The Ismaili Center Houston will be the seventh Ismaili Centre worldwide, the first in the United States and the third in North America, after Vancouver and Toronto.
Aga Khan Foundation USA has owned the eleven-acre site since 2006. [1] The establishment of an Ismaili Center was announced by His Highness the Aga Khan during his Golden Jubilee visit to the USA in 2008.
A design preview was held on November 15, 2021, [2] where architect Farshid Moussavi discussed the project with KTRK-TV’s Melanie Lawson. [3]
In July 2022, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. announced that it had begun construction. As of this date, no formal ground-breaking had taken place but construction is expected to be finished by the end of 2024. [3] A topping out ceremony was held in October 2023 with Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner. [4]
Designed by London-based Farshid Moussavi Architecture, [5] the Center will be a contemporary interpretation of traditional Persian ornamentation,[2] including ceramic mosaics, and screens drawn from various Islamic traditions. [6] The center’s façade will be a combination of different types of stone and steel encased in concrete. The building will feature a series of “eivans,” the Persian word for verandas, which will provide shaded venues for social gatherings at the center. The eivans will supported by 49 columns reminiscent of those used in Persepolis and 17th century palaces in Isfahan, Persia. [1]
The 10 acres around the center will be transformed into lush gardens by Thomas Woltz of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects. [3] The gardens will include tree canopies, fountains, shaded footpaths, flowerbeds, lawns and walkways. [7]
Don Mills is a mixed-use neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was developed in the 1950s and 1960s to be a self-supporting "new town" and was at the time located outside Toronto proper in the suburb of North York. Consisting of residential, commercial and industrial sub-districts, it was planned and developed by private enterprise.
Shah Karim al-Husayni (Arabic: شاه كريم الحسيني, romanized: Shāh Karīm al-Ḥusaynī; born 13 December 1936; known as Aga Khan IV is the 49th and current imam of Nizari Isma'ilis. He has held the position of Imam and the title of Aga Khan since 11 July 1957 when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Aga Khan III. The Aga Khan claims direct lineal descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali, who is considered an Imam by Nizari Isma'ilis, and Ali's wife Fatima, Muhammad's daughter from his first marriage. Aga Khan IV is also known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Isma'ili followers.
The Nizaris are the largest segment of the Ismaili Muslims, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasize independent reasoning or ijtihad; pluralism—the acceptance of racial, ethnic, cultural and inter-religious differences; and social justice. Nizaris, along with Twelvers, adhere to the Jaʽfari school of jurisprudence. The Aga Khan, currently Aga Khan IV, is the spiritual leader and Imam of the Nizaris. The global seat of the Ismaili Imamate is in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community development and improvement, restoration, reuse and area conservation, as well as landscape design and improvement of the environment.
Jamatkhana or Jamat Khana is an amalgamation derived from the Arabic word jama‘a (gathering) and the Persian word khana. It is a term used by some Muslim communities around the world, particularly sufi ones, to a place of gathering. Among some communities of Muslims, the term is often used interchangeably with the Arabic word musallah. The Nizārī Ismā'īlī community uses the term Jama'at Khana to denote their places of worship.
Fumihiko Maki is a Japanese architect. In 1993, he received the Pritzker Prize for his work, which often explores pioneering uses of new materials and fuses the cultures of east and west.
Farshid Moussavi is an Iranian-born British architect, educator, and author. She is the founder of Farshid Moussavi Architecture (FMA) and a Professor in Practice of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
The University of Alberta Botanic Garden is Alberta's largest botanical garden. It was established in 1959 by the University of Alberta. It is located approximately 3.1 km (1.9 mi) west of the city of Edmonton, Alberta and 5.9 km (3.7 mi) north of the town of Devon, in Parkland County.
The Aga Khan Museum is a museum of Islamic art located at 77 Wynford Drive in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is dedicated to Islamic art and objects, and it houses approximately 1,200 rare objects assembled by Shah Karim al-Husayni and Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan. As an initiative of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network, the museum is dedicated to sparking wonder, curiosity, and understanding of Muslim cultures and their connection with other cultures through the arts. In addition to the Permanent Collection, the Aga Khan Museum features several temporary exhibitions each year that respond to current scholarship, emerging themes, and new artistic developments. The Museum Collection and exhibitions are complemented by educational programs and performing arts events.
The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is representational office of the Ismaili Imamat in Canada and includes the headquarters of the Aga Khan Foundation Canada. It is located between the Embassy of Saudi Arabia and the Lester B. Pearson Building on Sussex Drive. It was opened in 2008.
Abolhassan E'tesami (1903–1978), was an Iranian architect, calligrapher, painter, and novelist.
Foreign Office Architects, FOA, was an architectural design studio headed by former husband and wife team Farshid Moussavi and Alejandro Zaera-Polo. The London-based studio, which was established in 1993, specialised in architectural design, master planning and interior design services for both public and private sector clients. Following the end of the couple's marriage, the winding up of the studio's activities was announced in December 2009. The establishment of two new practices, FMA and London/Barcelona based AZPA Limited followed in 2011.
The Ismaili Centre, Toronto is a congregation place and community centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the sixth Ismaili Centre in the world. Situated in a park that it shares with the Aga Khan Museum adjacent to the Don Valley Parkway in North York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the Centre represents the permanent presence of the Ismaili Muslim community in Toronto, Ontario and Canada.
As of 2012, the city of Houston has the largest Muslim population in Texas and the largest Muslim population in the Southern United States. That year, Kate Shellnut of the Houston Chronicle wrote that "Some estimate that Muslims make up 1.2 percent of the city's population." As of 2012 the estimated population of Muslims in Houston was around 63,000. As of today, there are over 209 mosques and storefront religious centers, with the largest being the Al-Noor Mosque of the Al Noor Society of Greater Houston.
The Aga Khan Park is a landscaped garden that covers the space between and around the Ismaili Centre and the Aga Khan Museum, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, built by Aga Khan IV and formally inaugurated by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne on 25 May 2015. The park is built on traditional Persian and Mughal style of architecture. The park was designed by the Beirut-based landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic. Prior to finalizing his designs, Djurovic visited multiple gardens around the world, such as the Tomb of Humayun in New Delhi, India. He settled down upon a more "what you feel and smell and hear" vibe in attempt to maintain harmony amongst spirit, art, and nature.
The Ismaili Centre, Vancouver, is one of six Ismaili Centres worldwide. It was the first purpose-built Ismaili jamatkhana and the first Ismaili centre in North America. It has accordingly been the subject of sustained, dedicated academic analysis, a case study of modern Islamic architecture in the West.
The Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe, is one of six Ismaili Centres worldwide and an Ismaili jamatkhana. It was the fifth purpose-built Ismaili Centre, and the first in Central Asia.
Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects (NBW) is an American landscape architecture firm based in New York, Charlottesville, and Houston, founded in 1985 by Warren T. Byrd Jr., and Susan Nelson, and led by Thomas Woltz.
Thomas L. Woltz is an American landscape architect. He is the owner of landscape architecture firm Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects (NBW), founded in 1985, and with offices in New York, Charlottesville, Virginia, and Houston, Texas.
The Aga Khan Mosque, also known as Ismaili Jamatkhana or Old Kampala as it located in the historic district of Old Kampala in Kampala, Uganda, is a prominent religious and architectural landmark. This mosque serves as an essential place of worship for the Muslim community in Uganda.
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