Prominently sited on Ottawa’s ceremonial Sussex Drive, the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat was conceived by the Aga Khan as a secular sanctuary for peace, diplomacy and global pluralism. Moriyama & Teshima collaborated with the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki to design and deliver this technically rigorous building. Exterior walls of white crystallized glass impart a soft, luminous quality akin to fine porcelain and appear to float above a recessed base of black granite. Enclosed within the walls are two symbolic meeting spaces—the glass-roofed Atrium, inspired by natural stone crystals and Islamic geometries, and the open-air Courtyard, based upon traditional Char Bagh walled gardens. A stunning hexagon-patterned Jali screen in the Atrium creates an ever-changing interplay of light and shadow, while the floor of Canadian maple adds visual warmth and a domestic note of welcome. The Ismaili Imamat received a 2012 Governor General’s Medal for Architecture.
Imara (Wynford Drive) Limited
86,111 SF
Ted Teshima
Diarmuid Nash
Norman Jennings
C. Po Ma
Amanda Gilbert, Ajon Moriyama, Chris Yen, Elias Saoud, Emmanuelle van Rutten, Farhad Rahbary, Hany Rizkalla, Louis Lortie, John Blakey, Joni Inouye, Shawn Geddes, Ronen Bauer, Roy Gill, Susana Saiz
Governor General’s Medal for Architecture
OAA Design Excellence Award
OAA People’s Choice Awards
A stunning hexagon-patterned Jali screen in the Atrium creates an ever-changing interplay of light and shadow, while the floor of Canadian maple adds visual warmth and a domestic note of welcome.
