Aga Khan Foundation: Islamic Community Center

[phillip_white]

1 hour ago, thatguysly said:

That is one heck of a foundation for the entire site seeing that the building is only on a portion.

From the rendering you can see that the plaza behind the main structure leads down to a grassy area, which I'm guessing is designed to be a usable space instead of burying the required volume of stormwater detention.

https://imgur.com/kagjQGK

[thatguysly]

11 minutes ago, phillip_white said:

From the rendering you can see that the plaza behind the main structure leads down to a grassy area, which I'm guessing is designed to be a usable space instead of burying the required volume of stormwater detention.

https://imgur.com/kagjQGK

Great point about detention requirements. Looks like a creative way to meet them and not just have a giant detention basin onsite. 

[freundb]

2 hours ago, tangledwoods said:

Long story short the process they are using is likely called "soil nails"  here is a nifty website explaining things:

Soil nailing | Keller North America (keller-na.com)

the surface of the walls is similar to shotcrete that you see on a pool, but there is also a retention component drilled into the earth.

Thanks! Learned something new and it's not even lunch time yet

[j_cuevas713]

I'm still in shock this is actually happening

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

I talked with a McCarthy worker about the possibility of putting a second tower crane but she said this will be the only tower crane. Two levels of underground parking.

[tangledwoods]

I hate to pollute the site with my crappy cell phone shots but I got one of the complete crane this morning:

[Foundation]

[hindesky]

[cityliving]

[tangledwoods]

Project is coming along quite nicely.  I am a bit suprised that they were able to get a lane closure permit on montrose.  Their trucks are crazy backing up traffic in the mornings and evenings. 

[Luminare]

24 minutes ago, tangledwoods said:

Project is coming along quite nicely.  I am a bit suprised that they were able to get a lane closure permit on montrose.  Their trucks are crazy backing up traffic in the mornings and evenings. 

Ah yes. You are learning the number one rule above all rules. If you are a big enough person, client, company... people will bend over backwards to serve your wants and needs. This is just how the world works. If you are a small development why would any city approve a lane closure for you, but if you the Aga Khan...now thats different.

[cityliving]

 

[editor]

Oh, wow.  That was quick!

[Ross]

On 4/6/2022 at 3:07 PM, tangledwoods said:

Project is coming along quite nicely.  I am a bit suprised that they were able to get a lane closure permit on montrose.  Their trucks are crazy backing up traffic in the mornings and evenings. 

It's Houston. You pay the permit fee and get the lane closure. Looks like $134 per lane per block per week for a street like Montrose. Details here http://www.gims.houstontx.gov/traffic/PermitDetails/RoadwayObstructionPermitDetails.aspx

Realistically, the City has to allow this, or it would be difficult to build things.

[jmitch94]

13 hours ago, Ross said:

It's Houston. You pay the permit fee and get the lane closure. Looks like $134 per lane per block per week for a street like Montrose. Details here http://www.gims.houstontx.gov/traffic/PermitDetails/RoadwayObstructionPermitDetails.aspx

Realistically, the City has to allow this, or it would be difficult to build things.

In New York they usually don’t even close the side walk down. This is just another example of our city bending over backwards for big money interests at the cost of everyone else. 
 

Also $134 a week is criminally cheap. If they are going to charge that little they might as well not charge at all. 

[MidCenturyMoldy]

50 minutes ago, jmitch94 said:

In New York they usually don’t even close the side walk down. This is just another example of our city bending over backwards for big money interests at the cost of everyone else. 

It's not just Houston. Lanes on two major streets in San Antonio (Broadway and Nacogdoches) have been closed for a year now while some large mixed-use apartment building is being built.

And lanes get closed all the time in New York. Usually it's a covered sidewalk that temporarily replaces the lane that's closed.  

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.754783,-73.9990259,3a,60y,233.13h,87.92t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s589UpDdx98pW3SiuyYxJcA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

Edited April 21, 2022 by MidCenturyMoldy

[Ross]

8 hours ago, jmitch94 said:

In New York they usually don’t even close the side walk down. This is just another example of our city bending over backwards for big money interests at the cost of everyone else. 
 

Also $134 a week is criminally cheap. If they are going to charge that little they might as well not charge at all. 

There has to be somewhere for the materials delivery and concrete trucks to park while offloading their goods.

[editor]

18 hours ago, jmitch94 said:

In New York they usually don’t even close the side walk down. This is just another example of our city bending over backwards for big money interests at the cost of everyone else. 
 

