Toronto Aga Khan Museum + Ismaili Centre | ?m | ?s | Aga Khan Dev. | Maki and Associates

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AlvinofDiaspar

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There is a *very* tiny rendering of the project I haven't been before now posted on the Charles Correa website, listed under "institutions" for 2000 - .

So I suppose the project is quietly going through the rounds...

AoD
 
Oh and apparently there is a rendering of the landscaping works, designed by Vladimir Djurovic of Lebanon, in the December 2006 issue of Interior Design (it's not available online). Here is the caption:

From top: A plan for the gardens at the Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre in Toronto. A rendering of the project's formal garden with transparent acrylic water basins.

AoD
 
I had seen a colour rendering in the Daily Commercial News from around October or so, last year. Only of the Ismaili Centre, not the museum. The article indicated that it was to start construction in 2007. I had no practical way to get a copy of the rendering - it was similar to the one floating around but larger and clearer.
 
Archivis:

I haven't been able to find anything on the museum part of the project by Fumihiko Maki; I believe someone on UT (unimaginative?) commented on the project once...

I will try and see if Interior Design is available through Ryerson Library online (it should be) later in the week.

AoD
 
Here are the pics from Interior Design July 2006:

AgaKhan.jpg


AoD
 
From the Weekly Voice:

A Glimpse Into The Splendid Aga Khan Museum In Toronto
Monday, 09 April 2007
The Aga Khan and Mr. Elvio Ubaldi, Mayor of Parma, Italy inaugurated "Splendori a Corte", an exhibition of rare art and manuscripts from the Aga Khan Museum collections. This rare exhibition taking place at the Palazzo della Pilotta in the Italian city of Parma, will become part of the Aga Khan Museum coming up in Toronto.

In addition to the exhibition, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, in collaboration with the Teatro Regio di Parma and Parma Capitale della Musica, presented a programme of sacred music from Central Asia.

The Exhibition, will run for two months in Parma and then appear in other European cities. The music programme, which presents a panoramic view of Central Asia's musical traditions, opened at the Teatro Regio. Four other concerts, featuring four different performing ensembles are running at the Palazzo della Pilotta.

A Fatimid jar from the 10th or 11th centuries is featured in the Splendori a Corte Exhibition in Parma, Italy.

"This Exhibition of artistic masterpieces from the Islamic world underlines that the arts, particularly when they are spiritually inspired, can become a medium of discourse that transcends the barriers of our day-to-day experiences and preoccupations," said the Aga Khan. "Many questions are currently being raised in the West about the Muslim world, with countless misconceptions and misunderstandings occurring between our contemporary societies. I hope that this exhibition will hold a special significance at a time which calls for enlightened encounters amongst faiths and cultures." The Aga Khan continued.

The Exhibition is dedicated to the presentation of Muslim arts and culture in all their historic, cultural and geographical diversity. The selection of artwork is made from the permanent collections of the Aga Khan Museum, which will open in Toronto, Canada, in 2010.

Surrounded by a large landscaped park, the Museum will be housed in a 10,000 square-metre building designed by the Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki.


"The political crises of the last few years, and the large numbers of Muslims emigrating to the West, have revealed - often dramatically - the considerable lack of knowledge of the Muslim world in many Western societies," said Luis Monreal, General Manager of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).

"This ignorance spans all aspects of Islam: its pluralism, the diversity of interpretations within the Qur'anic faith, the chronological and geographical extent of its history and culture, as well as the ethnic, linguistic and social diversity of its peoples. The supposed 'clash of civilisations' is in reality nothing more than a manifestation of mutual ignorance," Luis Monreal added.

AKTC's programmes encompass a wide series of activities aimed at the preservation and promotion of various elements of the material and spiritual heritage of Muslim societies. The Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia is an initiative for the preservation of the musical heritage of Central Asia, which both supports master interpreters and music tradition bearers, and carries out the recording and publication of musical anthologies of the various ethnic groups in that region. AKTC also supports the Muslim arts and architecture departments of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as ArchNet, a major online resource on Islamic architecture. AKTC includes the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, established thirty years ago and created to draw attention to and recompense outstanding examples of architectural excellence as well as projects which provide solutions for the most acute social needs which exist in Muslim societies.

These programmes are part of the AKTC, which uses cultural heritage as a means of supporting and catalysing development - a strategy seldom employed by other international agencies. AKTC programmes are aimed at revitalising historic cities in the Muslim world both culturally and socioeconomically. Over the last decade, this approach has demonstrated its unique potential, through projects which rehabilitate monuments and public spaces and generally enhance the urban environment, including historic areas in Cairo, Kabul, Herat, Aleppo, Delhi, Zanzibar, Mostar, Timbuktu and Mopti.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

And here is a link to the exhibition in Italy:

http://www.splendoriacorte.org/index.html

AoD
 
What a pity the exhibition in Parma closes on June 3rd, a few days before our Italian Correspondent arrives in that part of the country. It would have be useful to get a preview of items from a significant collection that will eventually be housed here.
 
Still hard to get a good understanding of what the entire complex will look like, but this gives one a bit of an idea- the reflecting pool looks very large and will no doubt look impressive in the warmer months, but what will become of it in the winter? I am sure more changes are pending.

p5
 
ak_museum.jpg


This one could turn out very, very special....:)

Is the pyramid in the background part of the museum?
 
Looks interesting from this rather limited rendering. Looking forward to seeing more. Hopefully soon!
 
While it looks quite nice, I can't help but think that the designs seem much more Asiatic then Islamic. I had been hoping for some traditional Middle Eastern style domes and minnarets.
 
yyz:

The pyramid (and the rest of the stone structure) is part of the Ismaili Centre by Charles Correa; from what little I've seen of the plan, the actual museum building by Fumihiko Maki has a boxy footprint.

migtree:

Given AKDN is a fairly liberal/modern organization, they probably prefer the designs to have Middle Eastern/Islamic motifs in that context. All the power to them.

AoD
 

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