http://www.keralanext.com/news/?id=68936

  Art/Culture ; All set for Aga Khan award for architecture
  18 Hours,51 minutes Ago

Art/Culture News, New Delhi,The prestigious Aga Khan award for
architecture will be presented at a glittering ceremony in the gardens
of Humayun's Tomb here Saturday afternoon.

The high-profile award presentation ceremony will be attended by Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh, the Aga Khan, ministers, top diplomats,
architects and bureaucrats.

The award, established in 1977 by the Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary Imam
of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, to enhance the understanding and
appreciation of Islamic culture as expressed through architecture, is
presented every three years.

Prizes worth $500,000 are selected by an independent master jury to
honour building concepts that successfully address the needs and
aspirations of societies in which Muslims have a significant presence.

To present the award, the Aga Khan arrived here with his entourage on
Wednesday. He met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Manmohan Singh on
Thursday.

As part of the three-day award celebrations, a stamp unveiling ceremony
will be held Sunday evening in Agra to commemorate the issue of special
postage stamps featuring Agra Fort and the 2004 Aga Khan award for
architecture.

A seminar, to be attended by over 250 delegates, to debate the issues in
contemporary architecture will be held at Mughal Sheraton Hotel in Agra
on Monday.

The award has completed eight cycles since 1977, and documentation has
been compiled on over 7,000 building projects located throughout the
world. To date, the master juries have identified 84 projects to receive
awards.

Historical settings are chosen on the basis of their importance to
Islamic architecture to honour the winning projects and mark the close
of each triennial cycle. Earlier, the awards were presented at
picturesque settings like Shalimar Gardens in Lahore (1980), Topkapi
Palace in Istanbul (1983), Badi Palace in Marrakesh (1986), The Alhambra
in Granada (1998), and the Citadel of Aleppo (2001).

Aga Khan is the title of the religious leader and imam of the Ismaili
Nizari sect of Islam, originally bestowed by the Persian Shah Fath Ali
on Hasan Ali Shah, 1800-1881, the 46th Ismaili imam in 1818.