Also $134 a week is criminally cheap. If they are going to charge that little they might as well not charge at all. 

Having lived in New York for decades, I have to disagree with your assessment.  But perhaps things have changed since I lived there.

While I agree with you that $134/week in Houston is way too cheap, shutting down sidewalks and street lanes for private construction and other events is a common, ordinary activity in every American city.

In Chicago, some aldermen send out a weekly e-mail that includes a list of the closures.  Here's the one from the 42nd ward just last week: (I removed the protests and the gas main construction)

--:--

Filmings

The Chi

The Chi will be filming at 505 N Lake Shore Drive on Tuesday, April 19. During the filming, parking at the following locations will be prohibited:

North side of Illinois from Lower Lake Shore Drive to Streeter Dr (Tuesday, April 19th 4:00AM- Wednesday, April 20th)
North side of Illinois St. from McClurg Ct. to Peshitgo Ct. (Tuesday, April 19th 4:00AM- Wednesday, April 20th)
South side of Grand Ave. from Peshitgo Ct. to McClurg Ct. (Tuesday, April 19th 4:00AM- Wednesday, April 20th)

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Brian Fairley (location manager) at (773) 521-1509.

Crane Lift: 640 N Wabash Avenue

On Saturday, April 16, from 8am-8pm, there will be a crane lift at 640 N Wabash Avenue. During the lift, the following will be closed:

Sidewalk on the west side of Wabash, from Erie to a point 100' south thereof
Curb lane on the west side of Wabash, from Erie to a point 100' south thereof
One southbound traffic lane on Wabash, from Erie to a point 100' south thereof

There will be barricades and flaggers in-place throughout the lift.

Crane Lift: 7 West Monroe Street

On Friday, May 13 and Saturday, May 14 from 8am-8pm there will be a crane lift at 7 West Monroe Street. Throughout the lift, Monroe, from State to Dearborn will be closed to vehicular traffic. The crane will remain on-site during the overnight hours.

There will be barricades, detour signs, and traffic control on-site throughout the lift.

 

214 West Erie Street Renovations

On Monday, December 13, Crane Construction began renovations of 214 West Erie Street. During construction, the following will be closed:

Sidewalk/curb lane in front of 214 West Erie Street. The curb lane will be used as a pedestrian walkway. Crane Construction will place jersey barriers and ramps in the curb lane to protect pedestrians and provide wheelchair access.
Close 100' of the north/south alley adjacent to 214 W Erie Street. This is a T alley and residents of 222 W Erie will still be able to access their parking garage from the alley entrance on Franklin and Huron.

This project is expected to be completed summer of 2022 (weather dependent).

LG Construction: 751 N. Hudson and 451 W Chicago

LG Construction has recently broke ground at 751 N. Hudson Avenue and 451 W. Chicago Avenue, which are adjacent parcels. Work hours will be 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday.
 
Throughout the project, the following will be closed:

Sidewalk/curb lane/traffic lane of the east side of Hudson, from Chicago to the first alley south thereof
Sidewalk/curb lane/traffic lane on the west side of Sedgwick, from Chicago to the first alley south thereof
Sidewalk/curb lane on the south side of Chicago, from Hudson to Sedgwick

There will be a protected pedestrian walkway in the curb lane on the south side of Chicago Avenue, from Hudson Avenue to Sedgwick Street.

This project is expected to take 18 months to complete (weather dependent).

354 North Union Construction

The Onni Group is constructing a 33 story residential building with 373 units. Work hours will be 8am-8pm, daily.

Parking will be prohibited on North Union, from West Kinzie to the cul-de-sac west thereof throughout the project. All construction equipment and vehicles will be staged on the Onni Group’s property. This project will take approximately two years to complete.

 

430 N. Michigan Lobby Renovation
 
Starting in mid-September, GNP Realty Partners will be renovating the lobby at 430 N. Michigan Avenue. Throughout the project, there will be a 40’ urban canopy on the sidewalk in front of the building. In order to place the canopy on the sidewalk, the planter bed and City Information Panel (CIP) at this location will be temporarily removed. Both the planter bed and CIP will be reinstalled upon completion of the project.
 
The project is expected to be completed in May 2022.

 

--:--

Now, back to that fee — Yeah, $134/week is stupidly cheap.  In my estimation, it should be closer to $300/day.   If I can't park a row of cars along the entirety of a city block for $134/week, a construction company shouldn't be allowed to occupy that space at that price, either.

In Chicago (again, sorry for all the Chicago data points, but it is the city that I have the most familiarity with), the 1 Bennett Park building has to pay the city for a tiny slice of air above a sidewalk.  There is a very small decorative arch (kinda like a gargoyle ornament) that hangs 3¾ feet over the sidewalk, 777 feet above the ground.  That's $400/year in rent to the city.  In Houston, I suspect that would have been ignored.

[editor]

Just an update to the discussion about $134/week fee.  It looks like my idea of $300/day was out of line.  I checked Chicago, and found this.  It's from 2014, but as near as i can figure, the fe for blocking an entire street lane varies by type of lane, how long it is blocked, and what used to be on the sidewalk.

If it's a street lane with parking, fee starts (monthly) at $10/foot, with a minimum fee of $200.  It goes up to $40/foot, with a minimum fee of $800/month, if you're there for 18 months or longer.  (A standard city block in Chicago is 660 feet x 330 feet.)

If it's a street without parking, the fee starts (monthly) at $20/foot, with a minimum fee of $400.  It goes up to $80/foot, with a minimum fee of $1,600/month, if you're there 18 months or longer.

If a bicycle rack has to be removed, that's $150.  If a parking meter has to be removed, that's $150 per meter + the city's estimate of revenue lost.  If a parking pay box has to be removed, that's $1,000 + the city's estimate of revenue lost.  If a non-parking sign has to be removed, that's $150 per sign.  If it's a no parking sign that has to be removed, that's free for some reason.

There are some other interesting charges, like $47.88/hour if you need a city marine officer to do whatever it is that city marine officers do while your construction barge is moored alongside your construction site.  Same rate for cops on horses.  A flunkie to guide pedestrians around your construction is $26.19/hour.  If for some reason you need a deputy chief, that's $86.54/hour.

 

[hindesky]

[toxtethogrady]

On 11/15/2021 at 3:10 PM, MidCenturyMoldy said:

Yikes! Star Spangled Banner butchering.

As in....?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ-O72WMRKo

On 11/16/2021 at 8:20 AM, thatguysly said:

Love it. It reminds me of the Menil, the new Modern Art Museum expansion, and little bit of the McGovern Centennial Gardens. It seems like it would fit in better at in the Museum District but love that it adds to a different part of the city right off Buffalo Bayou.

Reminds me of something the Smithsonian might have commissioned...

[j_cuevas713]

The scale of this is incredible. 

[hindesky]

The crew is working at ground level on the northern part of the building. Southern section is still in the basement.

[hindesky]

Now working above ground.

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

Creating a road to start work on the garden part of the project.

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[Ross]

I drove past this the other day. The hole in the ground is far larger than I had imagined. If anyone can get a drone shot, it would be great to see what this looks like from above.

[hindesky]

New images released.

[tangledwoods]

I fully expect that this building is going to end up gorgeous but every rendering they put out is horrible.  After staring at these for a while I finally realized its the lighting.  They all seem to use a very diffuse natural lighting which gives the renderings a very bland feel.  For the kind of money the are paying Moussavi, I would have expected a much better product.

Its also a big pet peeve of mine when architects put out renderings that ignore the structural and MEPF disciplines. I get that ductwork and diffusors arent always sexy but its never good to just ignore it. 

[Luminare]

2 hours ago, tangledwoods said:

I fully expect that this building is going to end up gorgeous but every rendering they put out is horrible.  After staring at these for a while I finally realized its the lighting.  They all seem to use a very diffuse natural lighting which gives the renderings a very bland feel.  For the kind of money the are paying Moussavi, I would have expected a much better product.

Its also a big pet peeve of mine when architects put out renderings that ignore the structural and MEPF disciplines. I get that ductwork and diffusors arent always sexy but its never good to just ignore it. 

1) these are likely overly compressed jpeg versions. As an example I normally export from render programs at 4k because its always better working with more pixels in photoshop, but to get everything out to our clients I at least export down to 1080 or "Desktop" size. For some reason after that is where things get fussy. I think a lot of marketing crews just mindlessly compress images down further because they always get fussy after they leave any office. For me the renders just look overly compressed or were exported at really low res.

