Overview
Each roof garden, terrace and courtyard in the Aga Khan Centre echoes Islamic architectural and garden styles. These contemporary landscaped spaces represent the diversity of Muslim cultures around the world and over time. The modestly-sized but beautiful spaces range from contemplative and secluded to open and social. With nearby Jellicoe Gardens and Lewis Cubitt Square, they form a ‘ribbon’ of green spaces. The spaces at the Aga Khan Centre are open to the public for tours.
Islamic gardens come in many different types, styles, shapes and sizes with most containing plants and flowers for shade, colour and scent. Other characteristic features include water, geometrical patterns, architectural elements and hard surfaces, arranged symmetrically. The chahar bagh – gardens divided into four parts by water channels or pathways and reflecting the four gardens of Paradise mentioned in the Qur’an – is a common layout. While many Islamic gardens share these features, they vary across different regions in response to local climatic conditions, architectural styles and cultures.
Learn more about Islamic GardensGarden of Tranquility
This three-sided enclosed space overlooks Jellicoe Gardens in a similar way to the views from covered loggias found in the Middle East, Persia and Egypt. The decoration on the ceiling and balustrades also references the style of these loggias, using the eight-point star motif. This garden’s pale limestone floor reflects light and draws the eye to the central fountain.
Location: Aga Khan Centre
Designed by Maki & Associates
The Garden of Tranquility by Maki & Associates.
Terrace of Learning
Inspired by the cloisters and courtyards of southern Spain, Morocco and Egypt, this quiet space extends the library into the outdoors. The terrace is tiled in a range of decorative marble in a geometric design. The long flowerbed is planted with scented, flowering, evergreen herbs.
Location: Aga Khan Centre
Designed by Maki & Associates
Courtyard of Harmony
This small space is reminiscent of an iwan – a three-sided outdoor room common in the Middle East and Central Asia. The pattern of contrasting marbles reads ‘Harmony and beauty’ in Arabic. Pomegranate trees, symbolic in Muslim cultures, are complemented by creeping thyme.
Location: Aga Khan Centre
Designed by Maki & Associates
Garden of Life
This rooftop gathering space for students and staff is inspired by the great gardens of the Mughal Empire. The water flowing through the four-part chahar bagh layout echoes the Kashmiri waterfalls of late Mughal gardens and the narrow, elegant channels of their early counterparts.
Location: Aga Khan Centre
Designed by Madison Cox
The Garden of Life by Madison Cox.
Terrace of Discovery
This terrace is inspired by the talar, a Persian throne and a place to address congregations. This long, column-free balcony frames the view over King’s Cross and the London skyline. The eight-point star motif appears in the floor tiles and on the balustrade.
Location: Aga Khan Centre
Designed by Maki & Associates
Garden of Light
Inspired by the Islamic courtyards of Andalusia in Spain, this garden’s patterned screens line a simple space that is transformed throughout the day by changing light and shadows. The ribbon of marble that runs across the screens is inscribed with poetry by celebrated Persian poets and extracts from the Qur’an.
Location: Aga Khan Centre
Designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz
The Garden of Light by Nelson Byrd Woltz.
Garden of Reflection
Inspired by the courtyard gardens of Andalusia in Spain, the raised pool in this tranquil garden reflects the area’s surrounding architecture. Four winter-flowering cherry trees provide summer shade and winter colour. The pergola adds a sense of enclosure and falling water provides a calming sound, a common characteristic of Islamic gardens.
Location: Victoria Hall, King’s Cross
Designed by Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architecture
The Garden of Reflection by Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architecture.
Terrace of Unity
Based on the style of a Moroccan courtyard garden, this terrace’s patterned marble tiles extend over floors, seating and walls. Water, a central element in Moroccan courtyards, is present here in a simple cast bronze vessel that collects rainwater and reflects light.
Location: Victoria Hall, King’s Cross
Designed by Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architecture
The Terrace of Unity by Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architecture.
Jellicoe Gardens
This garden marries Persian and British influences, notably the 16th century Persian garden, Bagh-e Fin (in today’s Iran) and a British interpretation of Persian orchards. A narrow central stream leads to the focal point of a pavilion structure with slender timber columns, which prevents the garden from being dominated by its surroundings.
Location: Public space
Opening 2019
Designed by Tom Stuart-Smith and Townshend Landscape Architects
Commissioned by King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership /Aga Khan Development Network
Lewis Cubitt Square
This square contains elements shared by many gardens throughout the world, including Islamic gardens – a number of fountains, a patterned pavement, a collection of flowering shrubs and a tree-shaded landscape. The 55 arching water jets, which are illuminated at night, lend a playfulness to this sociable space.
Location: Public space
Designed by Olin and Townshend Landscape Architects
Commissioned by King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership /Aga Khan Development Network
“The ribbon pathway of green spaces not only illustrates the Islamic garden as a concept, it also creates a unique collection of outdoor spaces in London, all with their own identity; the sum of which seeks to reflect the pluralism that characterises the Islamic world.”
