As the first center of its kind in the United States and only the seventh globally, the Ismaili Center is a thoughtfully designed space designed to serve as a long-term venue for spiritual reflection and cultural dialogue.
Our collaboration with McCarthy Building Companies, Farshid Moussavi Architecture, and Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects on this historic center in Houston, TX, is one of the most impactful and rewarding projects our team has completed.
The vision for the center is characterized by its stone-clad facade and open verandas that bridge the indoors with lush outdoor gardens. The overall design balances contemporary technology with traditional Persian architecture, which required meticulous attention to detail to ensure the space felt both open and permanent.
Our team was brought in to build and install critical finishing details that ground this complex design. We engineered and fabricated custom interior and exterior railings that complement the building’s geometric complexity, alongside precise ceiling and interior trims throughout the structure. Moving outdoors into the gardens, our scope extended to the exterior decking and custom wood and metal furniture that adorn the property, ensuring aesthetic continuity throughout the project.
Who: McCarthy, Farshid Moussavi Architecture, Nelson Byrd Woltz
What: Railings, Site Furnishings, Worship
Where: Houston, TX
How: Design Build, Engineering, Fabrication, Installation
Sources:
https://www.farshidmoussavi.com/fmaprojects/ismaili-center-houston/
https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/public-buildings/ismaili-centre-houston
https://www.farshidmoussavi.com/fmaprojects/ismaili-center-houston/
https://nbwla.com/work/the-ismaili-center-houston
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/dec/22/the-best-design-and-architecture-of-2025
