Jarin Tasnim Khan: Redefining architectural design

After presenting at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) ADAPT 2026 Conference and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Conference on Architecture & Design 2026, architectural designer Jarin Tasnim Khan has gained international recognition for a planning methodology she developed while working in Bangladesh.

Before speaking on adaptive reuse and design systems in the United States, Khan spent years working on projects ranging from service centres for one of the world's largest express logistics companies to apartment conversions for a hospitality startup and workplace projects for leading consumer brands. Although the projects were different, she identified a recurring challenge and developed a planning methodology to address it.

In this interview, Khan explains how everyday commercial projects evolved into a transferable planning system that now guides her work in adaptive reuse and architectural strategy. Following is the expert

DO: Your recent presentations in the United States focused on adaptive reuse and design methodology. How did that journey begin?
Jarin: It began with a simple observation: I kept solving the same spatial problem in different buildings.
Every service centre followed the same operational pattern�"a public area at the front, package handling in the middle, storage and dispatch at the back, with staff moving between these zones. While the operational sequence remained the same, each building presented different constraints. One site was long and narrow with daylight only from the storefront, while another had structural columns where the customer counter needed to be.
When the same problem keeps appearing in different forms, it stops being project-specific and becomes something that requires a system.

DO: So instead of designing individual floor plans, you developed a broader methodology?
Jarin: Exactly. I shifted the design process upstream.
Before drawing layouts, I mapped the spatial requirements of the operation itself�"where the public zone should end, where the service zone should begin, how the spaces should connect, what customers should see, what should remain hidden, and how people and packages should move through the building.
That became a portable framework that could be applied to different buildings regardless of their physical constraints.

DO: How does your approach differ from conventional architectural programming?
Jarin: Conventional programming usually creates a brief for a single project. I developed a planning standard that could be used across an entire network of buildings.
Rather than offering recommendations, the methodology defines measurable spatial relationships, circulation priorities, visibility requirements and decision rules. It also establishes priorities when space is limited by identifying what can change and what must remain constant.
The real test is portability. Another designer should be able to apply the same rule set to a building I've never seen and produce a compliant layout.

DO: How do operational rules become architectural design?
Jarin: Operations identify functional conflicts, while architecture resolves them physically.
The methodology guided decisions on public and service zones, circulation, daylight, visibility, privacy and compliance with building codes. Every operational rule ultimately becomes an architectural decision.

DO: Did the methodology prove effective beyond logistics facilities?
Jarin: Yes. That was the real test.
A hospitality startup needed apartments in Rajshahi, Chattogram, Feni and Sylhet converted into guest accommodations. Instead of package flow, the same rule-based approach managed room layouts, privacy, storage and furniture planning.
Although the building type changed completely, the planning logic remained effective. That's when I realised I wasn't transferring individual designs�"I was applying a methodology.

DO: When did you know the system actually worked?
Jarin: Through repeated implementation.
More than 15 logistics service centres were developed within about ten months using the same planning logic. Hospitality conversions typically became operational within six weeks and achieved guest ratings between 8.7 and 9.0 on major international booking platforms.
The same methodology also proved effective in workplace and distribution office projects, demonstrating that it could be adapted across different building types.

DO: Why is this methodology still relevant today?
Jarin: Because organisations continue to adapt existing buildings rather than constructing new ones from scratch.
A planning system that allows the same operational model to work across different buildings reduces redesign, shortens implementation time and improves consistency.
Architecture creates the greatest value when it resolves operational complexity early, while changes are still relatively inexpensive.

DO: How has this influenced your recent work in the United States?
Jarin: The same methodology continues to shape my work.

At the USGBC ADAPT 2026 Conference, I spoke about adaptive reuse under environmental and economic uncertainty. At the AIA Conference on Architecture & Design 2026, I led a workshop on the predictability gap in adaptive reuse and the limitations of conventional linear design processes.

The scale of my projects has expanded�"from compact commercial interiors to adaptive reuse and regulated facilities�"but the core principle remains the same: