Ismaili Centre

Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Project Value | $20 million

Project Size | 140,000 square feet

FNDA Services | Planning, Architecture, Interior Design, Procurement

Awards | Moriyama RAIC International Prize,

The project showcases that the FNDA team is able to take complex programmatic, regional, climatic, environmental and culturally sensitive project through detailed understanding of its users and stakeholders. The project evolved through extensive dialogue and it is an environmentally and culturally sustainable project which gives pride and joy to the people of Tajikistan. The design team has been awarded gold medals for Architecture and Interior Design by the International Union of Architects Central Asian Chapter.

The Ismaili Centre in Dushanbe had a specific mandate to bring the architectural heritage of Tajikistan back to Tajikistan, which for the most part has been lost to Uzbekistan by political boundaries which ignore the cultural heritage of the people. The building draws its inspiration through research and understanding of the great buildings of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva to translate these into modern functioning facility comprising of a multipurpose hall, social hall, library, administrative areas, an academic block and an area for prayer and contemplation. The grounds are extensively landscaped including water features and courtyards.

Inspired by the great monuments in Samarkhand and Bukhara, FNDA team was able to identify local materials and total teams to execute fine crafts of the area. These provided fallout benefit whilst reviving old crafts and improving local economy.

Opened in 2009, the Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe is the first such Centre in Central Asia — a region that has been home to Ismaili Muslims for more than a thousand years. It stands as both a reminder of great history and accomplishment, and a call on the peoples of the region to reflect on that inheritance as they shape the world of tomorrow. Inspired by some of the region’s most distinctive monuments, the architecture of the Ismaili Centre blends many craft and artisanal traditions of Central Asia. It is designed to facilitate cultural and intellectual exchange, and to re-invigorate the spirit of enquiry characterized by scholars whose contributions over the centuries were encouraged by the Ismaili Muslim community under the patronage of its leadership.