The recently inaugurated Ismaili Center in Houston has been celebrated as a triumph of architecture, culture, and interfaith dialogue. Yet some in the architectural community are urging a deeper look at what such projects represent in geopolitical and environmental terms. Sustainable Architect Ronak Roshan from Iran (who calls out the Shia Muslim Aga Khan Award for greenwashing its award) offers the following perspective on the origins, symbolism, and environmental implications of the project:
“This issue can be examined from several perspectives to clarify the reasons behind the emergence of such a project in the heart of this site. The construction of multiple mosques in the West should be understood within the policy seen in Paris, where, due to the fear of the rise of fundamentalism following the migration of Muslims caused by war, poverty, and other reasons to the West, the directive to build numerous mosques was issued to organize these communities.
“Saudi Arabia and several Arab countries also contributed financially (to building mosques). It is undeniable that every person has the right to have a place of worship according to their faith, but the question is whether this is the right approach. This should be seen from the political roots and the role of governments in power relations.
“I do not view the formation of this mosque outside of this perspective.
“Keep in mind that this project began before the current Aga Khan.
“The new Aga Khan studied environmental sciences in the United States and is expected to be both aware of and sensitive to such issues. These policies were not in place during his tenure. The Aga Khan Award manager is Iranian, a person with significant influence whose development-oriented approach is old school and largely symbolic, very close to Farshid Moussavi, the Iranian architect based in London. These connections are not coincidental.
“I mention these points to clarify the small but important reasons behind the formation of such projects. It must be emphasized that a project of this scale cannot truly support the environment unless they themselves transparently disclose or reveal that they have offset the carbon footprint or have fully transparent reports. Otherwise, such projects should have been undertaken at smaller scales and within smaller neighborhoods.
“Ms. Moussavi generally works on large-scale projects and even has some failed projects in her record; for example, some speculative developments in Turkey. A beautiful object with high spatial quality is no longer considered successful architecture in today’s world.”
Roshan’s critique reframes the Houston Ismaili Center not as a beacon of progress, but as a mirror reflecting the entanglement of faith, politics, and greenwashing in contemporary architecture — a beautiful object whose sustainability remains, for now, a matter of belief rather than proof.
