farshid moussavi shapes houston's upcoming ismaili centre with perforated screens

"Set to open in November 2025, the new Ismaili Centre in Houston, Texas introduces an architectural presence of quiet strength and civic openness. Designed by London-based studio Farshid Moussavi Architecture, the 150,000-square-foot complex will be the first Ismaili Centre in the United States and the seventh in a global network of architecturally significant institutions located in London, Lisbon, Dubai, Dushanbe, Vancouver, and Toronto."

"The architecture of Farshid Moussavi's Ismaili Centre is defined by its balance of openness and enclosure. At its center is a five-story atrium, framed by stepped staircases in textured stone and wrapped in geometric perforations that diffuse daylight across interior surfaces. The upper volumes are clad in delicately patterned metal screens, creating a soft interplay between solid and void that shifts with the sun's movement."

"From the exterior, the design team sculpts a composition which reads as a series of interlocking planes - horizontal eivans extending outward to form shaded terraces and verandas, a recurring motif in Persian and Islamic architecture. These transitional spaces, lined with slender columns, temper the Houston sun while framing long views across the nine-acre landscape designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz."

The Ismaili Centre in Houston will open in November 2025 as a 150,000-square-foot cultural and civic center designed by Farshid Moussavi Architecture. The project is the first Ismaili Centre in the United States and the seventh worldwide. The complex sits near Houston's Museum District and uses a measured composition of stone, perforated metal, and glass to engage its surroundings. A five-story atrium with stepped stone staircases and geometric perforations diffuses daylight. Upper volumes use patterned metal screens to modulate light. Horizontal eivans, shaded terraces, and slender columns reference Persian and Islamic traditions within a nine-acre landscape by Nelson Byrd Woltz.

Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine