The Ismaili Center Houston — the first in the United States — is officially open after many years of planning and development.
The long-anticipated cultural and religious complex debuted Nov. 6 with a ceremony led by His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan V and Houston Mayor John Whitmire, marking a major milestone for both the city and the global Ismaili Muslim community, the Houston Business Journal reported.
The project cost wasn’t reported, but a state filing in 2021 pegged it at $176.2 million, or $1,175 per square foot for a project that was planned with a two-story parking structure.
Set on 11 acres at 2323 Allen Parkway at Montrose Boulevard, the 150,000-square-foot complex is meant to serve not only as a place of worship but also as a public gathering space for people of all faiths.
“This building may be called an Ismaili Center, but it is not here for Ismailis only. It is for all Houstonians,” Prince Rahim said at the opening, calling the center a space for “knowledge, reflection and dialogue.”
The cooperative nature of the rollout in Houston stands in stark contrast to the epic fight state leaders picked this year with EPIC City, a Muslim-led master-planned community north of Dallas.
The Texas Workforce Commission settled a Fair Housing Act complaint against Community Capital Partners, the developer of EPIC City, in September. The agency dismissed the complaint after the firm agreed to new housing policies, staff training and compliance reporting, while the developer admitted no wrongdoing.
The Houston project fulfills the vision of the late Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, who first purchased the site in 2006 and championed the idea of an American Ismaili Center before his death earlier this year.
Designed by London-based architect Farshid Moussavi, in collaboration with landscape architect Thomas Woltz of Nelson Byrd Woltz, the center aims to embody the Ismaili philosophy of harmony between people, place and nature. The Washington, D.C.-based Aga Khan Foundation USA oversaw development, with Omaha’s DLR Group serving as architect of record and McCarthy Building Companies as general contractor.
The center is framed by 9 acres of gardens, shaded terraces and water features. The building’s triangular façade doubles as a thermal and light filter, casting patterned sunlight across custom concrete floors that echo the geometric traditions of Islamic design. The theme continues throughout the interior, from perforated wooden walls inscribed in Kufic script to ceilings that conceal structural beams and air ducts behind intricate triangular screens.
The centerpiece is the prayer hall, a column-free space nearly the size of two basketball courts, able to accommodate 1,500 worshipers.
Its orientation toward Mecca required rotating the structure 45 degrees off the site’s grid, inspiring the triangular motif repeated throughout. Above it sits a grand veranda — or eivan — intended for weddings and public events, in keeping with Persian palace traditions.
The Ismaili Center joins six others worldwide, in London, Vancouver, Lisbon, Dubai, Dushanbe and Toronto.
Houston, home to the country’s largest Ismaili Muslim population at roughly 40,000, was a natural choice for the first U.S. site, center spokesperson Omar Samji said. The project’s LEED-seeking design also reflects Houston’s growing identity as a global city that merges culture, faith and sustainability.
Whitmire called the complex a “beacon of light” for the city’s diverse communities.
“The Ismaili Center truly reflects the best of Houston’s spirit: our diversity, our compassion, and our commitment to community,” Whitmire said.
— Eric Weilbacher
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