America's first Ismaili Center set to open in Houston in December

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Nearly 20 years in the making, The Ismaili Center, Houston, opens in December 2025. Photo by Iwan Baan

The long-awaited Ismaili Center, Houston is set to open to the public next month. The 11-acre site has been painstakingly designed and constructed to offer indoor and outdoor public spaces for Houstonians to enjoy, connect, and engage. As the only Ismaili Center in the United States — and seventh in the world — it joins its international communities in London, Vancouver, Lisbon, Dubai, Dushanbe, and Toronto.

Nearly 20 years in the making, the Ismaili Center, Houston features a prayer hall, rotating art installations, a black box theater, a cafe, numerous social halls for weddings and other events, and nine acres of outdoor space and landscaped botanical gardens. Involved parties hope that the community will see the space as an extension of the neighboring parks along the bayou, and have included a garden entrance to the north lawn and gardens at the corner of Montrose Boulevard and Allen Parkway.

While Houston is known for its many community engagement centers, the architects and designers believe that the seamless integration of indoor and outdoor spaces sets the Ismaili Center, Houston apart from all others.

“What we know is the connections between buildings, environment, quality of life, and landscape — this is nothing new,” structural and facade engineer Hanif Kara says. “But, certainly, it’s hard to see that in other developments, particularly when they are done by developers. It’s quite difficult to find community spaces, and to see how quality of life is improved for everyone. I think we’ve all experienced that kind of hope that it will play out something like this.”

Designed by Farshid Moussavi Architecture and Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, the remarkable 11-acre site is designed both to receive LEED Gold certification and to withstand the tests of Houston’s sometimes extreme weather conditions.

Principal architect Farshid Moussavi looks forward to seeing the Houston community utilize the space she’s worked so hard to deliver: “We’ve given the hardware to the community, now the software needs to come in. So I hope that there will be music recitals, or lectures, or book fairs, or other kinds of markets that can happen—even simultaneously. This is not an experiment, it’s the seventh in the world.”

Community welcome events are scheduled for December 12 and 13, but, until then, here are 10 features and things to know about the Ismaili Center, Houston.

What is the Ismaili Center, Houston?

“The use of the building is really meant for, or our hope, is that we are able to—on an enhanced view of what the community does today—have engagement on service projects, arts and culture, interfaith dialogue, and even just in bringing people together,” Omar Samji, Ismaili Council for the United States of America, says. “The notion of bringing people together in a place where it is easy to create connections because it’s an open space, and because it’s specifically designed to be a place where people interact and where people find commonality. Because whether you’re out in the gardens, or on the environs, or in the atrium, this enables connection.”

Who is His Highness the Aga Khan?

His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan V is the 50th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. He was educated at Philipps Academy in Andover and Brown University (Class of 1995). He became Imam in February 2025 upon the passing of his father, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV.

The Aga Khan promotes an understanding of Islam rooted in values of generosity, tolerance, pluralism, environmental stewardship, and the shared unity of humanity. He also chairs the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), one of the world’s largest private development agencies, which works across more than 30 countries to improve quality of life for marginalized communities regardless of faith or background.

The scale

The center stretches across an 11-acre site along Montrose Boulevard, from West Dallas to Allen Parkway. The physical building is 150,000 square feet, leaving nine acres for garden spaces on both the north and south sides of the building. The south side of the property is more formal, with gardens and community spaces that flank an 80-foot reflection pool and other water features. The gardens on the north side of the building are more informal, but densely planted and vast.

Photo by Iwan Baan

The creation

The development of the Ismaili Center was led by the Ismaili Council. It was initiated by His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV (1936-2025), and completed under the leadership of his eldest son, Prince Rahim Aga Khan V.

