engineering.
Designed by Farshid Moussavi, the Ismaili Center, Houston opens later this year as both a place of worship and a civic space for learning, dialogue, and connection. Serving the Ismaili community and the public alike, it marks a significant addition to Houston’s cultural and architectural landscape.
Opening in December 2025, the Ismaili Centre, Houston represents a milestone for both the Ismaili Muslim community and the city’s architectural landscape. Designed by Farshid Moussavi Architecture, with landscape architecture by Nelson Byrd Woltz, and engineered by AKT II, DLR Group, and McCarthy Building Companies, the project stands as an enduring symbol of dialogue, inclusivity, and design excellence.
“From the beginning, the bar was set very high. When you consider the intent and purpose of this project – a 100-year building – it’s very difficult not to see it as something special. Achieving this level of quality requires a bold client, the right team, and extraordinary collaboration.”
Conceived as both sanctuary and civic space, it reflects a shared vision between architects, engineers, and artisans to create a place of openness, learning, and dialogue. AKT II’s work combines reinforced concrete and steel framing to create long-span spaces such as the 115-foot prayer hall and the light-filled, five-storey atrium defined by rotating Vierendeel trusses. The Ismaili Centre, Houston emerges as a landmark of faith, culture, and architectural ambition.
A tribute to the late Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the 49th Imam, the Ismaili Centre fuses craft and structure in a contemporary reinterpretation of the mashrabiya. Stone, glass, and steel form a tapestry that filters light and breathes with Houston’s climate, connecting interior and landscape.
Interlocking geometries and star-shaped columns turn structure into architectural poetry, from the prayer hall’s seven squares to the atrium’s rotating trusses. Pleated glass walls extend toward the gardens, creating a living threshold where tradition and innovation meet in a luminous space for reflection and connection.
Designed for a century, the Ismaili Centre is a vessel of endurance and collaboration. Responding to Houston’s climate with low-carbon materials, durable envelopes, and bioclimatic design, its façades unite lightness with permanence, embodying cultural dialogue and engineering craft.
The Ismaili Centre represents more than an architectural achievement; it is a lasting gift to Houston’s shared future.