2) lighting seems fine to me, but lighting is always tricky in renders. Its all about mood at the end of the day. I remember the last place I worked at my renders tended to be on the darker side, and my boss would be like "is there any way to make this look...happier?" Moussavi strikes me as a very serious architect, so I'd imagine she likes her images more moody and quiet.

3) As far as bland, I do think they probably could up the saturation of the image to show of the subtle blues and other colors. Maybe its an overlay problem? I don't think the building looks bland, but the colors aren't really shining through like we are seeing already with the exterior mockup of the pigmented concrete (I'm guess thats what it is, might be cast stone).

4) I don't know what your expectation of a religious building is, but even the most modernist interpretations of religious buildings, spaces are really clean and even where you do have structure its well integrated to be the aesthetic or hidden nicely, and MEP is designed in a way so it can be unseen. This just isn't a building to show case that, and I'll be real with you, most architects do not have the time to put that into their models. My office I currently work for never puts in families of MEP items and rarely structural (though I put them in to coordinate). Most offices are like this as well, unless you are an architect that really likes to highlight these things. Otherwise they will be absent. Its just not important and lets be real when you are in a space with these items you mind normally "hides" them yourself, so you only see the aesthetics of the space minus the light switches and registers, just like our brain selectively reads, or remembers faces.

Edited August 12, 2022 by Luminare

[MexAmerican_Moose]

not important until the RFIs start coming in LMAO - engineer

Edited August 12, 2022 by MexAmerican_Moose

[arche_757]

Project like this will have a near endless stream of RFI’s I’ll wager.  It’s all figured into the price.

Question for any Architect’s/Engineers and Contractors on here:  have any of you ever worked on a high profile project with a crazy high budget - such as a museum or building like this?

[Luminare]

2 hours ago, arche_757 said:

Project like this will have a near endless stream of RFI’s I’ll wager.  It’s all figured into the price.

Question for any Architect’s/Engineers and Contractors on here:  have any of you ever worked on a high profile project with a crazy high budget - such as a museum or building like this?

I wish, but no.

You and I both know though that it doesn't have to be a high profile project to get a flood of RFI's. Lets say I know a project that currently has like over 200? 300? something crazy and its just a simple run of the mill garden style apartment job.

During my studies over the prior 3 exams I've passed thus far its pretty clear the most important things are; how good is your contract and does everyone know their responsibilities and take them seriously, did you pick a contractor that actually priced in what was actually bid, or did they low ball the number and are then trying to make up lost profits by picking apart ambiguity in the drawings, are your drawings thorough enough for the work at hand so it can be priced reasonably, and how firm is the architecture office in their procedures handling situations during CA, do they have a structured RFI system or not, do they enforce contract language or not, and do they reject bs a contractor sends them during the submittal phase.

The only RFI's one should expect on a project like this are obviously situations that the contractor and subs aren't accustomed too right?

My bet, personally, is they probably went the IPD (Integrated Project Delivery) route or at least this is the route I would have taken.

Edited August 13, 2022 by Luminare

[arche_757]

I’m just going to go out on a limb and suppose the architect is a tad zealous with regard to controlling the details here.  That is reinforced by the developer/owner who likely wants to have as crisp and perfect of a job as possible.  I suspect that money is not an issue for this project in the slightest.  It is the centerpiece of this foundations American presence, and a prominent one at that.

[Luminare]

11 hours ago, arche_757 said:

I’m just going to go out on a limb and suppose the architect is a tad zealous with regard to controlling the details here.  That is reinforced by the developer/owner who likely wants to have as crisp and perfect of a job as possible.  I suspect that money is not an issue for this project in the slightest.  It is the centerpiece of this foundations American presence, and a prominent one at that.

ah yes the dream client for any architect haha.

[tangledwoods]

Quote

Question for any Architect’s/Engineers and Contractors on here:  have any of you ever worked on a high profile project with a crazy high budget - such as a museum or building like this?

Contractor here: I've worked on a couple very high profile and also high budget jobs, they are rarely the same. I was involved in a Billion + job that argued about the price of accent wall tile, just because it is bigger and higher profile doesn't mean the client wants to blow money out the window....Typically when you deal with people that have billions of dollars you quickly find out how they got that way (by not recklessly spending it).

I have worked on a few crazy high budget jobs, they tend to be smaller urgent type things where client needs "x" and they need it completed no later than "y".  You then throw shift work, overtime and the kitchen sink at it.  Its nice to have all the money in the world but there are some schedules that even money has a hard time improving so these jobs can be as stressful as the ones without any money!