The project was designed and constructed by a team of both local and international firms. Farshid Moussavi Architecture joined forces with structural and facade engineer Hanif Kara, co-founder and creative director of AKT II. DLR Group is the architect and engineer of record, while contractor McCarthy Building Companies built the project. Thomas Woltz, senior principal and owner of landscape architecture firm Nelson Byrd Woltz, along with principal Jeff Aten taking lead on the nine acres of garden space. The project is targeting LEED Gold certification.

The focus on native Texas plants and trees

The center will be recognized as a leading cultural asset for the City of Houston, complementing nearby institutions such as The Menil Collection, Rothko Chapel, Asia Society Texas, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. While the surrounding gardens will add to the other notable Nelson Byrd Woltz projects within close proximity at Memorial Park, Rothko Chapel, and Rice University.

“We’ve been building massive projects in Houston for 12 years,” Woltz says. “We know the horticultural community in the region, and we did a deep, deep dive in ecological research to understand ‘What are the native plants of whatever region?’ It’s just baked into our process. Right when we are starting any project in Houston—right to the river. Look at the soils, ‘What are the plants appropriate to that place?’ Its solar aspect, its humidity, it’s moisture in soils, the shadow of the building.

But then, this idea of taking a section across the state of Texas, so that each of those distinct ecological regions is represented by one of the terraced gardens — so it’s very clear. It’s a diagram of the state of Texas and all of its native plants. This is functioning like a botanic garden and a repository for biodiversity — this is work in service.”

The eco-friendly exterior

The exterior of the building is clad in stone, a durable material with low embodied carbon. The stone cladding is a rainscreen over in-situ ‘fair-faced’ concrete walls, exposed on the interior to minimize additional material use. The concrete mix used has replaced 35-62 percent of Portland cement with fly ash and slag, reducing CO2 emissions by roughly 30 percent compared to standard mixes. The exterior stone rainscreen uses smaller tiles to increase the stone yield, utilizing 20-25 percent more of the irregular blocks they are cut from. This reduction in waste has also lent itself to crafting the cladding in a unique way.

The tessellation of the stone pieces changes across the building's surfaces to create different patterns on different sides of the buildings and at the corners. Relief stone tiles are used to add texture to the facades.

The space for outdoor events

The north-facing botanical gardens that will accommodate the 200-year flood plain offer a 27 foot gradient toward the building. This allowed for various levels of seating and gathering areas that culminate at an elevated terrace that will act as a stage for various events such as plays and concerts. Attendees can stretch out and enjoy the shows from an extensive lawn area that is surrounded by dense gardens of native trees and plants.

The black box theater

A 2,600-square-foot black box multipurpose space which seats 125 people is found on the second floor of the building’s west wing. It can host public events, such as exhibitions, film screenings, theatrical performances, music recitals, and other artistic programs throughout the year. It will also serve as a flexible space for teaching and learning. With acoustic isolation to surrounding spaces and the mechanical mezzanine above, it is designed to operate simultaneously without disrupting other events in the building. Design includes an upper-level control room, pipe grid, and flexible drapery and seating configurations to allow for a wide variety of programming.

The cafe

The center’s café is a 1,600-square-foot, double-height space located in the west wing (Montrose side) that opens onto an enormous terrace, offering visitors the option to enjoy their coffee or food outdoors. The terrace near the cafe is lined by an exterior wall and long, trough-style fountains that aid in noise reduction from Montrose Boulevard. The second-floor wall overlooking the Café is fully glazed, creating visual connection with the levels above.

The prayer hall

The prayer hall is 12,240 square feet, featuring a unique structural system of seven interlocking squares, formed from steel beams spanning the 115-by-115-foot open space. These beams are clad in concrete to enhance durability, beneath which lies a two-layer perforated aluminum ceiling with integrated diffused lighting. Its intricate pattern recalls the traditional jālī screens of Islamic architecture creating a soft, seemingly infinite ceiling effect, adding to the serenity of the prayer hall.

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A version of this article first appeared on CultureMap.com

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Houston startup debuts new drone for first responders

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Houston-based Paladin Drones has debuted Knighthawk 2.0, its new autonomous, first-responder drone.

