Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe

The site of the Centre is located on Ismoili Somoni Avenue, named in honour of Tajikistan’s national hero and founder of the early 10th century Samanid dynasty.

Designed by the Canadian architect Farouk Noormohamed, and like various post-independence Tajik buildings, the Ismaili Centre evokes Samanid architecture, its brickwork particularly evoking the Ismaili Samanid Mausoleum.The sandstone baked brick has been combined with woodcarvings, plaster work and visually prominent clay tiles accented in blue and turquoise glaze as an homage to the vernaculars of the 10th century mausoleum of the Samanids as well as the grand courtyards of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. The floors are mostly characterized with patterned granite, and are made of beech, wenge and cherry wood. The design of the Centre embeds the aesthetic styles of the 12th century Karakhanid Mausoleum at Uzgen and 14th century Khwaja Ahmad Yasavi Mausoleum in Turkestan. The building is set within gardens featuring fountains and Persian silk trees.

The Centre is also notable for some of its sustainability features, such as earthquake-resistance and the use of an innovative water-source heating and cooling system. With Tajikistan being located in a highly seismic region, an elastic wood roof diaphragm has been installed to absorb structural stress.Water-source pumps and a heat recovery wheel have been installed for energy efficiency.

The Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe (Russian: Исмаилитский центр) is one of six such centres world-wide and is an Ismaili jamatkhana. It was the fifth purpose-built Ismaili Centre, and the first in Central Asia.