I have yet to be on a job that was both crazy high profile and crazy high budget.

One thing to keep in mind, in my experience the best clients to work for are people who build frequently and have an organization to support the process.  The worst clients I've worked with have been people who wanted something "epic" or "grand" but also had little experience building stuff.  

[arche_757]

Amen to that @tangledwoods regarding clients who are organized versus those who aren’t...  That said the Aga Kahn Foundation probably doesn’t build all too often, and may not be as experienced as a local hotel or gas station developer.  Neither does the MFAH, but I would suspect these would be rewarding and quality clients despite the overall lack of experience.

Edited August 15, 2022 by arche_757

[Houstoni]

Better quality pics of new renderings via Facebook https://www.facebook.com/theismaili/posts/pfbid02NRvCc2hLx8LtNbz897rqyD31AuTC2mGSb3E3dLxDmK4SwraeNA95c4Jo8ntQagFnl

courtesy: Imara Houston Inc.

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by Houstoni

[bobruss]

This is going to be beautiful!

[EllenOlenska]

So I think the building is great. I'm very high on it. One thing that I keep thinking of is that even for Houston, even for that area it seems a little private, a little pulled back from the street. I'm not going to pretend to know or presume on the foundation's public or privateness but even then, I'm afraid the building will be lovely and (despite some of its renderings) from many spots difficult to see. 

[strickn]

Just like Holl's and Lake Flato's recent local arts buildings, or this Dallas palace under construction right now,

https://www.archdaily.com/981862/morphosis-designed-new-arts-campus-breaks-ground-in-texas

can't help noticing that the architecture has nothing to say to the rest of the city that is its home.  How different is this Aga Khan cool textured beauty from say the reserved geometry of the Tampa Museum of Art (2010)?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Museum_of_Art

Like them, these design renderings could really be clipped from magazine articles about recent climate-minded modernism in Tampa, Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego, or Tehran just as easily as Houston -- probably more easily.  Academic or commercial architects are both equally out of step with Houston's distinctive rhythm and texture.

Edited August 17, 2022 by strickn

[Luminare]

1 hour ago, strickn said:

Just like Holl's and Lake Flato's recent local arts buildings, or this Dallas palace under construction right now,

https://www.archdaily.com/981862/morphosis-designed-new-arts-campus-breaks-ground-in-texas

can't help noticing that the architecture has nothing to say to the rest of the city that is its home.  How different is this Aga Khan cool textured beauty from say the reserved geometry of the Tampa Museum of Art (2010)?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Museum_of_Art

Like them, these design renderings could really be clipped from magazine articles about recent climate-minded modernism in Tampa, Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego, or Tehran just as easily as Houston -- probably more easily.  Academic or commercial architects are both equally out of step with Houston's distinctive rhythm and texture.

Holl has never been known to be contextual. He's been a Post-Modernist through and through. Always focusing on the abstract. Tom Mayne is cut from the same cloth, but is more dynamic with his facades, and is more curvilinear. The Jewel box example in Tampa Bay also Post-Modern. Don't expect Post-Modernist to care about their surroundings. Just not their MO. The only group you mentioned that actually focuses on Context is Lake Flato and you probably chose their worst example among very stellar work they have done regarding Contextualism. As for Farshid Moussavi what we are seeing in these images is right in her wheel house. Highly geometric forums/patterns in the abstract. Not known for being Contextual. Very Post-Modern as well, but I'll tell you what I look at this building and see plenty of connections to things are very key to Houston prototypically. To be one with context does not necessarily mean you match 1 to 1 with what is existing (though that would be more engaging). You can focus on Contextual in the abstract and focus on very meta or macro aspects of context. When I look at this project I see a lot of masonry, which has always been very southern. Nice big porches and overhangs (very big deal in Houston and the south), and Houston has always been well regarded for its gardening culture, and this facility looks to have massive one at that. To me it looks like a very abstract and upsized version of your prototypical house made w/ masonry with a deep porch and a very nicely landscaped backyard. That hits a lot of the hallmarks of buildings/construction in this region of the country and Houston as a whole. What else do people need from this?

[strickn]

If your concept is that a public building can perfectly well be a cartoon of a private single-family home if the postmodern style calls for it, then to start with, people need something else from this at the level of artistic license:  just asserting it doesn't absolve the artist from picking a more sensible style in the first place.
 

