel joints for Khudi Bari are currently supplied by MTA.
• Sir John Soane's MuseumcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHosted Marina Tabassum's Soane Medal lecture in November 2021, providing international platform for FACE's humanitarian architecture mission.
• Harvard Graduate School of DesignminorGTM or Marketing PartnerInvited Marina Tabassum to teach a studio bringing students to Bangladesh for low-cost rural housing projects, building awareness of FACE's humanitarian work.

Scale indicators7 records

Direct peers

• Shigeru Ban Architects: Renowned humanitarian architecture practice whose Paper Log Houses, Partition Systems, and disaster-relief shelters (used after the Rwanda, Haiti, and Turkey earthquakes) are the most-cited comparables to FACE's Khudi Bari. Both operate at the intersection of architect-led design and humanitarian deployment.
• Better Shelter: Swedish social enterprise producing flat-pack refugee shelters (the IKEA Foundation-backed 'Better Shelter' unit used by UNHCR) at industrial scale. Directly comparable as a modular, rapidly-deployable, dignified shelter solution for displaced populations.
• MASS Design Group: Architecture nonprofit using built work to address social justice, health, and humanitarian challenges (e.g., Butaro District Hospital in Rwanda). Comparable as an impact-first architecture practice with a mission-aligned founder-led model similar to FACE/MTA.
• Architecture Sans Frontières: International network of architects applying design skills to humanitarian and development contexts across Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Comparable as architect-led humanitarian built-environment work for vulnerable communities.

Emerging players

• Pallet: U.S.-based startup (formerly I-Beam) producing flat-pack, reusable emergency shelters from recycled plastic pallets. Comparable as a modern modular disaster-shelter provider competing in the same humanitarian-housing space as Khudi Bari.
• iDE Bangladesh: Social enterprise and FACE's direct grant partner via the Paul Polak Innovation Fund. iDE applies market-based approaches to poverty in Bangladesh and other developing economies; comparable as a fellow Bangladesh-based poverty-alleviation innovator operating adjacent programs.

Broad incumbents

• Arup Humanitarian Design Practice: Global engineering and design firm whose pro-bono humanitarian work (and AKTII's structural-engineering partnership with FACE) addresses shelter, water, and disaster response in vulnerable communities. Comparable as a technical-services peer that collaborates with architects on humanitarian builds.
• Habitat for Humanity: The largest global nonprofit housing organization, building and advocating for affordable housing in 70+ countries. Comparable as a donor-funded, volunteer-driven model providing housing to ultra-low-income populations, though operating at vastly larger scale.
• UNHCR Shelter & Settlement Section: The UN Refugee Agency's shelter program sets global standards and procures refugee housing at scale, including in Cox's Bazar Rohingya camps where FACE operates. Comparable as the institutional counterpart defining requirements that FACE's Khudi Bari is adapted to meet.
• World Vision Shelter Programs: Major international NGO delivering shelter and community infrastructure in disaster-affected and refugee contexts globally, including Bangladesh. Comparable as an institutional humanitarian-shelter operator competing for the same donor funding and operating in the same Cox's Bazar geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/FoundationforArchitectureCommunityEquity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/foundation-for-architecture-community-equity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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