Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

Honoured Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:First I would like to thank Charles Correa and Jim Wolfensohn for their kind words.

Charles, through your work you have made an immense contribution to the built environment. Your buildings have brought timeless elegance to societies in the East and the West. Your inspirational use of their many languages of design will speak powerfully to many generations hence. I would also like to sincerely thank you for your contribution over many years to the Aga Khan Award for Architect

Honoured Guests,Ladies and Gentlemen:

I believe profoundly that architecture is not just about building. It is a means of improving people's quality of life. At its best, it should mirror the plurality of cultural traditions and the diverse needs of communities, both urban and rural. At the same time it must employ modern technologies to help fulfill desirable aspirations for the future.

All the good guys are here,' remarked architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen, gazing at a goodly number of his peers attending Tuesday's award dinner in the National Building Museum honoring His Highness Prince Karim Aga Kahn IV for fostering design excellence, urban and rural revitalization and historic preservation in countries where Muslims have a major presence.

The Aga Khan with National Building Museum Chair Carolyn Schwenker Brody, above, before receiving the fifth Vincent Scully Prize at the museum last night for his decades-long efforts to reenergize design in the Islamic world and to preserve historic sites. At left, the prince chats with Scully and his wife, Catherine Lynn.Photo Credit: Lucian Perkins -- The Washington Post
Related Article: Aga Khan, Jet-Setting on a Higher Plane, page C01

For nearly 50 years, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV has striven to overcome the celebrity gloss of his life story.To 20 million Ismaili Muslims in Asia and Africa, the 68-year-old Aga Khan is the 49th hereditary imam, a spiritual leader who traces his lineage directly from the prophet Muhammad.