The drone aims to strengthen emergency response and protect first responders, the company said in a news release.

“We’re excited to launch Knighthawk 2.0 to help build safer cities and give any city across the world less than a 70-second response time for any emergency,” said Divyaditya Shrivastava, CEO of Paladin.

The Knighthawk 2.0 is built on Paladin’s Drone as a First Responder (DFR) technology. It is equipped with an advanced thermal camera with long-range 5G/LTE connectivity that provides first responders with live, critical aerial awareness before crews reach the ground. The new drone is National Defense Authorization Act-compliant and integrates with Paladin's existing products, Watchtower and Paladin EXT.

Knighthawk 2.0 can log more than 40 minutes of flight time and is faster than its previous model, reaching a reported cruising speed of more than 70 kilometers per hour. It also features more advanced sensors, precision GPS and obstacle avoidance technology, which allows it to operate in a variety of terrains and emergency conditions.

Paladin also announced a partnership with Portuguese drone manufacturer Beyond Vision to integrate its Drone as a First Responder (DFR) technology with Beyond Vision’s NATO-compliant, fully autonomous unmanned aerial systems. Paladin has begun to deploy the Knighthawk 2.0 internationally, including in India and Portugal.

The company raised a $5.2 million seed round in 2024 and another round for an undisclosed amount earlier this year. In 2019, Houston’s Memorial Villages Police Department piloted Paladin’s technology.

According to the company, Paladin wants autonomous drones responding to every 911 call in the U.S. by 2027.

Rice research explores how shopping data could reshape credit scores

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More than a billion people worldwide can’t access credit cards or loans because they lack a traditional credit score. Without a formal borrowing history, banks often view them as unreliable and risky. To reach these borrowers, lenders have begun experimenting with alternative signals of financial reliability, such as consistent utility or mobile phone payments.

New research from Rice Business builds on that approach. Previous work by assistant professor of marketing Jung Youn Lee showed that everyday data like grocery store receipts can help expand access to credit and support upward mobility. Her latest study extends this insight, using broader consumer spending patterns to explore how alternative credit scores could be created for people with no credit history.

Forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing Research, the study finds that when lenders use data from daily purchases — at grocery, pharmacy, and home improvement stores — credit card approval rates rise. The findings give lenders a powerful new tool to connect the unbanked to credit, laying the foundation for long-term financial security and stronger local economies.

Turning Shopping Habits into Credit Data

To test the impact of retail transaction data on credit card approval rates, the researchers partnered with a Peruvian company that owns both retail businesses and a credit card issuer. In Peru, only 22% of people report borrowing money from a formal financial institution or using a mobile money account.

The team combined three sets of data: credit card applications from the company, loyalty card transactions, and individuals’ credit histories from Peru’s financial regulatory authority. The company’s point-of-sale data included the types of items purchased, how customers paid, and whether they bought sale items.

“The key takeaway is that we can create a new kind of credit score for people who lack traditional credit histories, using their retail shopping behavior to expand access to credit,” Lee says.

The final sample included 46,039 credit card applicants who had received a single credit decision, had no delinquent loans, and made at least one purchase between January 2021 and May 2022. Of these, 62% had a credit history and 38% did not.

Using this data, the researchers built an algorithm that generated credit scores based on retail purchases and predicted repayment behavior in the six months following the application. They then simulated credit card approval decisions.

Retail Scores Boost Approvals, Reduce Defaults

The researchers found that using retail purchase data to build credit scores for people without traditional credit histories significantly increased their chances of approval. Certain shopping behaviors — such as seeking out sale items — were linked to greater reliability as borrowers.

For lenders using a fixed credit score threshold, approval rates rose from 15.5% to 47.8%. Lenders basing decisions on a target loan default rate also saw approvals rise, from 15.6% to 31.3%.

