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But India isn’t the firm’s only foreign beachhead. Nor was it the first. ARCOP gained initial foreign notice when it won the first Aga Khan Prize for Architecture in 1980. The winning entry was its five-star Mughai Sheraton Hotel, near the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. The hotel blended traditional Indian architecture with contemporary design.
It was the beginning of an ongoing relationship. The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the worldwide Ismaili Muslim community, has tapped ARCOP repeatedly to design and build projects in Asia, Africa and the U.S. They have included hotels, resorts, community centres and, lately, four private schools in Africa.
“They are kindergarten through high school. The idea is to be able to stream successful African students right into U.S. universities,” Khosla said.
Working with the Aga Khan helps boost ARCOP’s profile throughout the region. But the Montreal firm would not have succeeded had it not been willing to embrace other cultures. It regularly sends architects abroad for extended stints and recruits eager McGill University students to do unpaid foreign internships.
Source: The Gazette
The web-site of the company is http://www.arcop.com/ and it contains information about the Serena Hotels in Dushanbe and Quetta, the Serena Lodge in Khorg, and the Jamatkhana in Houston.
Ismailimail 