Houston's new Ismaili Centre has officially opened its doors, marking the first facility of its kind in the United States. The building serves Houston's 40,000-strong Ismaili Muslim community, one of the largest in the nation, while also functioning as a venue for shared cultural activities and public engagement.
Designed by renowned architect Farshid Moussavi, the center took seven years to complete and is built to last more than a century. Moussavi, known for avoiding signature architectural styles, has created what she describes as "a tapestry of stone" that abstracts and refines the essence of Islamic architecture. The five-story building features perforated stone screens and eivans (open-columned verandas) that provide shade and shelter in Houston's hot climate.
The architect's approach differs significantly from representational mimicry of traditional Islamic design. "If you look at the architecture of the Muslim world, it varies hugely with geography," Moussavi explains. "So our project has been about using architectural instruments, such as geometry and the use of light, order, repetition and structure as ways to create certain kinds of spatial experiences. The aim is not to evoke nostalgia, but to look forward: a renewal rather than a reproduction."
A triangular geometric pattern threads throughout the building and gardens, unifying structure and ornament while appearing in screens, light fixtures, floors, and furniture. "I love that this deep sense of order becomes intuitive," says Moussavi, "and that the idea of playing repeatedly with a triangle generates a kind of experiential serenity and simplicity, as it does in minimalist art."
The Houston center represents the seventh Ismaili Centre opened in four decades, joining a global network that extends from Dushanbe in Tajikistan to Vancouver on Canada's west coast. This network reflects the geographic and cultural diversity of the Ismaili diaspora, a Shia Muslim sect originating in the ninth century with approximately 12 million adherents across more than 70 countries.
Ismailis are guided by a hereditary spiritual leader, or imam. The current leader is Prince Rahim, Aga Khan V, who succeeded his father, Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, earlier this year. The previous Aga Khan was an active patron of architecture, establishing the triennial Aga Khan Awards for Architecture in 1977 to honor exceptional buildings and development projects across the Muslim world.
The building's exterior features a non-structural stone screen made from small square pieces connected by steel tension rods. "It's as if you're weaving a carpet on a loom," Moussavi explains, "so it's something quite light and delicate despite it being in stone." Certain pieces have triangular or scallop-shaped cutouts, creating varying patterns based on the function of enclosed spaces.
After dark, the stone's opacity transforms as light filters through, turning the building into a softly glowing lantern. In the main event hall, scallop-shaped cutouts at seated height gradually transition to triangular ones, allowing views while admitting sunlight. "The shadows are really amazing," Moussavi notes. "It suddenly becomes a room full of patterns."
The building's heart is the jamatkhana, or Ismaili prayer hall, a column-free space accommodating 1,500 people. Its ceiling comprises two layers of illuminated aluminum that shimmer and nearly dematerialize, while an ivory-colored carpet covers the floor. "We thought the prayer hall should be somehow boundless in spirit rather than weighing on you," says Moussavi. Walls lined with American cherry wood feature precisely crafted Kufic script, and the direction of worship is indicated by a vertical band of light rather than an ornately decorated mihrab.
Public functions including a cafe, black box theater, exhibition gallery, and event hall surround a central atrium with a square oculus framing the sky. Various shades of blue predominate throughout, connecting the building with both the Texas sky and the legacy of Islamic architecture. The blue soffits of external eivans extend inward, reinforcing openness.
Landscape architect Thomas Woltz conducted a year-long study across historic sites in Spain, Egypt, and India to explore Islamic garden traditions. His planting strategy uses exclusively native Texas species, beginning with desert cacti and moving through prairie to Gulf Coast vegetation, mirroring the Ismaili community's adaptability in new homelands. The site's topography echoes ancient Persian gardens stepping down toward a river.
Moussavi, who is not a member of the Ismaili community, brings personal understanding to the project through her own experience of cultural migration. Born in Sari, northern Iran, her family moved to the UK in 1979 following the Iranian Revolution. She studied architecture in Dundee and founded Farshid Moussavi Architecture in 2011, currently combining a Harvard professorship with her role as town architect of Lewisham under London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
The project deeply involves the local Ismaili community, with many locals assisting in construction or donating materials. Now open to the public, the building will be largely staffed by volunteers. "It really is a community project in every sense of the word," says Moussavi. "We've provided the community with the hardware – the building itself – and now, I'm sure, the software, the people and activities, will bring it to life."
