Delegation of The Ismaili Imamat - Architecture

Architecture

Designed by the Pritzker Prize–winning architect Fumihiko Maki, the Ottawa Delegation is the first building in the world that will represent the Ismaili Imamat and its institutions. It is configured as an elongated, rectangular ring, surrounding an interior atrium and an exterior courtyard that features a traditional Chahr-bagh Islamic garden. The building rests on a solid linear granite podium, and is covered by a glass dome through which light illuminates the atrium and courtyard. The building as a whole is inspired by natural rock-crystal and is an interplay of visual clarity, opacity and translucency. It houses meeting rooms, exhibition areas, a lecture theatre, resource center, and private apartments.

The Aga Khan proposed that Maki take inspiration from rock crystal, which is at once translucent, transparent and opaque. The two-storey structure rests on a podium of black granite. It is clad in white Neoparies, a crystallized glass material with a marble-like texture that reflects light. Side walls are arranged in alternating bands of transparent and translucent glass. The simple rectilinear building contains an atrium topped by an asymmetrical glass dome. Surrounding the atrium is a patterned screen of cast aluminum, evoking screens of historic Islamic architecture.