HOUSTON | Ismaili Center Houston

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Website: https://the.ismaili/ismaili-center-houston

Architect: Farshid Moussavi
Landscape Architect: Nelson Byrd Wolz
General Contractor: McCarthy

Was somewhat surprised I (or someone else) hadn't created a thread for this project given it's size and prominence in the local community.

Project in brief:

Since the mid 2000's, the Aga Khan Foundation had been searching for a location to develop an Ismaili Center in or around the Houston area. The city and the metro hold the largest concentration of Ismaili Muslims in the United States. While there was speculation about potential development in suburban areas, northwest of the city, the Foundation ultimately purchased a site along Allen Parkway at Montrose Boulevard west of Downtown and directly across the street across from a stretch of Buffalo Bayou Park.

On April 12, 2008, the creation of the Center's location in Houston was announced during a visit by the Aga Khan to the US. While there was no movement on the land immediately afterward, about three years later in 2011 the local Ismaili Muslim community and other donors, supported the installation of the 7-piece Tolerance sculptures by Jaume Plensa, immediately across the street from the site.

In 2018, the intention to create the Center was re-affirmed. In 2019, it was announced that Farshid Moussavi had won a design contest for the site's development. In 2021, the actual design was revealed. It is expected to be complete in late 2024 and at that time, it will be the first such center in the US, the third in North America and the seventh globally.

Renderings c/o The Ismaili

The Ismaili Center Houston will serve as both a Jamatkhana for the Ismaili community to come together for prayers, spiritual search, and contemplation; as well as an ambassadorial cultural center.

Library Court view with alcoves and eivans above. The Center will be a venue for educational, cultural, and social events, to encourage understanding and facilitate the sharing of perspectives across peoples of diverse backgrounds, faiths, and traditions.

Central atrium and staircase at the Ismaili Center Houston. Each atrium is designed in such a way as to fill the heart of the building with natural light.

Aerial view of the Ismaili Center and its gardens located in the heart of the City of Houston across from Buffalo Bayou Park to the left.

From wherever one enters the site, visitors will be welcomed by garden spaces. The Center’s landscaped gardens will provide a sense of serenity and peace, offering a respite from its urban surroundings.

The forecourt garden with its reflecting pool at the entrance of the building creates a contemplative atmosphere. The new Center will feature beautiful spaces, intricate geometry, and highly crafted work.

West elevation of the Ismaili Center Houston with its tapestry of stone.

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2021

-8/28

Removing excess groundwater from the site - c/o hindesky on HAIF, who also wrote...

I had the opportunity to talk with one of the McCarty workers, he confirmed that they are pumping out the water below the project. He said they drilled down 100', they have about 10 wells on both the west side and east side. Asked him when they will actually start building and he said next year.

2022

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2023 - Pt. 1

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https://www.houstonchronicle.com/new...r-18435581.php

Houston Ismaili Center, first cultural landmark of its kind in the U.S., hits construction milestone

By Jhair Romero,
Staff writer
Updated Oct 24, 2023 5:54 p.m.

Houston’s new Ismaili Center is set to reach its tallest point in construction in the coming days, marking a milestone celebrated by dignitaries and local officials during a topping-off ceremony Monday at the cultural landmark’s site in the Montrose neighborhood.

The building has slowly taken shape since construction began in 2022 near Buffalo Bayou Park, transforming what was once a grassy field off Montrose Boulevard into a towering skeleton of steel beams and concrete. It’s one of seven Ismaili cultural centers worldwide and the first in the United States.

Greater Houston has the largest concentration of Ismaili Muslims in the U.S., according to spokesperson Farah Lalani of the Ismaili Council for the Southwestern United States, with an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 practicing this branch of Shia Islam calling the region home.

Prince Amyn Aga Khan, the younger brother of the Ismaili leader Aga Khan, thanked Mayor Sylvester Turner for his contributions to the center at a downtown luncheon Monday marking the construction progress.

“Today’s topping out ceremony of the Ismaili Center is a fitting occasion on which to honor your significant contribution and lasting legacy,” he told Turner.

Dozens of officials and invitees, including Turner, signed the steel beam that will soon be hoisted to mark the five-story center’s highest point at 72 feet in a rite that dates back to ancient Scandinavian traditions.

Turner and the prince also ceremoniously planted a Texas red oak on the 11-acre site, of which nine acres will be dedicated to lush green spaces designed by Thomas Woltz, a landscape architect known for his work transforming Memorial Park.

Images from article

The new main building under construction during an official topping-off and tree-planting ceremony at the Ismaili Center construction site Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, in Houston.

Michael Wyke/Contributor

Prince Amyn Aga Khan, left, and Mayor Sylvester Turner, right, are the first to sign their names on a construction beam that will be placed atop the new building during an official topping-off and tree-planting ceremony at the Ismaili Center construction site Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, in Houston.

Michael Wyke/Contributor

From left, Al-Karim Alindina, Mayor Sylvester Turner and Prince Amyn Aga Khan chat as they wait to plant a tree during an official topping-off and tree-planting ceremony at the Ismaili Center construction site Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, in Houston.

Michael Wyke/Contributor

The north end landscaping under construction during an official topping-off and tree-planting ceremony at the Ismaili Center construction site Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, in Houston.

Michael Wyke/Contributor

Prince Amyn Aga Khan, left, and Mayor Sylvester Turner, right, shovel dirt on a newly planted tree during an official topping-off and tree-planting ceremony at the Ismaili Center construction site Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, in Houston.

Michael Wyke/Contributor

Attendees sign a construction beam that will be placed atop a new building under construction during an official topping-off and tree-planting ceremony at the Ismaili Center construction site Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, in Houston.

Michael Wyke/Contributor

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2023 PT. 2

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Drone Video from the Ismaili YouTube from December

• Video Link

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https://www.enr.com/articles/58146-f...ehold-in-texas

Digging Deeper | Cultural/Worship

First Ismaili Center in US Is a Site to Behold in Texas
By David M. Brown

February 13, 2024

Sited near the low-lying Buffalo Bayou in Houston and featuring complex landscaping and extensive concrete work, the first Ismaili Center in the U.S. has required an intense commitment to precision from its owner and design and construction team. Building the LEED Gold-targeted campus for the branch of Shia Islam began in 2021 and is set to finish in 2025.

On an 11-acre site, the 72-ft-high cultural and religious center comprises a 150,000-sq-ft, five-story tripartite building that features elevated open terraces and numerous gardens and courtyards. Inside are an atrium, a prayer space known as a “jamatkhana,” a library, social and exhibit halls, black box theater, classrooms, administrative offices and facilities for catered events. The complex also incorporates a 600-car two-level underground garage.

The owner, the Aga Khan Foundation USA, is a Washington, D.C.-based agency of the Aga Khan Development Network, chaired by His Highness the Aga Khan. As Imam of the Ismaili Muslims, a branch of Shia Islam, the Aga Khan leads approximately 15 million Ismailis worldwide; Texas has the country’s largest concentration, numbering in the tens of thousands.

“The Ismaili Center will serve as a gathering place for all who call Houston home, with programs themed in cultural exchange, the arts, interfaith dialogue, international relations and knowledge creation and sharing,” says Al-Karim Alidina, president of the Ismaili Council for USA, the social governance body of the U.S. community. It will also serve as a place for “prayers, spiritual search and contemplation,” he says.

“We’re thrilled to be constructing the Ismaili Center, what we hope will be a future Houston landmark and icon of cultural connection,” says Winston Hesch, project senior superintendent at McCarthy Building Cos., which leads the construction team from Houston. London-based Farshid Moussavi Architecture designed the building, AKT II is structural engineer, Nelson Byrd Woltz is landscape architect and DLR Group is the architect and engineer of record. All are following 100-year design protocols requested by the owner.

“The center offers unique construction challenges because of its Bayou location, intricate design details and extremely high-end finishes,” adds Hesch. With those demanding aspects, the McCarthy team includes him and senior project managers Chris Vlasak and Randi Fronczek. Project labor peak should be about 250 to 275 workers in early 2024.

“There’s nothing like this center in the city and nothing of this scale and significance in Texas,” says Hesch. Project officials declined to release a cost estimate for the center.

Images