Michael Graves already gave Allen Parkway another cartoon house job in the form of a Federal Reserve sub-branch, and that choice poorly suited both the utility and the dignity of a public-sector institution.  This jamatkhana has utility and dignity but the classic criticism of postwar Houston urbanism is that it is too disjointed and hermetically sealed from its surroundings.  If your building is open air but treats everything offsite as a blank slate both artistically and urbanistically, it is still disjointed.

[Montrose1100]

16 hours ago, strickn said:

If your concept is that a public building can perfectly well be a cartoon of a private single-family home if the postmodern style calls for it, then to start with, people need something else from this at the level of artistic license:  just asserting it doesn't absolve the artist from picking a more sensible style in the first place.
 

Michael Graves already gave Allen Parkway another cartoon house job in the form of a Federal Reserve sub-branch, and that choice poorly suited both the utility and the dignity of a public-sector institution.  This jamatkhana has utility and dignity but the classic criticism of postwar Houston urbanism is that it is too disjointed and hermetically sealed from its surroundings.  If your building is open air but treats everything offsite as a blank slate both artistically and urbanistically, it is still disjointed.

It's yet another fortress along Allen Parkway. I understand what you're saying, but it's fashionable for Houston.

[Luminare]

17 hours ago, strickn said:

If your concept is that a public building can perfectly well be a cartoon of a private single-family home if the postmodern style calls for it, then to start with, people need something else from this at the level of artistic license:  just asserting it doesn't absolve the artist from picking a more sensible style in the first place.
 

Michael Graves already gave Allen Parkway another cartoon house job in the form of a Federal Reserve sub-branch, and that choice poorly suited both the utility and the dignity of a public-sector institution.  This jamatkhana has utility and dignity but the classic criticism of postwar Houston urbanism is that it is too disjointed and hermetically sealed from its surroundings.  If your building is open air but treats everything offsite as a blank slate both artistically and urbanistically, it is still disjointed.

I don't disagree with any of this. I'm merely pointing out that its not fair to compare things that aren't 1 to 1, or to ask something of a thing which will never be. Post-modernism by its own tenants celebrates a divorce from context because it believes that everything is relative in relation to everything else, which also means that its pursuits and even its execution will entirely remain in the abstract. My guess is that you understand this, I'm simply stating this for the rest of the room (the thread) for the layperson who doesn't spend time noting these distinctions. These distinctions are important when making comparisons. For the many faults of Post-Modernism, and my personal feelings and reservations I have for Post-Modernism as a movement, and philosophical movement, I still believe its fair to give the devil its due. This building is what it is and for the framework that it places itself in, even if its in the abstract, it excels in its category (for the moment, lets see the finished product). In your hypothetical framework, and the traditional framework, and the contextual framework it most certainly does not pass in these regards, but that doesn't mean it this can't be a success in its own right and in its own way. As an example the Guggenheim in New York is most definitely a Frank Lloyd Wright example, and a modernist example, but with the framework you have presented fails in that regard, yet after enough time has passed we instantly see the Guggenheim as a definitive New York City building, and can't imagine it anywhere else. Most abstracts rarely will achieve this, but that is for time to judge, not us.

Edited August 18, 2022 by Luminare

[X.R.]

On 8/17/2022 at 11:51 AM, EllenOlenska said:

So I think the building is great. I'm very high on it. One thing that I keep thinking of is that even for Houston, even for that area it seems a little private, a little pulled back from the street. I'm not going to pretend to know or presume on the foundation's public or privateness but even then, I'm afraid the building will be lovely and (despite some of its renderings) from many spots difficult to see. 

If I was them, I'd be balancing my need for privacy of the faithful vs inviting the public. Its a fine line but I think they are balancing it well. Whether the sightlines make for easy viewing, I'm unsure, but I know it will be very, very busy. They will have a good presence in the area. Their population here is comparatively large, and other Muslims will 100% utilize this space as well.

This has fortress-elements, but I don't think in their case its a Houston-specific issue. If you check their Canada-based centers they have similar, more recessed layouts for what I can tell from google maps and the images. And if they do have a sizeable pedestrian presence, as I alluded to above, it further detracts from the fortress element. The layout makes sense, its a bit of a campus, and if I was going there for programming that spoke to my faith or heritage I don't want cars zooming down Allen pkwy to be in the background. Enough land was there to both add to the city at large and to Ismaili community, which is what I think they are trying to do.