–excerpt–
Designed by Japanese Pritzker prize winning architect Fumihiko Maki, in partnership with Toronto-based architect Moriyama & Teshima Architects, the building was inspired by the Aga Khan’s vision of rock-crystal. This vision is captured in the large glass roof projecting from the centre of the building. The 8570m² building is configured as an elongated, rectangular ring, surrounding an interior atrium and an exterior courtyard.
Halcrow Yolles was retained for the challenging structural glass and building envelope design for the feature glazed elements. The complex roof design not only had to span 25 metres, but also had to resist the force of wind and be strong enough to bear the weight of 40 tonnes of glass and snow loads. The design is an innovative all-in-one system in which a grid of solid steel bars is braced with tension rods below. The glass panels attach to the grid with silicone.
Ismailimail 
I cannot over-emphasize the value of reading the book, ‘DEMOCRACY AND PLURALISM’,by H.H.The AgaKhan.In it he also describes the significance of the architecture of the Delegation building, in a way that none of us could.
Hazar Imam also talks about CIVIL SOCIETIES,EXELLENCE in EDUCATION and PLURALISM, as the way forward to a peaceful,stable global society in the future.
LikeLike
The above book is actually titled, ‘Where Hope Takes Root’.
LikeLike
In speaking about the Imam of the Time, Nasir al-Din Tusi explains,
‘…but it is correct to apply it to His command which is the source of all existents. In fact, whatever attribute has been ascribed to the first cause by distinguished philosophers and people of knowledge (ahl-i ma’rifat) among the men of intellect, is a reference to His command,
one facet of which is directed to the world of pure eternal unity, the other to the world of multiplicity and contingency;…’.
(P.38 – Contemplation and Action – Nasir al-Din Tusi)
Compare with Mawlana Hazir Imam’s description of the light reflecting through the rock-crystal in the roof of the Delegation of the Imamat building.
LikeLike
See above comment – (No. 3)
‘..The outcome is an inter-play of multiple facets, like rock crystal. In it are platforms of pure but translucent horizontality. Light’s full spectrum comes alive and disappears as the eye moves. In Islam the divine is reflected in Nature’s creation’.
Address by His Highness The Aga Khan at the Foundation Ceremony of The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat (Ottawa, Canada)
06 June 2005
LikeLike