Designed by London-based firm Farshid Moussavi Architecture to embody the spirit of openness and dialogue, it is one of the largest and the first Ismaili Center in the United States to  open in Houston in 2024. With the landscape designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz (who also worked on Houston’s Memorial Park), a large portion of the site preceding the main entrance is devoted to gardens, which will offer a space of solace away from urban surroundings.

The architectural philosophy behind the design of the building sought to fuse Western imagery with traditional Islamic-Persian elements, a dialogue between traditional and modern architecture. Based on the firm’s description: “Given the frequently hot and humid climate of Houston and the prominence of the site in the city, it is designed with a tripartite form with each of its volumes hosting a soaring eivan (veranda) to enable social and cultural gatherings to occur outdoors throughout the year. The eivans are supported by forty-nine slender columns reminiscent of those used in Persepolis and seventeenth century palaces in Isfahan, Persia. In being open on all sides and visible from all approaches to the site, the eivans will make the Ismaili Center open and inviting in every direction. At night, they will transform it to a beacon of light along Montrose Boulevard and Allen Parkway […] 

The building interior will include three atriums that will act as common, non-exclusive flexible spaces between rooms dedicated to specific events. Each is located adjacent to an eivan to bring in natural light and views of the sky to the heart of the building. The central atrium’s stepped structure clad in ceramic screens, celebrates the heritage of the cupola dating back to 3000 BCE, dominant in both the architecture of the Sasanian period in Persia and the Christian buildings of the Byzantine empire. The west and east atriums will give access to a theater, a large hall and learning spaces.” 

Consequently, the interior of the building will have three atriums that serve as shared, non-exclusive flexible spaces between rooms for art programs, cultural gatherings, intellectual contemplations, and spiritual reflections.