“The key takeaway is that we can create a new kind of credit score for people who lack traditional credit histories, using their retail shopping behavior to expand access to credit,” Lee says. “This approach benefits unbanked applicants regardless of a lender’s specific goals — though the size of the benefit may vary.”

Applicants without credit histories who were approved using the retail-based credit score were also more likely to repay their loans, indicating genuine creditworthiness. Among first-time borrowers, the default rate dropped from 4.74% to 3.31% when lenders incorporated retail data into their decisions and kept approval rates constant.

For applicants with existing credit histories, the opposite was true: approval rates fell slightly, from 87.5% to 84.5%, as the new model more effectively screened out high-risk applicants.

Expanding Access, Managing Risk

The study offers clear takeaways for banks and credit card companies. Lenders who want to approve more applications without taking on too much risk can use parts of the researchers’ model to design their own credit scoring tools based on customers’ shopping habits.

Still, Lee says, the process must be transparent. Consumers should know how their spending data might be used and decide for themselves whether the potential benefits outweigh privacy concerns. That means lenders must clearly communicate how data is collected, stored, and protected—and ensure customers can opt in with informed consent.

Banks should also keep a close eye on first-time borrowers to make sure they’re using credit responsibly. “Proactive customer management is crucial,” Lee says. That might mean starting people off with lower credit limits and raising them gradually as they demonstrate good repayment behavior.

This approach can also discourage people from trying to “game the system” by changing their spending patterns temporarily to boost their retail-based credit score. Lenders can design their models to detect that kind of behavior, too.

The Future of Credit

One risk of using retail data is that lenders might unintentionally reject applicants who would have qualified under traditional criteria — say, because of one unusual purchase. Lee says banks can fine-tune their models to minimize those errors.

She also notes that the same approach could eventually be used for other types of loans, such as mortgages or auto loans. Combined with her earlier research showing that grocery purchase data can predict defaults, the findings strengthen the case that shopping behavior can reliably signal creditworthiness.

“If you tend to buy sale items, you’re more likely to be a good borrower. Or if you often buy healthy food, you’re probably more creditworthy,” Lee explains. “This idea can be applied broadly, but models should still be customized for different situations.”

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This article originally appeared on Rice Business Wisdom. Written by Deborah Lynn Blumberg

Anderson, Lee, and Yang (2025). “Who Benefits from Alternative Data for Credit Scoring? Evidence from Peru,” Journal of Marketing Research.

XSpace adds 3 Houston partners to fuel national expansion

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Texas-based XSpace Group has brought onboard three partners from the Houston area to ramp up the company’s national expansion.

The new partners of XSpace, which sells high-end multi-use commercial condos, are KDW, Pyek Financial and Welcome Wilson Jr. Houston-based KDW is a design-build real estate developer, Katy-based Pyek offers fractional CFO services and Wilson is president and CEO of Welcome Group, a Houston real estate development firm.

“KDW has been shaping the commercial [real estate] landscape in Texas for years, and Pyek Financial brings deep expertise in scaling businesses and creating long‑term value,” says Byron Smith, founder of XSpace. “Their commitment to XSpace is a powerful endorsement of our model and momentum. With their resources, we’re accelerating our growth and building the foundation for nationwide expansion.”

The expansion effort will target high-growth markets, potentially including Nashville, Tennessee; Orlando, Florida; and Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina.

XSpace launched in Austin with a $20 million, 90,000-square-foot project featuring 106 condos. The company later added locations on Old Katy Road in Houston and at The Woodlands Town Center. A third Houston-area location is coming to the Design District.

XSpace condos range in size from 300 to 3,000 square feet. They can accommodate a variety of uses, such as a luxury-car storage space, a satellite office, or a podcasting studio.

“XSpace has tapped into a fundamental shift in how entrepreneurs and professionals want to use space,” Wilson says. “Houston is one of the best places in the country to innovate and build, and XSpace’s model is perfectly aligned with the needs of this fast‑growing, opportunity‑driven market.”

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